The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

I am a proud new owner of a very cute female cocker spaniel named "Dash" just like Q Victoria's. Anyhoo she has not been wanting to eat her dry kibbles for two days now she was not keen on eating only at night she would have about a half a cup of kibbles. I was getting worried so I bought some canned puppy food which she chewed down... Well let's say like a starving dog... I did not want to give her canned but her energy level was low she was becoming listless.... Is this normal?

I forgot to add.... My main worry is the canned food ok for her? She was eating her kibbles just fine but yesterday started to not want it...I tried again in the afternoon and at night I literally hand fed her... Today was going in the same direction so I surrendered out of desperation and got her canned which she loved,....any advise would be appreciated...:)

Michelle,

Hi and welcome to the forum! Congratulations on your new little puppy.

I've never gotten a pup before 8 weeks old but that doesn't sound normal to me. I would make a vet appointment pronto. It could be anything from simply still adjusting to being in a new home, to worms, to not feeling well from getting shots or even just not liking or sensitive to an ingredient in the food. But I'd be worried about a pup not eating for that length of time! Most puppies are eating more than that in a day. Do you have the same kibble that the pup was eating at the breeders? Have you tried moistening the kibble to soften? My Chessie went through stages where she didn't eat and someone suggested tossing her food and making a game of it ... it helped. The other things I would suggest are... try hand feeding, move the bowl if the bowl is next to a wall or in a corner... my dog didn't like the feel of being blocked. (You only have to do this for a while.)


Canned food is fine for a pup as long as it's an All Life's Stages Food, it should say so on the can or it should give a guideline for how much to feed a puppy.... you could even try mixing a bit with her kibble since she's eating the canned food. But, be careful changing to different foods too often or too quickly ... that could cause tummy upset and diarrhea for your pup. I had to change my dogs food because she wouldn't eat, I can tell you from experience that it wasn't fun and it took months to get her stools back to normal.

Good luck ... we love pictures around here .... especially of puppies!

Any change in a little baby should be seen by a vet immedietely, especially not eating-a 7 week old can get dehydrated and get very sick very quickly. How are the poops-I do not know how rampant parvo might be in Aruba, but you should be aware that your lil one is at high risk for parvo because she is not fully vaccinated. Yes, she may be manipulating you, but at 7 weeks old it is more important that she eat anything than not. She will come around. You can use the "she'll eat when she is hungry" tough love act on an adult dog, but definately not on a puppy. Love to see pics, welcome to the forum, and congrats on your new baby!

Hi guys!! Wow thanks for the feed back I am a nervous mommy... I made an appointment yesterday so will be heading to the vet in two hours they wanted to see her too...

To answer the questions yes, I kept the same brand of kibbles she was eating at the breeders which was pedigree puppies and we went to the vet to have her shots and de worming the vet said she looked healthy and right on track this was Tuesday... Stool was good no problems what so ever... So last night I gave her the canned puppy food by pedigree and she chowed it down and as I expected this morning when she went her stool was somewhat softer... I tried the kibbles this morning,... Nothing so I made it a little wet and mixed it with a little canned she ate that... But I am still worried so I am going to the vet... I love her so much already can not imagine anything happening to her... I will post pictures as soon as I figure how to do that with the iPad

Well thanks again I will keep you posted

Hugs from dash and I

as promised here are some pictures of dash

What a cutie!!

A puppy not eating is everything but normal.

I would definetely bring it up with the vet. When we brought Penny home at 8 weeks it took a long time to encourage her to eat. I think it was a mixture of stress as she was in a new place with new people and new dogs as well as the fact she simply did not like the food! We boiled a chicken and put shreds of it into her food and soaked her kibble in the chicken stock whilst slowly moving over to a food she might enjoy more.

Well...
I can sure see why you've fallen in love!
She's Adorable!!!

Michelle... glad you taking her to the vet. Always better safe than sorry with the young pups.

I will say that it sounds about right on the same schedule as my Chessie... 3 to 4 days after her shots she would have soft stools and obviously not feel good and not want to eat. If that is the case Dash should feel better ... just in time for her next shot. Write about this time of not eating and how she's feeling and acting down on your calendar and see if there's a similar pattern after her next shot.

BTW... I love her name!

I agree to getting her checked by a vet. Also agree with trying to soften the food with a little warm water or warm chicken broth. The warmness of the water brings out the smell of the food.

