Puppy Depression? and allergies?

EnzosMom · Nov 6, 2016

Hello everyone! I am new here, and a new frenchie owner. Enzo is 13 weeks old. We brought him home a week ago, and he seemed strangely calm to me. He doesn't play really. The very next day he showed signs of an eye infection. Took him to the vet and now he's on meds for conjunctivitis and tonsilitis. His symptoms do get worse when he is out in the grass, so I'm pretty sure there are also allergies involved. He's been on the meds for 5 days- no more discharge from his eyes but they still swell, his nose is runny and congested nose. He is still tired and does not play at all.

Is this normal?? He came from a registered home breeder and had littermates. He likes to snuggle and is sweet but doesn't act like a puppy at all. The vet also noticed how calm he was and listened to his heart. Today he didn't eat his breakfast. I don't know what to do. Called the breeder this morning but haven't heard back. Any advice? Is there an effective allergy medication for dogs?

Honeys Owners · Nov 6, 2016

I think Enzo must have a strep throat type infection, which dogs can get. Enzo should be feeling better from the antibiotic after a couple of days, although you still need to continue the oral antibiotic for 10 days, and eye drops for 7 days, so just keep an eye that he doesn't get worse. I woudn't give Enzo antihistamines till he's about 16 weeks old, then you can give him 1mg/kg diphenhydramine 2-3 times a day, or cetirizine 5mg once daily, or chlorpheniramine 2mg twice daily, if you still think he has environmental allergies. It's good to rotate the antihistamines every so often to avoid tolerance.

davidh · Nov 7, 2016

Hope your pups gets to feeling better soon. It's not normal for them not wanting to play, but if they don't feel well, they just want to sleep. Sounds like the breeder is not a reputable breeder, which makes me furious. I hope your pup gets better very soon. Watch him closely, if he gets worse and the discharge from his nose gets worse, you may need another antibiotic, as there is a very bad bug out there now. One of our friends lost their beautiful grand champion bulldog to this stuff.

2bullymama · Nov 10, 2016

EnzosMom said:
Hello everyone! I am new here, and a new frenchie owner. Enzo is 13 weeks old. We brought him home a week ago, and he seemed strangely calm to me. He doesn't play really. The very next day he showed signs of an eye infection. Took him to the vet and now he's on meds for conjunctivitis and tonsilitis. His symptoms do get worse when he is out in the grass, so I'm pretty sure there are also allergies involved. He's been on the meds for 5 days- no more discharge from his eyes but they still swell, his nose is runny and congested nose. He is still tired and does not play at all.

Is this normal?? He came from a registered home breeder and had littermates. He likes to snuggle and is sweet but doesn't act like a puppy at all. The vet also noticed how calm he was and listened to his heart. Today he didn't eat his breakfast. I don't know what to do. Called the breeder this morning but haven't heard back. Any advice? Is there an effective allergy medication for dogs?

How is Enzo doing?

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EnzosMom · Nov 10, 2016

Thanks for that info! I took him back to the vet for a recheck. His eyes were no better yet, but tonsils and throat are better. The doc did a tear test and apparently his lachrymal glands and now underproducing tears, which is causing the continued inflammation so he is now on 3 different drops. After another recheck in a week we will know if his glands are functioning normal again. If not, he will have to stay on drops from what I was told. They are not cheap- it's called Tacrolimus. But at least he's feeling much better and acting like a puppy! If anyone knows a site I can purchase Tacrolimus cheaper than my vet's office I'd appreciate the info! In the event he still needs it.

2bullymama · Nov 10, 2016

If human grade.. try local pharmacy for pricing

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Honeys Owners · Nov 11, 2016

I haven't heard of tacrolimus eye drops for humans, but I have heard that cyclosporin eye drops are commercially produced for human use. You should ask any pharmacy price of cyclosporin eye drops, and then ask vet how much it would cost to get cyclosporin eye drops from them. I bet the vet wil agree that cyclosporin will work almost as well as the tacrolimus, since these are all drugs developed to fight rejection after a transplant.