I am worried about my 9 week old . Can someone help with a little info?

[thorn's]

I just bought a beautiful little boy 5 days ago. I am new to the breed but have read alot about them. I took him to the vet for a little skin irritation and the vet said he may have worms. After a worming poor "Thorn" pooped a ton of worms. I checked and it is said that worms can stunt a puppies growth. The breeder had never wormed them and now I am worried that he may be stunted. How much should a 9 week old little boy weigh?:confused:

[Sue J]

What kind of worms were they? Round ,Hook, Whip? Too bad the baby hadn't been wormed, don't understand how any breed dog owner would neglect that since it's such a simple thing to do. What worming protocol did the vet put him on? I can't answer the weight question but I'd think if it was just worms if you get him cleared up and keep him on preventative he should be okay. How much does he weigh now? What was the skin condition and did he have any other health problems? Puppies can usually catch up pretty quick when they're healthy.

[Dobs4ever]

I just won't even go there. But reputable breeders are very important to the preservation and integrity of our breed and puppies are wormed starting at 2 weeks and e/o week thereafter - I am so sorry you had to go through this. Sometimes the low price gets eaten up later in expensive vet bills. I hope this is not your case.

It depends on the line I have seen 9 week old puppies weigh in anywhere from 12 to 18 lbs. Can't tell at this age really if or how badly he might be affected but I would think that he has a good chance to be close to normal since he is still very young and the majority of his grow is ahead of him.

I do not recommend puppy food of any kind for puppies. He needs a good quality adult dog food for best chance of proper growth. Puppy food does not make them bigger - it just makes them bigger faster which is the biggest problem for larger breed dogs who do not mature til two.

Good luck and keep him typing!!

[Hali'smom]

Love that - Dobs4..."keep him typing!"
Yeah, I agree with everyone else. He should be ok..unless he had hook worms. They are intestinal blood suckers and they can wreak havoc pretty quickly. If it was just rounds, then he should be fine. Make sure you give all the worm meds and then have his fecal checked again to make sure we got 'em all!!
Weight wise- 10-18 pounds is a good rule. Skin condition? What was that? Sometimes pups get a little dry and flaky, but with good food and about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil poured on their food 2-3/week will improve a coat like nobody's buiness!!

[thorn's]

:)
Thorn's coat is a mess , very dry skin and he is missing little bits of fur. I took him back to the vet today and he weighed 8.3lbs. When I took him two days ago he only weighed 6.4 so he put on almost two lbs in two days so 'i am hopeful that all will be well. Thanks so much for the reply

[Dobs4ever]

OMG - 6.4 lbs at 9 weeks is very small. Hopefully getting rid of the worms will help him start packing on weight. About how tall is he now? For his coat - I recommend bathing him in Head and shoulder shampoo no more than every 8 to 10 weeks. Use a mixture of Listerine and Water 25/75 to spray and freshen up inbetween. Fish oil tablets 2 X day 1,000 mg. I would also add vitamin C 500 mg 2 X day and b 50 to help reduce stress as he has obvously been very neglected by his breeder.

I would recommend this regime for any dog that is having coat problems to help jump start him and the vitamin C is an excellent antioxidant which I recommend all the time.

Give him a BIG hug from all of us and hope to see beautiful pictures soon when he gets back in shape. The vet did check for mange didn't he???? A skin scraping???

[thorn's]

Well thorn is comming around and acts like he feels better . Thank you everyone that replied to my questions. I made the apointment to have his ears done. They will be at the end of the month. Dont ya just love dobermans!!!

[Hali'smom]

Thorn you are mighty cute!! Good luck to you and your new mommy. It sounds like she is very concerned with your health and well being!
And- Thorn's mommy- definitely get the vit C on board...it will make a world of difference!- as will everything else. They are all good recommendations.
The pick does show signs of a little unthriftiness, but I think he will come along fine with the care you are giving him!! Keep it up!

[jelly8bean]

Thorn is a cutie pie! Definately take care of him, with good care he should still be able to weather the health problems he started with. My Sara is a tiny girl, but all dobie make no mistake. Just love on him and keep up the good work on the health and nutrition side!

[Sue J]

He's a little darling!

[Dobs4ever]

Glad to hear he is starting to feel a little better