SearchHealth concerns on buying a new puppy
Hi
Im new here and I am going to become a new Doberman owner again(had dobermans several years ago). I went and looked at a puppy yesterday and I have some concerns. He is the last puppy left. The couple told me they were planning on keeping him, but unfortunately cannot thus he was the last one. They said he was the biggest of the puppies and looked healthy at first. He has grown a little now (9-10 weeks), but is not putting on weight and he is now extremely skinny. This was the first thing that caught my attention. He also has diarrhea and is very runny. He was being fed canned dog food for a while which could cause. I did not think that was a good idea at such a young age. I was also informed that the mother stopped feeding the puppies after 4 week. Is this normal?; lead to any problems? The litter was very large 12-14 puppies. I found this surprising and did not know if this should be a concern or not. It just seems to me like there are a few red flags here and I just want to find out any information that I can.
Thanks so much for any help.
Dustin
First - yes momma wants to wean the puppies at around the age of four weeks because the now are getting those little needles called teeth and it hurts. They are ready to start lapping milk at this age and then the breeder starts to move them to more solid food.
I never fed any of my puppies canned food, but I do not know of any reason why this would be a concern.
Skinny - at the age of 9-10 weeks, a Doberman puppy can when standing appear skinny, but when they then sit, they should plump out. Also when they have just eaten they will have the obvious bulge.
Diarrhea can be a problem, but it can easily come on a young puppy. It should be referred to a vet immediately, unless they already have the treatment on hand. If allowed to run more than a day or so, the pup will obviously not be healthy.
Whatever you decide, if you go ahead with the transaction, as with any new pup, an immediate trip to a vet for a professional review is in order. Even with a puppy that you have no concerns this should be done.
Here is a link to a thread with an excellent photo of Jackson an 8 week old Fawn Doberman. Note that you see hints of his ribs and a slight hollow in his abdomen. This is a good looking Dobe and is probably looking for his next meal. Immediately after eating, his abdomen would be swelled outward but you would still see hints of his ribs. The ribs should no protrude.
http://www.gentledoberman.com/forums/doberman-pinscher-discussion/tell-u...
I picked him up Wednesday. He's been off the canned food for 4 or 5 days now and the diarrhea has stopped. I can already tell hes starting to put some weight on. The vet checked him out and declared him healthy.
Thanks for the information and all the help guys.
Good luck with your new pup and welcome to the forum.. What have you named him and when do we get to see him??
As per usual, I'd advise anyone looking to buy a Doberman puppy to spend a bunch of time on this resource
http://dpca.org/BreedEd/kb/index.php/articles/43-miscellaneous/362-buying-a-doberman-pinscher
It was just updated last week so all the links should now be working.
It sounds like this puppy you saw may be ill. A puppy his age should be robust, not skinny, and certainly shouldn't have diarrhea. His breeders should be taking him to the vet and getting him into good health before offering him for sale, IMO.
The age of weaning doesn't concern me. Dams will usually wean their puppies around that age, and with such a big litter, the breeders should have been supplementing them all along to help her out.