POOP! Guide for a smooth transition

A helpful guide that we suggest when taking your puppy home to ensure a smooth transition

Stress, lack of sleep, new people etc. can compromise your pup’s immune system, and unfortunately, puppy parasites can flourish. While ALL puppies are treated on a deworming schedule, pups can leave with a “clean” bill of health from the vet, only to be home for a week or two and have a parasite.

Please know that nearly all dogs / puppies have parasites. When you deworm and / or medicate you can kill all live/active parasites; however, parasites and protozoa have a plan for survival in place. They lay dormant eggs in the tissues of the host. The ONLY way these eggs can be “activated” is through stress, a compromised immune system, pregnancy (hence the puppy parasites – they are passed from mama to baby) and sickness / disease. Our job is to treat live parasites and then keep pups healthy and happy to ensure their body is not a place where dormant eggs can be activated. Unfortunately, a puppy is a preferred host since they are 80% water upon birth, grow at an incredibly fast rate and naturally have a compromised immune system.

After a lot of thought and experience, I recommend you try the following protocol to minimize the activation of dormant parasites:

1. Keep the house completely calm and stress-free for three days to a week (no new visitors, limited commotion, minimal handling, etc.). Treat them like a newborn baby coming home. When you come home or have visitors stop by, please keep all shoes at the door. Parvo can be brought inside on shoes.

2. Do not wake the “sleeping baby”. Puppies sleep an incredible amount of time. Do not worry. As long as your pup wakes up with puppy energy, silliness, eats well, drinks well then all is good!

3. Mushy poop is common with stress. You can offer them Paw Tree’s Gastro Plus or at the very least, add in a little canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, which has other ingredients), for the first three days if your pup develops loose stools. A nice bland diet is imperative during a tough transition.

4. Do not feed ANY treats (including bones, etc.) during these first few days! You don’t want to cause an upset tummy due to new food or treats. Upset tummies create a nice environment for parasites.

5. Add a good probiotic to their food. I recommend Gastro Plus by PawTree. It’s under My Recommendations in the menu.

When to worry:

1. Poop contains mucus or blood. If this happens, feed a bland diet (boiled hamburger & white rice/canned pumpkin) for 24 hours and if the condition remains after this time period, a fecal test might be in order.

2. Puppy is lethargic, does not play with some vigor and or refuses to eat.

3. Puppy cannot poop and vomits. This can indicate he or she ate something and has a blockage. This is an emergency. Seek immediate veterinary care.

4. Liquid poop. Be careful. A puppy can dehydrate quickly, so if poop does not improve quickly, then a visit to the veterinarian will be needed.

I hope this makes the transition for your puppy easier and healthier. Thank you for ensuring their safety and well-being!