# 6 week old puppie



## Dutchess0705

Hello, 2 days ago I got a new GSP. She is only 6 weeks old which is fairly young. This is the first GS I've ever had and her being so young I'm unsure what to feed her. So far I've been giving her pedigree with warm water to have it a little soggy. Shes been getting diarrhea and I'm not sure if it's because of the soggy food? Should I be feeding her something else? Any advice will be highly appreciated


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## msvette2u

You could be feeding her too much.
Pedigree is made from primarily corn.
What stores are available to you that you can seek dog food at? Do you have Costco? A pet store? Feed stores?


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## BlackGSD

What was she eating before you got her?


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## CeCe

You're right-6 weeks is too young to be taken away from her mom. But now that she is with you I think it's great that you're mixing her food with warm water to soften it up. Pedigree isn't the greatest food. You can search "dog food" on this forum to come up with some suggestions. Her diarrhea could be from a lot of different issues young puppies have-worms, and other bacteria. Please schedule a check up with a vet as soon as possible.


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## Dutchess0705

MsVette2U:
I'm surrounded by many pet stores. Petco, petsmart, etc. 
I don't think I have fed her too much because I give her very minimal portions. What would you recommend I feed her?


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## selzer

Call your breeder and ask them what they are feeding the puppies and go and get a bag. Ask the breeder to recommend an amount. 

Yes six weeks is young, but it is old enough to be weaned. Pedigree is not really great food. There are lots of threads on puppy foods, but you should feed whatever your breeder had the puppy on, and then switch her slowly, over the course of several days to whatever you want to feed. 

Diarrhea can be very dangerous in young puppies. Have you taken the puppy to the vet yet? Did the breeder give her the first set of shots? Either way, do not take the pup to the pet store. Too dangerous at this point, she can catch anything whether she has had a set of shots or not. 

Make sure your pup is not getting dehydrated. Usually when you press the gum and it will push the color from pink to white, but it should recover right away. Do NOT feed the puppy cow's milk it will make things worse not better. What you can do, is boil some chicken and make some brown rice, remove the bones and feed her the chicken and brown rice four times a day in small amounts until he stool improves. Then slowly put her onto whatever type of dog food you want to use. 

Welcome to the board.


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## Dutchess0705

BlackGSD said:


> What was she eating before you got her?


She was eating the same thing. That is why I continued to feed her that but I'm unsure if that is what is causing the diarrhea?


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## selzer

Six weeks is not too young to be taken from the mom. However it is better for puppies to be with their litter until 7 or 8 weeks. 8 weeks is law in many places. But a lot of people feel seven weeks is the ideal time for them to go to their new homes. I raised a puppy from just under six weeks and she was fine, did not need to learn bite inhibition or doggy manners that the litter should do. It used to be normal for people to get their pups at six weeks, and you should be fine.


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## BowWowMeow

Has she had any vaccinations yet? 

How bad is the diarrhea?


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## selzer

Could be. Could be too much food. Could be worms. 

Most puppies have worms. Did your breeder tell you when she last wormed them and with what? When you take her to the vet, tomorrow, take a stool sample. If it is completely runny that might not work well.


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## msvette2u

Dutchess0705 said:


> MsVette2U:
> I'm surrounded by many pet stores. Petco, petsmart, etc.
> I don't think I have fed her too much because I give her very minimal portions. What would you recommend I feed her?


Well I like Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold to name a few, but also use Kirkland (from Costco) puppy food, or Diamond Naturals food. 
Almost anything without corn, wheat, soy and byproducts is better than Pedigree.
I'm using Merrick for a senior pooch here (we have a rescue) and it's good too.


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## Emoore

Could be worms or giardia. She needs to get to the vet.


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## Dutchess0705

BowWowMeow said:


> Has she had any vaccinations yet?
> 
> How bad is the diarrhea?


She has not had her vaccinations yet due to the fact that it's only been 2 days. When I seen it today in the morning it looked very liquidy. When I seen it in the evening it looked like it was more hard but still sort of soft. She also seemed constipated. I will be taking her within the next week to the vet to get her shots.


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## Dutchess0705

msvette2u said:


> Well I like Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold to name a few, but also use Kirkland (from Costco) puppy food, or Diamond Naturals food.
> Almost anything without corn, wheat, soy and byproducts is better than Pedigree.
> I'm using Merrick for a senior pooch here (we have a rescue) and it's good too.


Thank you. I will be looking into getting her a different type of dog food. Do you recommend boiled chicken? I heard that could be good, but again I'm unsure.


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## Dutchess0705

selzer said:


> Could be. Could be too much food. Could be worms.
> 
> Most puppies have worms. Did your breeder tell you when she last wormed them and with what? When you take her to the vet, tomorrow, take a stool sample. If it is completely runny that might not work well.


Unfortunately I did not get her from a breeder. My friends GS had the puppies and didn't want them do that is how I got mine. She was feeding them the pedigree with water so that is why I continued to give her that.


