It is moving day for my 8 week old puppies and, wouldn't you know it, one became ill last night. I noticed that this puppy was a little lethargic on Sunday afternoon, but he was eating well, pushing his smaller litter mates out of the way to get his share (and maybe a little more). I did not notice anything wrong with him again until last night. At 7pm he was fine and ate his dinner, but at 11:30 pm he would not get up to go outside with the other puppies and did not eat. He was wobbly on his legs. There was no diarrhea or vomiting anywhere in the puppy areas. Temperature was 104.8. I took him to the vet on call, who could not localize any cause of the fever, Lyme test was negative. Treated symptoms with anti-inflammatory, started on broad spectrum antibiotic, and gave subcutaneous fluids to reduce to temperature. I isolated him from the other dogs. This morning his temperature is 103.7, and he is more alert, even ate a little. However, he is sometimes crying in pain when I pick him up. I can't replicate the situation reliably. Sometimes he cries and sometimes he doesn't, but as far as I can tell the pain seems to be in the chest region. He has peed lots, thanks to the subcutaneous fluids, but has not pooped. The other puppies are fine. They have had human visitors, but no contact with other dogs except an occasional visit through the ex pen. They have been weaned for about a week. They have been outside a lot in my front lawn, away from the adult dogs. The vet rules out poisoning because there are no gastrointestinal symptoms. I have a vet appointment for this afternoon. Any suggestions as to what we should consider are welcome.

I'm sorry to hear about your pup. Any chance he ate something that's not passing? Good luck & I hope he's 100% very soon!

I asked the vet that. she thought that the absence of gastrointestinal distress and high fever didn't indicate an obstruction.

Bug bite maybe???

That has occurred to me, too, since I saw the vet, so I didn't ask her about it. I'll certainly mention it this afternoon.

Hate to even mention the word, but Strangles comes to mind. This is exactly how the first of my puppies to get it presented(at 7 1/2 weeks). She was fine one minute and the next lethargic with eyes running and squinty. Fever too. Hope this isn't what your poor guy has. It's horrible.

Could it be a reaction to injections

HOD?

HOD is where my money is too.

Not sure how long swelling takes to come on with HOD but check his joints.

Praying they figure this out and your pup will be okay.

Never had a case of strangles - would a pup with strangles cry out in pain when picked up?

Back from the vet. The puppy responded to his second anti-inflammatory shot, and temperature is now 101.3. He is much more chipper, although still not normal. He is now standing and moving about. The vet's opinion is that this is a viral infection that should clear up on its own. He does not know whether the other pups will get it or not. I am to continue to give anti-inflammatories when necessary to keep the temperature down and to treat with Clavamox to head off any secondary infections.

Per strangles- there has been no discharge from the eyes. And he has not yet had any injections because he just turned 8 weeks today, and my vet doesn't give injections until that age. I have an appointment for shots on Friday and will see how things go with the rest of the litter before keeping it. HOD is not even close. The pain is not in the legs and doesn't seem to b orthopedic. This vet found that there was some congestion in the lungs. He believes that the pain is due to pressure on the lungs, which fits with what I've seen.

So he is in isolation and not too happy about it. But he seems on his way to recovery. Thanks to everyone who responded. Even if your suggestions aren't correct, I've learned some things from checking them out.

Yes, my pups cried out in pain when picked up when the strangles was in the early days. The pups had not yet had vaccines. They get especially sensitive near their heads, ears and jaw, but their bodies in general hurt too. I really hope your pup recovers quickly and it isn't strangles.

Temp is down to normal, puppy is eating and most distressed to be in a crate away from his litter mates. He has almost his normal energy level. He is no longer crying in pain when I pick him up, but is grunting a little. There definitely was some involvement of the respiratory system - he's wheezing a little. I am continuing the anti-inflammatory and Clavamox.

Morning Peggy. Hope this was a one off thing with this pup & none of the others are affected. Glad to hear he's improving quickly. Hugs!

Good news!

So glad to hear he is improving.