fading puppy revisited - Page 1

I currently have a 2 week old pup that began to fade 2 days ago. The vet gave subcutaneous electrolites and B12, and I have been maintaining her with dropper feedings. She is not going down hill, but is not making a recovery.My prior good fortune at avoiding this problem has allowed me some ignorance. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Many Thanks, Jonah

No ideas but my prayers are with you.

Could the mom have possibly crushed it or fallen on it? It may have punctured lung/s, internal bleeding, etc - what did the vet say? Have they done an x-ray?

Quite possible. No x ray yet. She takes replacer and has fairly normal (puppy) stools, but seems to retain gas which I have been able to bring out by massage and stimulation. Vet says lungs and heart sound good. Her condition goes from slightly better to slightly worse and back again. Thanks, Jonah

Problems with the digestive tract? Absorption problems or sensitivity to something? Been cleaning around the area with household cleaners lately? Any possible residue of soap or dryer sheets in bedding? Environmental sensitivity. Hormones ok? Infection? Not all infections are obvious. Are not always accompanied by fever. Problems with your water that you are mixing the replacer with? Try bottled water and see if there is improvement. Never feed the formula too cold! Has to be at least body temp. Check frequently. Make sure you use the right amount of water when mixing. The gas could be from swollowing too much air when you feed her. At 2 weeks you would still bottle feed the replacer. Try a human baby bottle, newborn size, use silicone nipple for newborns and make sure the hole you cut is large enough to ensure a good flow, but not too large so that she will end up inhaling the formula. Take frequent breaks while feeding to shake bottle because some of the solids in the replacer will accumulate in the nipple and block flow, increase the swallowing of air. Get a bottle that has the valves in the top to equalize pressure inside the bottle while feeding and thus also reduce air being taken in during feeding. Gas will make the pup colicy. Can cause big discomfort and make it sick.

I had a friend who raised and showed Shelties that had this problem and it ended up being a bacterial infection. If it were my puppy, I would be inclined to take it to your vet's, even though it's probably after hours and have him check for that. Once they get it, they die pretty quickly without proper medication. Good luck and hope everything turns out good for the little squirt! Tari Jolin

DH, I had the same thought with regard to digestion/malabsorption. Until two days ago she was one of the stronger pups in the litter, gaining regularly and nursing vigorously. Thursday afternoon she was down .2oz. compared to her usual 1.5 - 2.5oz. daily gain. As she was otherwise normal and active I chose to watch and wait. By Friday morning she had lost 2oz. and was weak and feeble. I immediately began dropper feedings of premixed replacer with colostrum as she seemed unable to suck from a nipple. She has remained stable, but is not making a noticeable recovery. On the advice of my local breed warden I have begun "Nutrical" suplementation. As she appears stable I remain hopeful that I can bring her back. The question of bacterial infection or metabolic/hormonal malfunction remains open, although the rest of the litter remains perfectly healthy and strong. I thank you for your comments and welcome any more ideas that you may have. Thank You, Jonah

Jonah, any luck with the puppy? I hope she is ok.

Thanks for asking. She did not make it. She responded well to the Nutrical, perking up and gaining, but she cried a lot during the following night, and died early in the morning. I am guessing she had some internal malformation or insufficiency, as the rest have grown and flourished without incident. Thanks, Jonah

I am so very sorry to hear that. I was hoping you found some solution for her, as the same happened to one of my puppies too, about a year ago. I guess sometimes we are just helpless against the nature. I am really sorry.