25. A 2-month-old Maltese has diarrhoea

April 20, 2016

4 days ago, the breeder brought this smaller than normal sized Maltese, amongst others, to me for a 2nd vaccination. This puppy cried loudly after my subcutaneous vaccination above the neck and had objected to the dam cleaning her up. Today, at 9.30 am, he appeared suddenly with this puppy in a crate.

"It is a vaccine reaction," the 80-year-old breeder had seen various vets throughout the years and noted that particularly small-sized Malteses and Chihuahuas do not take vaccination well. Some die a few days after vaccination. I did have such a case in another breeder some years ago when I was vaccinating puppies of another dog breeder in Singapore.

"The gums are normal," I examined the puppy. "However he cries when I put the stethoscope on both sides of his chest. He could have been laid upon by the dam. His diarrhea could be due to the stress of traumatic injury or picking up some infection."

"It is not possible for his dam to lay down on him," the breeder denied. "He might have been disturbed by my young Myanmar assistant who likes to tease the puppies by pinching them."

This "mini-Maltese" is a runt. A confirmed buyer was to take him home today. He had been weaned by eating the dam's food but was still suckling.
 

I prescribed an electrolyte package and asked him to give a ml or two every one hour in addition to the Nutripet paste prescribed by Dr Daniel for his other dogs.

The breeder had given Scourban antibiotic yesterday and the puppy had passed more solid stools. However, he had lost appetite for the past 2 days and the breeder predicted to me now, "No hope, no
hope for this one,"

At 9 pm, I phoned him from Queen's Veterinary Surgery as I was closing for the long day.  "He is well now. I gave him roast meat this evening and he greedily ate them."

"We learn every day," the breeder concluded.
"Yes," I said. "Every day, new things happen."  His prediction of another death from a vet's vaccination of a runt was not correct as each case varies and he had been instructed to take care of this sick puppy every hour and keep him in a warm place.