A New Puppy, and a few worries.

This weekend we brought home a new puppy, a 4 1/2 month old male lab mix named Smokey.

A local animal rescue kennel had a bunch of dogs for adoption at the rodeo this weekend. There were several that are really mellow and really cute. All of them were very much lover dogs. We saw a few we liked on Saturday and decided to bring our current dog, Sue Ellen with us and see if she can get along with any of them. She hasn’t always been so good around other dogs, we thought if she can accept being around another dog then we might adopt one of these. There were puppies and adults to consider. There were three black lab puppy mixes, but they seemed a bit timid. There was also an adorable red healer and a really sweet hound mix. We tried all the dogs out around SueEllen and decided that the calm sweet male black lab mix was the best fit for us. Sue Ellen definitely wanted to be the alpha dog, but he was very calm and submissive around her, and she seemed happy to accept him into the pack as long as she was still top dog.

We brought him home yesterday afternoon, and he was really timid, but very sweet. He was very content to snuggle with the kids on the sofa or to stay in his kennel and take a nap. However, we are having a bit of trouble with him, and it is hard to tell what the problem is.

The lady who runs the adoption kennel is a really good friend of my next door neighbor and she does this out of pure love of dogs. She got Smokey, his sisters, and his mom from the pound when he and his sisters were first born. He hadn’t even opened his eyes. Part of her agreement with the county animal control is that they have to be fixed before she adopts them out, so she has to keep the puppies till they are at least 4 months old. Smokey got fixed on August 19th, and he has had all his shots including Parvo and Distemper.

The problem with Smokey is that he is either very nervous and has coalitus or he has something much more serious. He won’t eat, is throwing up and has bloody diarrhea. I have called the adoption lady and she thinks he is just really nervous because he has only been at her kennel. He’s 4 months old, so he is a little more settled in to his current situation than a 8 week puppy. This weekend was his first day out. He has never been away from his sisters or away from the adoption kennel except to be fixed. Having seen the same thing before, she is sure he is just really nervous, but the symptoms seem pretty serious. I’ve been feeling his nose and sometimes it is wet and cold and sometimes it is a bit dry and warm. Again that could be nerves or something more serious.

So she is going to take him overnight tonight where she can observe him, and then take him to her vet first thing tomorrow. She has some nausea medicine that she can give him and can also give him fluids under his skin if needed. I am really worried, but she insists that because he has had all his shots and never been around any other animals other than the ones at her kennel, it just has to be a nervous stomach. She thinks that he will be fine once he gets back in familiar surroundings and in the kennel with his sisters. If he does perk up and eat something we’ll know it is just nerves. However, even if he seems better she is going to take him to the vet in the morning. If he checks out healthy, I’ll get him back tomorrow afternoon.

He seems like a really good fit for our family, really sweet and calm, so I just hope that he is OK.