Hi there, we are buying a puppy that is currently 5 weeks old.  We got a call today to say he has been suffering with a bit of colic.  He has been to the vet who gave him a clean bill of health, the breeders are giving him gripe water and he is eating, drinking, pooing and weeing fine, just a bit whiney now and then. 

I haven’t heard of colic in puppies before.  Should this be a cause for concern? 

Would appreciate your help.
Thanks
Dolly

Colic in dogs does not have just the same cause as colic in humans. It is fairly common.

There are 5 usual causes of colic in dogs in no particular order:-

1.a natural buildup of gas in the stomach &/or intestines
2. pancreatitis
3. eating spoiled food
4. a bacterial infection
5. intestinal parasites

There can be other underlying causes.

The vet should have done tests to determine the cause(s)

Not sure if gripe water will help, was this suggested by the vet?

Thanks for your reply, I believe it was suggested by the vet.  Tests were run and nothing was found.

He is pretty much back to normal eating etc so hopefully that will continue. 

Dolly

Many years ago, I had a three week old Cavalier puppy with colic. After warning me that this could have a serious cause, our vet asked me to stop at the out of hours chemist on the way over, and pick up some Nurse Harvey's Gripe Mixture, (it was a Sunday of course). This worked like a charm, and the puppy had no further problems. I don't know if this brand still exists, or if it does, whether the formula is still the same, but our vet had clearly had success with this method before.

A friend had a pup like this and I did in one of my litters.

Both were constipated, and Haywards Gripe water and.a little liquid parafin did the trick on both occasions, advised by vet.