[Mochi_Babi]

Hi Everyone! Hope all of you had a good weekend

I thought I would turn to all of you for some advice to hopefully ease my paranoia. I took Mochi on Thursday to the vet for his 3rd set of shots. At the vet when they weighed him, he weighs pretty much exactly the same as he did at the 2nd set of shots 3 weeks earlier. I am wondering if this is normal for a puppy in any way? He is currently almost 14 weeks old and still at 2.3 lbs. He eats 3 meals a day and consumes most of the amount usually and he gets a couple of Wellness treats 2x a day. I am feeding him puppy Wellness canned food mixed with some shredded boiled chicken breast.

The vet said it might be worms which was why he had asked me to bring a bag of Mochi's poop to the office to do a fecal exam. I called back on Saturday to ask for the results only to find out they misplaced his poop :smilie_tischkante:
Since the office is closed on Sunday, I won't be able to bring it in till tomorrow Monday and receive the results Tuesday late afternoon.


SM please advise!

 

[aprilb]

• While it would be nice to see him gain some weight, at least he has not lost any. It sounds like he is eating well and he is getting a very good diet. Is he skinny? it is a good idea to test him for worms but he may not have them. It may be that he will be a small Maltese. I got one of my girls at 6 months, and she was only 3.8 lbs at the time. She will be a year old on Aug. 1st and is 4lbs. She is solid and "meaty", but small. If I do the math, this is roughly 1 ounce per month or less. Try not to worry. I bet your little Mochi will be just fine. :wub:

 

[Sandcastles]

I agree with April.

Lucy is not a big eater by any means - she's tiny, yet very strong - and very light on the scale.

I wouldn't fret over it - if indeed it is worms, I believe that they are easily treated.

Best of luck,

Allie

 

[Sandcastles]

double post, sorry

 

[edelweiss]

I hope w/you it is just worms---keeping fingers crossed!
I would be concerned if it were my dog however. I think even a slow but steady weight gain at this age is important considering he is eating that well. Kitzi gains on an almost consistent basis---although puppies differ--I think they should show gain. An older dog is something else (after 6-8 months when growth starts to ebb). Did the vet do a CBC? That would show any problems after she has done the stool culture.
Keep us posted!

 

[Ladysmom]

How old is he now? If he is 16 weeks, I would have your vet do a bile acids test if your breeder didn't already have one done. Failure to gain weight can be a symptom of a liver shunt so it should be ruled out.

 

[Cosy]

Actually, his weight sounds pretty average for a 14 wk old pup. I'm not sure that his diet is helping though. I would ditch the canned food for a good kibble and the chicken or go to complete homecooking with supplements.

 

[Matilda's mommy]

Actually, his weight sounds pretty average for a 14 wk old pup. I'm not sure that his diet is helping though. I would ditch the canned food for a good kibble and the chicken or go to complete homecooking with supplements.

:goodpost:

 

[MaryH]

Actually, his weight sounds pretty average for a 14 wk old pup. I'm not sure that his diet is helping though. I would ditch the canned food for a good kibble and the chicken or go to complete homecooking with supplements.

I agree. And at this age with tiny dogs who are measured in ounces rather than pounds, there may well have been weight gain. Vet scales are notorious for inaccurate/variable weight, he may have eaten just before his last vet vs. not yet have eaten at this most recent visit, etc. If I want a really accurate weight on a puppy I weigh in grams on my digital kitchen scale. As they get older I weigh them on my own digital scale, first by weighing myself, then putting the dog in my arms and weighing again.

 

[Mochi_Babi]

Thanks everyone for the great advice!

I do try to feed him Wellness dry kibble when I can by hiding some in the wet food but he is sneaky and leaves them in the bowl usually :angry: When I had informed the breeder of his unwillingness to eat dry kibble, she said he didn't have a problem with the Purina puppy chow before I took him home. She recommended to put boiled chicken breast mixed with his food until he gets a little bit bigger so that's what I've been doing for almost the last month.

I hope it's nothing serious with him health-wise and I'm just being a worrywart :blush:

 

[kathym]

Hope all the advise helped ..The thing that bothers me is that they lost his poop at the Vets ..Same thing happened to me Baci was being treated for intestinal problem except he had worms and his than Vets office lost his poop.As soon as they dewormed him he was fine however i did not trust his office after that so i switched Vets..Kathy

 

[diesel]

I agree. And at this age with tiny dogs who are measured in ounces rather than pounds, there may well have been weight gain. Vet scales are notorious for inaccurate/variable weight, he may have eaten just before his last vet vs. not yet have eaten at this most recent visit, etc. If I want a really accurate weight on a puppy I weigh in grams on my digital kitchen scale. As they get older I weigh them on my own digital scale, first by weighing myself, then putting the dog in my arms and weighing again.

:goodpost:

My vet was always sure to mention that their weight may be off on the days when my puppy was extremely wiggly. One time I went in for a health certificate and they weighed him before the exam and again after the exam because his weight seemed off. There was almost a whole pound difference between the two because Diesel was just wiggling too much!:smilie_tischkante:

BTW, I now schedule all their vet appointments around their usual nap times, or tire them out before going to the vet. It's just easier on all of us.