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## rgollar

First thing I would do is get the puppy checked at the vets to rule out any worms or parasites. Then I would search dog food on this site as there is tons of opinions. Good luck with your puppy and show us some pictures.


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## msvette2u

Yes I agree, get her wormed first, and a vaccine on board.
Where are you located?


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## Dutchess0705

msvette2u said:


> Yes I agree, get her wormed first, and a vaccine on board.
> Where are you located?


I'm located in southern California in the San Fernando Valley. I will be going to a vet I've took all my dogs in the past. I'm only 18 but my family had had quite a few dogs


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## selzer

Your friend is the breeder. Call and ask if she wormed the puppies and with what. This is important. Just about ALL puppies have worms, usually round worms, which can be quite dangerous if you have children. A little wormer takes care of them, no big deal. But it is better to know if she has used anything or not. 

Pups should have been wormed between 2-4 weeks, and every two weeks after that. When they go to their new homes, they can be wormed monthly until puppy shots are done. Minimum a stool sample and check for them, if you don't want to do wormer.

Strongid takes out most worms. Panacur or Drontal will nail the rest I think. There is also Coccidia which can be the problem with the loose stool. This is a single cell parasite that can be eliminated by Albon. So if she has wormed them with anything, that might be a starting place for your vet. 

I would definitely check for Coccidia, round worms, and hook worms (these can be hard to find due to the fact that they do not always shed eggs). 

If your pup has Coccidia or has worms, it is best to take care of them first, and then get the shots. So, I would not wait until next week, I would get the pup to the vet now and determine what you have going on. If she did not worm at all, then your puppy has worms, and those little boogers are probably making her sick. And coccidia is often a problem in puppies. And then there is caronavirus that could be causing a loose stool.

Yes, it could be over-feeding, but it can be both too. Try to get your puppy to the vet tomorrow.


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## Dutchess0705

This is Dutchess


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## Dutchess0705

selzer said:


> Your friend is the breeder. Call and ask if she wormed the puppies and with what. This is important. Just about ALL puppies have worms, usually round worms, which can be quite dangerous if you have children. A little wormer takes care of them, no big deal. But it is better to know if she has used anything or not.
> 
> Pups should have been wormed between 2-4 weeks, and every two weeks after that. When they go to their new homes, they can be wormed monthly until puppy shots are done. Minimum a stool sample and check for them, if you don't want to do wormer.
> 
> Strongid takes out most worms. Panacur or Drontal will nail the rest I think. There is also Coccidia which can be the problem with the loose stool. This is a single cell parasite that can be eliminated by Albon. So if she has wormed them with anything, that might be a starting place for your vet.
> 
> I would definitely check for Coccidia, round worms, and hook worms (these can be hard to find due to the fact that they do not always shed eggs).
> 
> If your pup has Coccidia or has worms, it is best to take care of them first, and then get the shots. So, I would not wait until next week, I would get the pup to the vet now and determine what you have going on. If she did not worm at all, then your puppy has worms, and those little boogers are probably making her sick. And coccidia is often a problem in puppies. And then there is caronavirus that could be causing a loose stool.
> 
> Yes, it could be over-feeding, but it can be both too. Try to get your puppy to the vet tomorrow.



thank you
i will check into that.


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## selzer

Let us know how it goes. She is a cute puppy.


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## msvette2u

She is very cute. Congratulations on your new puppy


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## Dutchess0705

rgollar said:


> First thing I would do is get the puppy checked at the vets to rule out any worms or parasites. Then I would search dog food on this site as there is tons of opinions. Good luck with your puppy and show us some pictures.


Thank you. I will be taking her to vet very soon
i posted pictures as well.


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## OriginalWacky

She is absolutely darling! Welcome to the wonderful world of GSD ownership! Once the vet can get the worms taken care of, and you settle on a good food (some suggestions were given that are very good), you're going to have a blast with your new little darling!


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## vietguy357

In my opinion, I like the blue buffalo puppy food. I feed Leo (7wks) about 2.5 cups per day. 1 cup @ 8am, .5 @ 1pm, 1 cup @ 7pm. Remember to slowly transition the food. Mix a little of the new food with the old food and slowly increase the new food amount until she is eating just the new food. 

As for the diarrhea, I would think it is worms. Leo had it and since his deworming his stool has return to normal.


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## 1337f0x

hiii 6 weeks is pretty young. the soggy food idea is great for the pup - i don't like pedigree though, way too corn based. I like Blue Buffalo puppy food. You can sog that up too for your new puppy. because she's so young though, I'd advise giving her puppy milk - pet stores sell this, it's p much goats milk for your pup to get all the nutrients it's missing from spending more time with their mom. I'm not a pro though, it's just what I hear is a good idea for younger pups.

also on the diarrhea comment - simba had that til his deworming also.

PS. I love your puppy's face by the way, my gosh. I want to hug it. so cute.


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## rickve1215

*Just picked up 6 wk GS puppy*

Picked up our GS puppy 6 weeks old this afternoon. First couple of poops were diarrhea and we noticed couple of abrasions on inner rear leg. Should we take her back quick?


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