Puppy Health

ok... so just a question to anyone who can help me out...

Bought Zara from a breeder.. didn't look like the best breeder but saw her and fell in love so naturally, she was mine ! she was quite chubby when i first saw her at 5 weeks old... picked her up when she was just 8 weeks and she had a potbelly.. she is due for full vet check up (had to book for Sat avail.) but was told at puppy preschool thats a sign of worms. so worming tablets first on list! but she weighs 2.15kgs at 8 weeks old. is this normal ? she doesn't look like she is putting on much weight (also have to say she hasn't had much of an appetite but i am slowly introducing raw food into her diet and she seems to prefer it) i give her an egg yolk with her dry biscuits in the morning, and puppy meat roll at dinner and biscuits during the day.. just earlier i fed her the meat roll and her tummy just swelled up and she looked constipated. she finally did a poo and some farts so her poo was runny. is this a sign of worms ?? is also her weight a sign of worms? I'm trying to find out from other staffie owners and not just relying on a vets word...

can anyone help me out or give me advice ??
p.s yes i am a first time staffie puppy owner

Hi Zara,

Im not overly experienced but Roxi had a health check at the vets at 8 weeks and weighed 4.5 kg and again at 10 weeks and weighed 5.9 kg .... The vet noted what a crumper she is but didnt seem worried about it ... Im not sure what a normal weight is though ... I raw feed her and she loves it ... Her poo is regular and rock hard , she doesnt seem to drink a great lot but does wee on a regular basis so she must get her moisture from her food.

Sorry i cant be more of a help.

Right, almost certainly worms! Your vet will give you the right wormer & dosage. Worms could also prevent her from getting the nutrients she needs to grow, so the sooner you do this the better.

She should also be on four meals a day at her age, with two of those meals meat based & the other two porridge or scrambled egg.

Puppy meat roll is generally awful food! I don't know which one you use, but they're normally full of grains & actually have very little meat content.

What other food are you giving her?

Thistle had a huge pot belly when I got her at 8 weeks, it was down to the fact that the breeder fed her only 2 meals a day, out of a tin of pedigree chum puppy food, she was bloated but not from worms, I think this is also why she developed Colitis, I introduced her to 4 small meals of well beloved, and natural yoghurt,but she had to have a course of anti biotics for her colitis, she soon recovered and is still on well beloved which seems to suit her.

Deffo sounds like worms!

Caryll wrote:Right, almost certainly worms! Your vet will give you the right wormer & dosage. Worms could also prevent her from getting the nutrients she needs to grow, so the sooner you do this the better.

She should also be on four meals a day at her age, with two of those meals meat based & the other two porridge or scrambled egg.

Puppy meat roll is generally awful food! I don't know which one you use, but they're normally full of grains & actually have very little meat content.

What other food are you giving her?

Thank you for your information and thank u to everyone else ! more info the better !

she only eats 3 because thats all she will have. I would love to give up it to 4 but she isn't interested... Pet roll note taken and had a good look at it, got all sorts of meat as well as rice n veggies but not sure what percentage is what. I was against it but trainer at puppy school recommended it so thought it couldn't be bad.

yesterday i gave her a chicken wing and she demolished it and this morning i thought i would try something different. She had her usual biscuits with egg yolk but smaller amount biscuits and 2 hours after i gave her a little of raw pet mince and demolished. The breeder was giving her tin food but i think Im just going to go raw. She seems to enjoy it much better and is eating better. Am going to vets today to pick up worming tablets. Not waiting another 3 days for vet check up and if breeder has given her tablets and she gets another dose it can't be bd can it?

[quote="Zara82"]

Caryll wrote:Right, almost certainly worms! Your vet will give you the right wormer & dosage. Worms could also prevent her from getting the nutrients she needs to grow, so the sooner you do this the better.

She should also be on four meals a day at her age, with two of those meals meat based & the other two porridge or scrambled egg.

Puppy meat roll is generally awful food! I don't know which one you use, but they're normally full of grains & actually have very little meat content.

What other food are you giving her?

scrambled egg cooked or raw??

Zara82 wrote:

Zara82 wrote:

Caryll wrote:Right, almost certainly worms! Your vet will give you the right wormer & dosage. Worms could also prevent her from getting the nutrients she needs to grow, so the sooner you do this the better.

She should also be on four meals a day at her age, with two of those meals meat based & the other two porridge or scrambled egg.

Puppy meat roll is generally awful food! I don't know which one you use, but they're normally full of grains & actually have very little meat content.

What other food are you giving her?

scrambled egg cooked or raw??

Cooked, no milk

In order to give her 4 meals a day, you may need to reduce the portions slightly. Although if you intend to feed raw, her appetite may increase anyway.

Have a read through this website re: raw feeding...

http://rawfed.com/myths/preymodel.html

P.S. Once she has been wormed her appetite may go back to normal as well!