Hello,

I'm new to this forum, and I have an 8 week old Blue Staffe, he's pretty lively and loves chasing/biting on people.

Although the past day he seems to of suffered with watery diarrhea, and isn't himself, he's very quiet, slept most the day and cuddled up to his blanket.

He hasn't had his vaccinations, as he has the first one on THURSDAY. I'm not sure if the breeder had dewormed him. - Could this be the issue? Would it harm him if I dewormed him this evening?

Thanks in advance, I'm grateful for your help..

- Martin -

Doesn't sound like worms to me.
However, some dogs do react to wormers so it might be worth asking the breeder if he did worm him or not.
Did you change any of his food since he moved in?

A puppy of that age needs to see a vet immediately when ill./
He will dehydrate very quickly at that age and could become extremely ill

As previous post said - doesn't sound like worms and in any case I wouldn't give worming treatment until you have established from the breeder whether or not they have already given treatment. Double dose and all that. Your vet will want to know whether the pup has been wormed in any case.

Ensure the pup is drinking though (fresh water).

I would keep a very close i on him and go to to the vets if need be. Both of mine became very lose after bringing them home, i think partly because of the stress. Have you changed the food?

Its not unusual for pups to have loose motions through stress caused by leaving mum and littermates and being re-located in their new homes, however, if the motions are very frequent and as he is also very quiet sleepy and uninterested in things I would in fact be concerned that it could be more then then the normal stress, especially if previous to this he was a lively normal puppy.

If he did have a large worm load it is true that is can cause vomiting and diarrhoea in young pups, they usually have a really round swollen tummy too, and can lose weight, but then again I wouldnt expect him to go from really active and full of life to Lethargic and uninterested to be honest, not with just a worm load. Pups by the way whilst on the subject should be started on a worming programme around 2 weeks old by the breeder, then every 2/3 weeks until they are 12 weeks old, then monthly up to 6mths of age an then every 3/4 months like adults. (products may vary slighlyt in times so check the individual product) A good one I personally like for pups is the Panacur paste, that is gentle but does round worms, the most common tapeworm and giardia as well.

One thing he needs to drink, pups can de-hydrate quite quickly and he needs more fluid going in then is coming out in watery motions. Dehydration can make them very lethargic, then it is an urgent vet visit. Check his gums, if they are nice and healthily pink and moist and shiny, likely he is OK, If his gums are dry pale and sticky and especially if white thats not usually a good sign. If you can softly and gently pull up the loose skin on his back, it should spring back like an elastic band viirtually immediately, If there is a delay and it stays up like a tent, that too can be a sign of dehydration. Obviously if he starts to vomit on top of frequent watery diarrhoea, thats a big concern too, as fluids can and will be lost even quicker.

Any doubts ring your vet for advice.

Just another thought, Have you changed his food? Sudden abrubt changes of food can upset there tums, but again wouldnt likely explain sleepy and lethargic and uninterested behaviour. One thing I would say unless he has rapidly picked up and fine by Thursday I wouldnt be vaccinating, a sick puppy or puppy suspected of incubating an illness even should not be vaccinated.

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