My Bishon puppy is eight weeks old (Nino) He just had his shots on Saturday and at first is bowl was very hard and stuck to him. I washed him and fed him can dog food as requested at the pet store. His behind was very swollen and sore. I put some petroleum jelly on him and he felt better. Now his bowel is liquid and his behind is very sore. I have been washing it and continue to put the petroleum jelly on it. He is not drinking much water. He play sometimes and loves for me to put a hot towel on his bottom. I am concerned and thinking maybe I should take him to the vet. I only had him for 2 weeks and my finances are low. I purchased pet insurance but it does not take affect until Jan 08. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love some feed back. If I have to, I will screw some one out there Xmas gift and take him if I MUST. Would love to hear from you!!

Thank you

I love my baby. He is the cutest puppy in the world!!
Dancinmama

If i am reading right and he has diarrohea then he MUST see a vet, also if he isn't drinking this will mean he is dehydrated!

Have you contacted your breeder about this firstly? or am I reading the post right that you purchased him from a pet shop?. This puppy MUST go to the vets immediately, he will be dehydrated and feeding canned food to a puppy is not ideal and will make matters worse unless it is a special vets reccomended recovery diet such as Hills HD.
If you are on benefits I would be tempted to call the PDSA vet centre to see if you qualify for reduced treatment, if not I am sorry but you will have to take him to the vets and pay the costs. Owning a puppy costs money and if this pup is poorly he needs seeing. Has he been wormed or given vaccinations?
I would also check your insurance policy as the majority come into play for illness after 14 days.Please get this wee one to the vets straight away, pups can go down hill very quickly.

>he will be dehydrated and feeding canned food to a puppy is not ideal and will make matters worse

Why?

Feeding canned food will at least get some water into him,much much more so than dry kibble,unless it's something like pedigree canned etc which will likely go right through him.

It's the "feeding canned food to a puppy is not ideal" part i dont get..

unless Ktee it is a special prescription H/D diet can, normal tinned dog food imo will excarebate the problem. It is far better to feed a bland food such a cooked chicken, rice, potato etc. The poster needs to get this pup to the vet immediately.

H/D is the prescription diet for dogs with heart disease. Don't you mean I/D?

Sorry yes Hills ID, brain is fluff at the moment.

To me it sounds like the poster doesn't have a clue,

Yes she needs to take the puppy to the vet BUT she needs guidance by the sound of it. She is more than likely overfeeding the wee thing is it was so young when she got it.

A puppy that size and age will need 2-3 table spoons of food per feed 4 times a day.   Vasaline is not great for sores but Sudacrem is or a similar one. It at least absorbs into the skin and heals.

Normal tinned food won't cause an issue if 1) the dog is used to it and 2) it isn't pedigree chum :-)    butchers tripe is perfect for upset tummies and bowels.  I think you are often better putting them on this type of food till it settles.

It sounds like a puppy-farmed pup that was separated from its mum far too soon and has been exposed to all sorts of disease (if sold from a pet shop) in its short life. Vet attention is vital; dehydration from diarrhoea can very quickly prove fatal at such a young age.

Not drinking and swollen back end are the most worrying and both require vets attention. Also continually washing something that is sore is going to stop it from healing, your pup may well need antibiotics. Has he been wormed?

The runs in itself is easy to solidify by giving cooked rice with chicken, minced meat or white fish.

Will he drink goats milk with an egg yolk to get him going on liquid and some wholesome goodness.

Unfortunately none of us can see your pup, you really do need a vet to check him over, pups can soon fade away especially without water and an upset stomach. :-(

You had a Bichon at 6 weeks old?
Get him to the vet - NOW!

From the wording I supsect the poster is in or from the USA.  If it is a pet shop pup it amy not even ahve been that old really.

I ahve no idea if in the US there are charities that give vets tretment for those on low incomes or benefits, but the pup needs the vet quickly.

Swelling coudl be soem sort of absess or just irritation from the scalding of waste.

Soem elecrolytes for childrens diarhoe won't do any harm in his water.  A little goats milk added may encourage drinking.

Rice boiled to a sticky mush with meat added like chicken will firm him up.

He needs to be fed little and often and tempted to drink just as much.

Any updates on your puppy?

Thanks to all of the advise! Nino is doing fine. I gave him the rice and chicken for one day then changed his food back to the hard food. I am mixing Imas for puppies with some food for pups under 10 months. I have also cut back on how much I give him and only twice a day. He is doing fine, back to his naughty self. (He is sooooo cute!) I appreciate all of the feed back. I am new at this and I want to be a good Mom to my Baby!! Thanks again!!

Sweetheart adn 8 week old pup needs to be on foru meals ady minimum.  you may well ahve been giing too much in one go, but he needs small frequent meals.

You may be able to drop to three meals at abotu 12 to 16 weeks and then at 6 months to two.

After that you can stick with two or move to just one at 12 months.

I'm so glad he's improving. :) But please, at such a young age he needs to have four small meals a day. Puppies need quite a lot of good-quality food so they can grow properly, but they only have tiny tummies which can't hold lots of food at a time. Nino (lovely name! :)) will do even better on 4 meals a day till he's 12 weeks, then you can cut back to 3 meals a day till he's about 6 months, then you can cut back to 2.

Please keep us up to date with how he gets on. :)

Is there an echo in here?

As Brainless pointed out and then jeangenie repeated, small meals throughout the day :)

What did the vet say?

Sorry about the typos that I didn't edit folks.