Unresponsive puppy - Page 1

Hello everyone. I have a 1 day old puppy who is having some difficulties. She has slow breathing and not real responsive like her litter mates when I touch her or move her around. She is also not interested in her mothers milk. The vet is closed by me right now and would like some opinions on what to do to hopefully help this puppy through the night. Thanks...

Try some gatorade room temp. just a tiny amt in a syringe and see if she can be put to the mother to try and nurse it sounds like this is failure to survive syndrome and there may not be anything you can do. Stroke her back and try to stimulate her to suck she may die it happens sometimes no matter what you try. Is she smaller in size than the littermates? Good luck we all hate to lose one it is upsetting but happens frequently.

Thanks Alabamak9, no she is about the same size as the littermates. She is just struggling to breathe. Ive tried everything that I know, but I hate to lose a puppy, but she was the last one born. Thanks...

Hi there, sorry to hear you are having problems. The other thing that you could try is a bit of honey on her tongue, sometimes mixed with a tiny amount of brandy helps kick them along. Is she really quiet or making a lot of noise? Can you hear any fluid in her chest like perhaps her lungs are not clear? Make sure that she is very warm. Have you got anything to bottle feed her? Maybe you will have to resort to a phone call to the vet if she does not improve in the next few hours. Good luck, let us know how you go.

She may be too cold to nurse..... take her temp and if its low, get her warm...put her in your warming box and massage her to stimulate sometimes some really strong sugar water works if you don't have any dopram on hand... Be sure her lungs and nose are all clear of fluid If there is an emergency vet or a hospital that has the on call shift, they may be able to give you some direction over the phone .... Good luck, like Marlene said .. sometimes no matter what, we can't save them...

She is pretty quiet. She does feel kind of chilly in my opinion so I have her and the litter mates on a warming blanket under a fleece blanket. The problem with the vet is that I am deep in the upcountry of South Carolina, we do not have 24 hour vets like a major city. The closest to me is Charlotte which is about an hour and a half drive. I will see what happens and I will try to get her as warm as I can.

I have seen situations like this go both ways. I had a pup take 12 hrs to regulate her breathing, but she did it! Keep putting her up to her mother to keep her from getting chilled. Keep the faith, she may pull through. HUGS!

There is mucous coming out of her nose and mouth when I swing her upside down. There is a lot of fluid in her lungs as I can hear it in her...

You did the correct thing by gently holding her upside-down while applying a gentle swing. This will help clear fluids from the lungs and throat. This is an established practice at my kennel. I do this immediately after a dam has delivered, awakened, and nipped, and cleaned the puppy. Many times there is very little, if any mucus visible, but sometimes they "burp" a bit in your face. I also use this opportunity to check the top palate for proper form, as well. Best of luck. Bob-O

You likely have a cold puppy whose lungs didn't clear due to late birth. It is probably cold, hypoglycemic and needs to be immediately warmed by placing it inside your shirt against your stomache. Experienced breeders or vets often swing the puppy a bit to push our the fluids, but one must be very expert to due this. Some breathe for the puppy too, but one must be experience to do this properly. The puppy probably needs to be immediately tube fed puppy milk made from dry powder and water and warmed to body temp. A good vet will immediately do that and likely give it a sub cutaneous dose of ringers lactate which does wonders. Getting the puppies airway clear a getting him warm, getting some sugar-water in him so he is able to nurse is the key here. Best wishes.