Does our pound puppy have puppy fading syndrome?

Question

A month ago, my daughter picked a puppy from the pound--my best guess is a golden retriever/lab mix. She chose this particular puppy because she seemed so unhappy and extremely thin.

The professionals at the pound had the puppy fixed and gave her her immunization shots. They said the puppy was about 4 months old (I personally do not believe she is five months at this time, for she seems to be about 3 months to me) My daughter brought the puppy home named her Millie and tried to make it a part of her family; however, Millie continuously peed every time my daughter would talk to her and she would growl at everybody. She was absolutely unresponsive to no one except my daughter whom she would follow everywhere. It wasn't long before Millie became an outside dog mostly because of her incontinence.

Millie slowly gained weight but she was still emaciated . After living at my daughter's house for about three weeks, I brought Millie home with me because my daughter worked long hours and the dog seemed to not be doing well.

I have three dogs; one of them is a year and a half year old female chocolate lab--Josie. Millie and Josie became attracted to each other right away--Josie seems to sense Millie is a puppy and has taken a maternal role with her. Millie loves to swim and does so twice a day. She has only been here for about 1 and a half weeks but her incontinence is completely gone, she being potty trained and is successful 90 percent of the time, loves everyone and does not bark at strangers, great with kids, and most of all, she has gained a lot of weight. She is plump just like a puppy should look. Even her body shape has changed. I kid you not, her paws have grown twice the size than that of when she moved in.

I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own two eyes. Too late to make this long story short, but my question is was this fading puppy syndrome? If so, I would love any recommendations regarding any treatment or supplements. She is being fed a good dog food and fed three times a day--and loves her food.

Answer 1

Not fading puppy syndrome which occurs mostly while nursing their Mother before or just after they are weaned.

Sounds like to me that you have provided all of what this dog needed and the big paws is a growth spurt.  She will probably grow in to them. :-)

She must just love being part of you wonderful dog family.  

Answer 2

It sounds to me like she was just very scared, that would be why she peed every time you would talk to her.  Being in a shelter can make her thin, and she sounds like she wasn't happy being an outdoor dog either which is not much different than being in a shelter.  Now that she is with you and has alot of attention she is doing better.  It makes a big difference when a dog is happy, as long as she continues like this I wouldn't worry if she does start failing again take her to the vet to get checked out.  

Answer 3

perhaps she needed her "mother" dog.  so many changes in such a new life. It sounds like she just needed the comfort of the pack.  Are you going to keep her with you now? I know you said your daughter adopted her , but maybe she was meant to come to your pack though?

Answer 4

I think that usually applies to dogs less than 12 weeks old. Dogs that don't survive past 12 weeks are diagnosed with puppy fading syndrome. Since your dog has survived...I don't believe this the case. I think this was just a case of a puppy having a rough time adjusting...she may have had internal parasites that prevented her from getting all of the nutrition she needed from her food. Now that she has the constant attention she needs at a young age, of course she is going to respond well to it. She is obviously doing really well now so concentrate on keeping her healthy and strong.

Answer 5

No it would not be fadding puppy syndrome.  That only occurs when the pups are days old.  

It sound like the pup just need the right kind of care and to be able to get settled into a great home.  

If your vet now gives her a clean bill of health then just enjoy her.  She just got off to a poor start and is now catching up!

Good for you!  

Answer 6

she was probably just very depressed and scared.  at the pound she probably had very little interaction and was isolated.  now she has a pack and feels like she's in a safe place

Answer 7

Not fading puppy syndrome, she was just depressed and under socialized. It sounds like she really didn't have much attention from humans, so when your lab took her under her wing, she felt more comfortable taking her cues form another dog, and followed in Josie's footsteps.