Rottwieller Puppy with an Upset Stomach
Answered by: Kerry Hackett
Question from: Helen
Posted on: February 11, 2009

I have a four month old Rottweiller mix puppy. Yesterday late afternoon he became very quiet, didn’t want his dinner and was very lethargic. After a while he was sick ( several times...). He has had a little water this morning, but as you can imagine he is very weak. What can I do to encourage him to drink, other than water? Should I encourage him to eat? If so, what?

Without knowing the cause for his upset stomach, it is hard to offer any ideas. There can be quite a number of possibilities, for instance: does your puppy go outdoors unsupervised? If so, could he have got into the garbage or eaten something he found on the ground? Did he eat his previous meal quite quickly? What kind of food does he eat? Has his food recently changed? How long ago were his vaccinations? Has he been to the veterinarian’s lately? Is he on any medications? Was he recently wormed? Does he have a fever? How are his bowels? Any signs of diarrhea, blood or mucous? As you can see, there are many reasons a puppy can become ill. By and large, it is best to let nature take its course and allow your puppy to rest his stomach for 24 hours. If, after that period of time he still is not interested in food, it would be a good idea to take him to see his veterinarian. In the meantime, be sure to have lots of water available as repeated vomiting can lead to dehydration. In addition, you could also offer him some chicken broth, preferably homemade and with very little or no salt. You could also mix in a little powder of Marshmallow root (found at a health food shop) to soothe his stomach and calm his digestive tract. Roughly about one half teaspoon powder in one half cup of chicken broth one to two times a day may help. Once he is back on his feet, you may want to look at some literature regarding homemade diets as these can be quite beneficial to growing pups. Please see the work of Richard Pitcairn, "Natural Health for Dogs and Cats", "The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat" by Juliette de Bairacli Levy and "The Barf Diet" by Ian Billinghurst for further information and recipes.

Back to Herbs and Their Uses for Animals | Q & A Index

Copyright © 1997-2024 Otto Richter and Sons Limited. All rights reserved.