my dog is constipated
 

hi, i'm a new member who has a 7 week old shih-tzu named digby. he is constipated and his vet appointment is not untill next week for his first lot of needles. if anyone knows of anyway i can help him untill his vet visit , please let me know. thank-you for your time and information.

A little pumpkin (pure pack, not spiced-and-sugared pie filling) should help short-term. He's small so I'd start him out with maybe half a teaspoon. Pumpkin has lots of fiber in it to get him 'going' again and most dogs seem to like the taste.

Long-term, you might want to find a food that suits his tummy better. What are you feeding him now?

ETA: He's not vomiting as well, is he? Does he seem lethargic? And is he drinking water?

thanks for the information, no he is not vomiting and i am feeding him PURINA BENEFUL, healthy growth for puppies. it says perfectly balanced for puppies but if you have a better food idea, please let me know. thanks again

he is also drinking water and he doesn't seem lethargic. we are also giving him some diluted milk

Anything made by Purina is not so good. If you do some reading in the nutrition section - you should be able to get some really good ideas for some foods that will be available in your area.

Beneful - full of corn. Avoid anything that you can buy at your local grocery store is one good rule of thumb. You should find a specialty pet supply store (they will not sell pets for the most part, just supplies) and get some advice from somebody who seems knowledgeable. But go there armed with lots of reading from the food and nutrition board here. I won't recommend anything myself as I no longer have a puppy so my foods are large breed adult oriented. Good luck with your puppy, and if the pumpkin doesn't help I would certainly not be waiting a week to get him to a vet. Would you like to be plugged up for over a week??

IMO Beneful isn't any better than the cheapest store brand you can find - it just has a prettier package. It also has stool hardners in it which could be part of the problem.

Are you sure the pup was fully weaned? I am just wondering if the pup is actually younger than 7 weeks (which is too young to be gone from mom & littermates yet anyway). I would agree that the pup needs to see a vet before next week if he doesn't start pooping quickly - and if he's not healthy then he should not be getting vaccinations. They could seriously aggravate any problem that he may have.