Hi everyone,

thank you all for the feedback and advice... Well I am happy we went to the vet.. She is sick her blood count is low and has a temperature we got a shot and some nutri cal vitamins and she has to under go a 4 day antibiotic treatment... She has been prescribed a lot of rest so here we are back at home doing just that.
She ate her lunch well did her business and is back in her basket for some rest... I was releaved when her test came back and it was not distemper as that has been going around.

Will keep you posted... As they said she had a temp my eyes welled up as I was fearing the worse..

Well thank you all again for caring.

Hugs,

Hi Lisa,

Thank u for your comment, her name is inspired by Queen Victoria. Her favorite Spaniel was named Dash..... And when I met my Dash... She was so sweet... I thought she's a Dash of sugar

Update: she is doing much better her appetite has improved and so has her energy. She is more engaged, and playful so I am some what relieved.

Hi Michelle and welcome to you and Dash. She is adorable by the way! Glad to hear you took her to the vet and that she seems to be feeling better. I hope that she continues to feel better. We all know how it us when our "kids" don't feel well. Please keep us posted...and post more photos when you can; we love photos here!

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for the support with Dash, I can report she is doing Mmmmmmuuuchhhhh better she is almost her old cheekie self. Yesterday I was concerned, hovered by last night she started to come back and wanted to play more. Today ther is no stopping her. Her appetite is good and she is all cuddly we will have to continue treatment for 3 more days but I am optimistic that she will recover.

Thanks again to all and I will post pics tomorrow

Hi Dawn,

Thank you for caring, I am really enjoying being part of this forum it's the first I have ever joined..and I am really glad I did.

To recap on how this all started and provide more detail i hope this helps,

Tuesday Dash was at the vet's for her shots and de worming... All seemed good

On Thursday evening I found her a bit quiet not really herself but she was also refusing to eat the dry kibbles only at night did she finally eat some kibbles. On Friday her energy was low and as she continued not to be eating i switched her food from dry to wet...and she instantly started eating however her energy was low and I found her to feel warm so I kept my appointment that I had made for Saturday, as soon as she was not eating I called the vet to see if this was normal. They wanted to see her saturday.
The symptoms were: listlessness, a fever and no appetite...

The vet did a check up and first he was fearing distemper as there is a breakout here in Aruba.
However after doing a blood test, they confirmed it was anemia.. Which could have been caused by a tick. I did not see one on Dash but it could also be inherited. In any case Dash has to under go a five day treatment. Which started saturday and we have to see the vet for five consecutive days for her shots and check up. Temputure is taken as well. I also bought a baby electronic thermometer and do check ups at home if she is warm. But her temp is doing really well since saturday no fever spikes since. Today we have an appointment this afternoon its her day 3, but the vets are very optimistic as she is very energetic and showing great progress.

I also got her some nutri cal, which is a vitamin paste which she absolutely loves!! To her it's desert... I feed her three times a day the puppy food and after we sit downtown together for her vitamin of a spoon...she licks it like its a lollipop!!

I am very optimistic as she is ruling the house again and is very playful and wants to play all the time.. The vet told us we will have to continue coming for check ups after the 5 day treatment to be sure she is over it.


I hope this helps, Dawn if our story can help any other pup it would be something good to come out of this. I look fwd to reading many more stories and advise on cockerspaniels

Warm regards,

I'm glad Dash is doing so much better. FYI: She could have also had a reaction to her shot. I wondered if the vet mentioned that at all?

I second what Dawn said, but would like to add a few more thoughts on IMHA. I lost my Brady at age 2 to this disease, which cockers are prone to. IMHA stand for Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia, it is an anemia that is caused by a screwup in the dogs immune system where the white blood cells target the healthy red blood cells as invaders and destroy them. What do vaccinations do-they target the immune system. It is possible/probable that the vaccinations Dash had caused the anemia since the symptoms came on 2 days after. The biggest cause of vaccine induced IMHA is overvaccinating/overwhelming the dogs immune system. My main question is-what vaccinations did Dash get at the vets that day? Did he get a bunch or just one? If he got a bunch than that is the probable cause. I urge you to google Dr Jean Dodds vaccination protocols and follow that. So now it is suspected that Dash is sensitive to vaccinations, but he must be vaccinated-vaccinations are very important, but not overvaccinating. I suggest that he be vaccinated one vaccine at a time-this is more expensive but can be done. Vaccinate for parvo only, wait 4 weeks, then distemper only, then 4 more weeks and parvo again, etc. When those 2 are done, then do rabies at 6 months old. Never give him the DHLPP combo if Dash is sensitive to vaccines or especially the rabies with any other vaccine-rabies should always be given alone and 4-6 weeks after other vaccinations. This means he must be kept pretty isolated until he is fully vaccinated because it will take alot longer. I will also add that many vets do not buy into the overvaccinating theory that I am discussing, but many vets do agree with it, especially with a breed prone to immune disorders such as cockers. It may happen infrequently that a dog is immune sensitive to vaccinations, but if you are the one that lightening strikes, you are especially paranoid about it.

