My 4-month-old puppy won't pee/poop and can't walk right. Help!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If she is having difficulty urinating, I would recommend having her examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I would recommend having her urine tested and abdominal x-rays taken. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

This sounds serious and Blue needs to be seen by the veterinarian today. Losing function in the limbs is not normal and can indicate a serious infection, injury to the spinal cord, ingestion of drugs, medication or poisons, or tick paralysis. The veterinarian will start with a physical exam and will likely need some diagnostics. Best of luck.

This sounds like he may be having a seizure. He’s tiny and young so this could be from hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar. I would rub honey into his gums and try to feed a small amount of canned food if he’ll eat. This can become life threatening so a veterinary exam is recommended. With tiny, young puppies such as Meatball I recommend feeding small meals four to six times daily. Once he’s bigger hypoglycemia is less of a problem. Seizures can become severe and lead to a coma or death so use honey or syrup right away to see if it gets him back to normal. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Meatball.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If Peach is unable to walk, she may have either a neurologic disease (such as intervertebral disc disease or a polyneuropathy) or a musculoskeletal disease (polymyopathy, arthritis, etc) that is preventing her from wanting to stand or walk. It is not normal for dogs to not urinate at least daily. Some dogs can go a day or two without defecating, but urination should happen multiple times a day. Lack of urination can be caused by or even due to kidney disease, which can rapidly become fatal if a dog does not pass urine. I do not know of her exact clinical status, but if Peach is unable to stand or walk for weeks now, and has been lethargic and not urinating/defecating, you may have to consider her quality of life. Meaning, do you believe that Peach is enjoying each day as she should. If not, is it time to consider something like humane euthanasia. I hope this is helpful.

Sorry to hear that Stinky isn't feeling so great. The symptoms you are describing could be an indication of many different problems, or even multiple problems at once. If there is a primary gastrointestinal issue, it could be due to an infection, an inflammatory / immune mediated process, indigestion, hepatic / renal disease, parasites, or even a cancerous process ( not very likely or common in a puppy ). If there is a primary orthopedic issue, the most common thing to consider in a puppy would be a traumatic injury. Other causes of lameness can be infectious / inflammatory disease, congenital issues, and cancerous processes. Certain tick borne disease ( lyme disease in particular ) can cause both of the symptoms you are describing. Considering you live in an area of California high in ticks carrying this disease, this would be pretty high on my list of possible differentials. If Stinky is not currently protected against fleas and ticks, I would definitely get him on something. Get him to the vet when they are open tomorrow and see if they can help you figure things out. Hope this helps!

This could have various reasons : your dog has severe arthritis of the hips, defecating (squatting and pressing) hurts, so she does not go. This in turn makes constipation and then when she wants to go it hurts so much she collapses or it presses on a vital nerve that enervates the rear legs. You will need to add fiberr to your dog's feed (canned pumpkin, not the pie filling0 and you will need to take him to your vet for an exam of his hips and possible prescription NSAIDs. Also go for regular walks with your dog, which helps loosen the feces.

If he is so painful that he is unwilling or unable to walk he really must be seen by a vet for urgent pain relief and full diagnosis of the injury. Please arrange a vet visit for assessment as soon as possible to ease his discomfort and prevent any further complications