Hi,,I am hand-feeding a weak puppy around the clock,,even take her to work with me,,,,reason is the other litter mates grew so fast and 3 times bigger than this little female,,she wasn't able to nurse,,so got weak,,I discovered this about a week ago..she is now 14 days old. I have been H-feeding her for a week and am using Supplement dams milk,,on advice of Vet,I give her a little sugar water now and than also, but she just isn't getting strong enough nor filling out. She is growing slowly,,but not fat as she should be. Any suggestions will be very much appreciated...

-- Patsy, MT (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), June 20, 2001

Answers

Have you had the vet test her urine? some times pups have weak or bad livers and they will not grow or thrive also have her heart listened to. I have hand fed alot of pups sadley a few never grow well and end up haveing murmurs or liver damage.Nature has a way of weeding out the weak ,so save your self the time and sadnest and have her checked. I used a powder mix for pups kinda like baby formula,and remember you may need to stimulate her so she will go to the bathroom.

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), June 20, 2001.

Renee is correct have the heart checked now ! I would put her on mom alone when you are home , seperate her from the other pups .They will not grow great on replacement formula .Mom is the best .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), June 20, 2001.

There's a problem called fading puppy syndrom which kicks in at about 1-2 weeks. It is, as best as I can understand, a combination of lack of nutrition and failure to thrive, causing the puppy to lose ground quickly. Definitely have the heart checked, could easily be a defect there. Give her a little yogurt (the real stuff) or lactobacillus powder with the formula to get the gut working properly. I'm assuming you know to "potty" the puppy when you feed, stimulating the bladder and bowels. You probably really do need to seek a vet at this point, to be sure the puppy warrants the heroic measures. I've fostered alot of pups over the years, and helped others do so. Very few make it if it's something more than just being the smallest and being forced off the mom.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), June 20, 2001.

Hey Patsy,

I sometimes had to suplement the smaller pups. I will save even the smallest runt of the litter. Was it a large litter? What I do is take away all the others for a couple hours from the start, and let the smallest ones nurse in peace. Moma don't like that and wants them all back, but be firm and let her nurse just the tiny ones alone. I have fed them myselves with a surgical glove finger and baby formula. But that is not as safe as Moma. The gulp and breath in the milk and you might loose them. If the pup does, hold it between your hands (like your praying), index finger holding each side of mouth open, and swing the head downward thru your legs. The centrifical force will bring the liquid out of the lungs and nose. I have saved some I thought for sure wouldn't make it like this.

The pup can have oatmeal and milk, thick, at 3 weeks, so you are almost there! At 3 1/2 weeks you can soak puppy food for it and then add milk to soften more.

-- Cindy in KY (solid_rock_ranch@yahoo.com), June 20, 2001.

Hello, the best thing we used when out female died and left us with 12 puppies is pig starter, it worked well. And a quick question as crazy as it may sound, but it is going to the bath room properly? If not you have to remeber that a female dogs lick there babys bottoms to sitimulate them. So I recommend if the puppy isn't use a wet cloth across the bum! Good Luck!

-- Sheri Landgraf (sheriann@telusplanet.net), June 22, 2001.