My puppy's belly is suddenly hard and bloated. What should I do?

Poor girl. She may have an overly full stomach or potentially an enlarged organ. It is really hard to say for sure without an exam. Pets this small don't get bloat, so that is not a concern. Based on her symptoms of just seeming uncomfortable, I would let her rest tonight and then if she still seems out of sorts in the morning, it is best to get her seen by your vet. The vet needs to feel her belly to try and pinpoint the source of pain and discomfort so that we best know how to treat this moving forward. She sounds uncomfortable but stable for now and so the best thing is to make her comfortable with nice soft bedding let her try and rest until morning. If she will tolerate a warm Epsoms salt soaking bath, then you can also try that. However, if she does seem to pace and develop more symptoms (vomiting, restlessness, diarrhea, etc) tonight, then its best to take her to an ER vet for further evaluation. I hope that Doba continues to improve her condition. Best of luck moving forward. Take care.

If she is acting normal otherwise than it might just be that her stomach is full from the feeding. She could also have a parasite causing her stomach to be enlarged. Have a vet take a look at her to determine if she needs treatment. She may need to be dewormed with a broad spectrum dewormer.

If your puppy is acting completely normal, then I'd have a fecal sample checked to make sure Sutty doesn't have intestinal parasites. If Sutty is acting sick in any way (lethargic, decreased appetite, vomiting, etc), then a distended abdomen is an emergency and you should go directly to the vet.

There are many conditions that could cause that, one of them is of course pregnancy but there are also very dangerous conditions such as heart failure and tumors that can cause this symptom as well. she needs to see a vet ASAP.

Awww, she’s a cutie!! If she’s still acting normally... seems comfortable, is energetic and ready to play if prompted, and hasn’t seemed nauseated or like she’s trying to vomit, I would just give her some time. She may have eaten really quickly and have some gas buildup or something of that nature. If she starts retching like she wants to vomit, or if she seems very dumpy and lethargic, take her to the vet. You can check her heart rate as well. Her heart rate at rest should not be faster than 130 beats per minute. If it is faster than that when she seems calm, take her in. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Enlarged, hard belly often results from eating too much and too quickly. In this case, the belly all of the sudden gets big, about 20-40 minutes after eating. As long as your Ziggy is comfortable, not crying and his energy level is normal you just need to monitor him at home. The mild bloat should get better in 4-6 hrs time. Chronic abdominal distention in puppies in most cases is related to gastrointestinal worms. If Ziggy has not been de-wormed yet, please do it as soon as possible. You can buy worming medications at the vets but also in pet shops and online - you can get them over-the-counter.

8 week old puppies, even large breed ones, have pretty tiny stomachs, and they also have poor abdominal musculature development at this stage. Those 2 factors can cause you to really be able to see their abdomen bulging when the stomach is full or water or food. So that might be one reason you're seeing this. The other reason could be that Mishka has intestinal parasites. They are very common in young puppies, so if she hasn't been dewormed, this should be done, at least twice (3 - 4 weeks apart). It's also a good idea to have your vet check a stool sample. You can buy dewormer over the counter in most pet stores; follow the directions on the package.