The other thing, as Dawn mentioned, are checking the gums frequently. I always check my dogs gums, and my 3 are healthy, but if this happened to Dash at 7-8 weeks old, you need to realize that he could have a major life threatening episode at any time in his life triggered by a tick bite, a heartworm med, frontline, etc. I firmly believe with my Brady that when he was 12 weeks old he received the DHLPP combo and rabies at the same time which compromised his immune system, and 2 years later when I gave him his Heartguard Plus, the heartguard triggered his IMHA. Idid not know then to space out the vaccinations like i do now. After Dash is fully immunized, he can be titered for distemper/parvo(you can use the search tool to learn about that), and he should not need any more distemper/parvo vaccinations for the rest of his life, hopefully.

Dash is adorable, and we can tell how much you love your baby. We don't mean to scare you, but want to see many pics of Dash grown up. Can you ask the vet what shots he is getting every day? It is wonderful to hear that he is improving every day.

Good evening ladies, (Tina P, Dawn and Sandy)

I appreciate all the feedback and information I will research to be more prepared for the Vet regarding her vaccination I will ask him tomorrow if that could have lead to the anemia as it happened two days after her vaccination
I saw in her vaccination book that she got a cocktail of: Distemper, Parvo non active, HCC and Para-influenza. Please bare with me as I am translating these terms from Dutch

Her next vaccination appointment is in 3 weeks, so 4 weeks after her first vaccine. Being that I will be going to the Vet's two more times this week I will take the opportunity to ask him what are my options to doing one by one vaccines, or separating them. I will mention what you have provided me and see if that will ease the trigger of her anemia.

I rather be a safe then sorry, i love her dearly and would take any advise i can to ensure that she will have the best chance and the best life she can.

Dawn you asked what she is getting in her 5 day treatment they called it an antibiotic but I am reading in her book that it is called "Engemycine" That was her first shot, I believe she is getting the same one but I did not ask them to write it down. I will do that tomorrow to be sure.

I must add, though that if you did not know she was sick three days ago you would think i was lying if you saw her today.. she is bouncier then ever. Very very playful and has an appetite that amazes both my husband and I. I do not want to over feed her so I really keep a 3 times a day rule and divide her portion in equally. I also give her as stated her vitamins and we do spoil her with 1 to 2 small treats from "the white dog brand" hahaha I can never remember the name but it is like a small gourmet treat that she loves and of course plenty of water… i throw ice cubes in it at lunch to make her drink nice and cool… (is this ok?) I like my water refreshing i only ad 1 or 2 ice cubes.

As I am typing she is now pooped out from all the playing and bouncing that she is passed out by my side. I have added a couple of pics… and will promise to take some more this weekend..

Have a wonderful evening and thank you again for all the wonderful advise, I appreciate it!! More then you know, I am after all new at this and am open to any advise I can get to give my pup the best life she can hope for.

Thank you again,

Good night,

big hugs and kisses from Dash… and me too! ;)

We enjoyed the pictures and you made us smile. Hang around with us and stay on the site

She is very cute. I can see why you adore her so.

I'll echo what Dawn said. Low blood counts and not eating is very serious. Our youngest dog (in my avatar) Penny contracted AIHA/ITP when she was two years old and we're convinced that what triggered her disease was her vaccination so the fact that she's lined up for vaccinations worries me slightly. Please check her gums regularly and if they're anything less than bright pink take her to the vet and make sure they have knowledge on the disease. We were lucky with Pen as our vet was experienced and we acted relatively quickly but we very nearly lost her. I don't want to scare you but to keep you informed. It was traumatic event to go through and at the time we knew nothing about the disease and this forum was an invaluable resource. We were told there was a 30% chance she'd pull through and she went through transfusions, oxygen tents... you name it we did it. She's still with us now, three years later. But please make sure your vet knows the disease and you keep a very close eye on her.

All is well everyone we will keep a close eye on her... Thank u again for all the advise... Will keep submitting pictures... Lots of hugs...