Puppy bleeding from backside!

joansgirl

Just back from the vets. She has a temperature and so has been put on ab's. Vet reckons it's something she's eaten (quelle surprise!). Ab's for 7 days and an antacid or similar (antepsin) to settle her stomach. She also has red eyes which the vet says could be caused by the infection she's got. The eyes aren't weepy or anything, just red. Obviously if these symptoms don't clear up or get worse I've got to take her back. She got really excited at the vets and has now crashed out on her bed after having her first ab inside a bit of meat. There's been no further poos since early this morning, and she's been fed as normal, so that's good. And as I thought, lead walking or muzzle from now on. And no going in for a swim. She'll be so bored. Never mind, it's for her own good.:( I just hope it clears up and isn't anything more sinister.

meritaten

Hope she is better soon - both my dogs would eat anything and everything! and had some spectacular tummy upsets! if they are healthy normally then usually things settle down quickly.

puppypants

My JRT pup loves to raid the catty poo boxes, then she thinks she can come to me and give my ears a thorough washing!! Yer, right! .... x

mtbbuxton

A properly fitting basket muzzle won't bother her at all once she's accustomed to it. My lurcher needed to be muzzled due to scavenging, but after about 18 months, he didn't need it anymore as the habit had been broken. He came to us as an adult stray, so it probably took longer for him to change his ways than it would a pup. I appreciate people are more accustomed to seeing this type of dog muzzled, but I've seen several other breeds, including labs wearing one.
You can still feed small treats through a basket muzzle too, so training isn't interrupted. If it means she can be a "normal dog", I'd try to set aside your worries and give it a go.

M x

eta. Hope she's feeling better very soon x

joansgirl

She's actually doing really well on the extending lead so I might wait a while before using a muzzle. My last dog was muzzled, also due to scavenging, and he absolutely HATED it. He would walk with his face side on to the pavement trying to get it off and would run up to random strangers and sit and look pleadingly at them hoping they would remove it. I persevered for 3 months but the situation didn't improve, in fact he started not wanting to go out. In the end I decided to put him on an extending lead and he was much happier. I never had problems with him scavenging on the lead. My worry is that the Lab will "forget" how to follow me off lead although I don't suppose she will. And anyway, this tummy problem is my own fault. She's too young to be left to her own devices when we're out. Her immune system is not up to full speed yet, so what did I expect? I'm hoping that using the lead and telling her "No" when she picks something up will teach her to leave stuff alone. It worked with the last one but he was a Golden Retriever and much more intelligent than the Lab.

She's much better today. There was still a bit of blood in her poo last night but the diarrhoea has gone and this morning her poo had no blood in it plus she was a lot brighter. Her eyes are back to normal as well.:j Her appetite never diminished.

mtbbuxton

Pleased she's doing better today.
Do you use the extending lead with a harness? I'm just thinking that if you attach the lead differently when she's allowed a bit more freedom, it allows you and her to differentiate the type of walk she's having.

If you do decide to try a muzzle again at some point, please do use a basket style. The fabric muzzles are IMHO not at all suitable for use during exercise and despite what the packaging says, don't allow a dog to pant properly.
My lurcher had to try a few different sizes until we got one that didn't iritate his face. The difference in fit was minute, but made a world of difference. Apologies if I'm preaching to the already knowledgeable, but I'd rather make a point twice than miss the obvious

Hopefully she'll grow out of the behaviour and you can both enjoy your walks stress free

M x

joansgirl

I used a muzzle on my last dog for exactly the same reason and also found the basket ones best. The other fabric ones didn't stop him scavenging. I think I mentioned in a previous post that he hated them with a vengeance and I ended up just keeping him on an extending lead. I'm not using a harness at the moment but will maybe think about it when she's fully grown. She doesn't pull on the extending lead like the last dog did and isn't bothered at all by being kept on it. She's now taking more notice of "LEAVE" and "NO" but is still reluctant with "DROP IT". She'll learn. The advantage with the lead is that I can keep her out of the water which is another problem we encounter as the vet couldn't rule this out as the cause of her stomach upset. There's a lake and a canal nearby that she was constantly in and out of and they're not the cleanest places for a puppy to go.

The tummy's much better, poo's back to normal and she's back to being full on!:rotfl:

mtbbuxton

Glad to hear she's doing well. The reason I mentioned using a harness wasn't necessarily in case of pulling, but to provide a different "feel" when she's allowed to explore a bit more. My whippet knows when she's on a lead attached to her collar that she can't get as far as when it's on her harness. In her case it means she doesn't bother trying to chase the squirrels as she knows she won't get near them :rotfl:My lurcher, however, seems to lose the ability to steer unless attached via his collar, but luckily he has zero prey drive and is safe offlead almost anywhere.
Mine won't entertain getting wet, so that's not an issue for me

M x

joansgirl

We've just got back from a fairly long walk, encountering all the hazards along the way and she's been excellent! She's even been taking notice of "drop it". She stayed on the lead along the canal as the water is just too much of a temptation but by the time we were heading homewards she had picked up a stick. She was so pre-occupied with it that she didn't take any notice of anything else. Diversionary tactics then. As she was being so good I let her off lead and she was fine. She put the stick down a couple of times to sniff (one time it was another dogs poo and she nearly fainted from the smell!) and I didn't correct her until she tried to pick anything up. She immediately stopped what she was doing and picked the stick up and carried on walking. I've also been encouraging her to not get too far ahead by stepping behind a tree or bush so that when she looks round (as she does, all the time) she can't see me. She then retraces her steps to find me and when she does that she gets a reward. So hopefully, with all these tactics in place, I will be able to teach her to leave things alone. She learns extremely quickly and being a Lab the reward system works really well. I've kept the stick she was carrying and will encourage her to take it on every walk. I know there is a belief that a dog needs a job so her job will be to carry a stick. I'm very pleased with her and feel like we've achieved something.

Artytarty

Well done! It sounds like you are putting loads of effort in and are now reaping the rewards.
My two year old collie lab x was a dreadful guzzler of random objects. She had a serious op last year o remove a piece of tennis ball and inside they also found a children in need rubber wrist bracelet she must have eaten on another walk! grrr! She seems to age grown out of it now or at least if she tries, I can get her to drop.