Help with a puppy that isn't thriving - Page 1

I help foster for a rescue and I took on a litter of pups that were 6 days old. We have one litter girl out there who hasn't been able to latch on to mama or a nipple so we have been feeding her homemade formula which is goat milk, yogurt, and karo syrup (since she won't eat milk replacer). Anyway, she is about 4 weeks old now and she is about 1/3 the size of her litter mates. We have taken her to the vet and she doesn't appear to have anything wrong with her. She has been doing rather well until recently. She got a little formula in her nose so she has been sneezing but she is on antibiotics for that. That issue seems to be getting better but she seems lethargic. I gave her a little raw hamburger yesterday which seemed to perk her right up so I thought maybe she just needs more food than she can get with the homemade formula. She is lethargic again and won't eat the hamburger. Her development seems to be about a week behind her litter mates. She is gaining an ounce a day (she is a toy breed dog) and her temp is normal. Other than her being lethargic she seems to be doing well. She does better in the morning than in the evening. She doesn't seem to want the formula anymore. Does anyone out there have suggestions on how to feed her? We were thinking about grinding up some puppy food and putting it in the formula and feeding it with a syringe because she won't lap or eat on her own yet. Any suggestions would be welcome!!

Is she (could she be) a pituitary dwarf?  Might not thrive if that is the case. 

At 4 weeks she should be eating regular food in addition to the formula.  Assume she is pooping and peeing fine? Assume that she is being kept warm (normal temperature suggests she is)?  Is she drinking water (at 4 weeks she should be).  Dehydration can make a dog lethargic.

I have fed young, weak, kittens with a syringe and French catheter.  You have to get the right size from your vet and be careful to insure the end goes into the stomach and not into a lung.. but when you learn how to do this it is an excellent way to get fluids and food in an animal. 

In the end, she may not make it and that may be nature's design for her. 

 Nature may be trying to tell you something. It,s hard but you can,t save them.

Does she have parasites? Have the vet check her stool. Since she was weaker than the others, she could have gotten a large parasite load developing. Make sure she is eating small meals every few hours because small breed puppies sugar level drops fast. Might want to have her insulin levels check by the vet also.

At 4 weeks old she should have access water all the time to drink & eating more solid foods. Try high quality puppy food mixed with formula in a mushy consistency. Can add a little hamburger to entice her to eat more.

Adding a little bit of fresh organic honey on the puppies tongue when they are refusing food / lethargic can really help to boost them up.

If she is kept separate from the rest of litter then put her in a safe place where she can watch the rest of litter eat on their own.

Wish you luck with her.

A hypoglycemic puppy acts in this way.  Very lethargic and not wanting to eat.  We put ours on hamburger and rice which she ate really well.  When we put her on dog food, she went down hill.  The rice had the carbs in that she deperately needed.   As long as she gets her carbs she does well.  Just a thought
Jan
 

RED MEAT IS TOO HARD TO DIGEST  .USE GROUND CHICKEN AND THEN TURKEY

At what point are their digestive systems able to handle things like meat and rice and ground up puppy food? Since she seems a week behind her siblings could her organs also be a week behind? Seems like she needs more to eat but having a hard time getting her more via a syringe?? Do most breeders just allow a puppy like this to starve to death? Also, at this stage (being on homemade formula) what should their poop look like?

At 3 weeks I start feeding the mother in the whelping area with the litter around her. I feed her special meals to help teach the puppies & they learn fast. I'll make 2nd step puppy formula add in Greek yogurt & baby rice cereal. The mother & puppies love the mixture.
At first some of the puppies are curious stepping into the dish & trying to figure out what's going on, while others start to try to lap up the food like their mom. By the end of the week most of the puppies are trying the food / work on their lapping skills for eating. The puppies are still kept with their dam & are also still nursing.

I spread out raw dog food on a cooking sheet & bake on high heat for 5 minutes to kill any germs. I use a raw dog food like Bravo Chicken. Then add the raw diet to the same mixture above. Start offering this to the puppies 3x a day without the mother around during meal times. The puppies go crazy for their new food even the ones who were not eating / trying the formula mixture at 3 weeks. The dam's at this age are still with the litter, but tend to enjoy taking breaks away from them. Some dams will continue to nurse the litter while others begin weaning the puppies. Next week when the puppies turn 5 weeks old I continue on with the same method, but slowly introduce a little ground up puppy food into the mixture. At 6-8 weeks old all the puppies are eating normally & the food is gone as fast as I can put it down.
Between 6-8 weeks old I feed 4x a day with 2 meals being the raw diet + Greek yogurt mixture & the other 2x would be formula + yogurt mixture with puppy food slightly soften into mixture. By 6 weeks old the dam is general separated from litter most of the day if she has not started to wean they off nursing. Even still she is brought back often for visits & socialization.

During this time my other dogs come & visit the litter also. Most of the dogs in house are very excited too see puppies. I've had a few puppies that had to be separated from the litter for special attention & vet care. During that time I always put the little puppy back during meal times with the rest of the litter to learn to eat & a little socialization. Puppies are normally too concern with eating to bother the weaker puppy at this time. I also kept the weaker / sick / injured puppy in a clothes basket next to one of my other dogs to watch the eat.
I'll keep 2 small shallow dishes of water & food mixture at all times in the puppies isolation area. Change the dishes often to make them fresh. Even if the puppy doesn't go near the food or water it should be left often to investigate / try at will. Eventually the puppy will start to eat. The more intro action the puppy has with other dogs / puppies during meal times the faster they get stimulated to try to eat on their own. Also the vet sells appetite stimulators / use a dab of honey placed on the the puppies tongue.

The puppy must learn to eat on their own. By 4 weeks old the puppy should not be still getting all it's nutrients from a syringe.
Take the puppy back to the vets make sure she is not dehydrated / has parasites / diabetic or insulin levels are off.
Then off the puppy food in a shallow bowel.

Try Nutracal, it's a calorie/vitamin supplement. Dogs love them. Have fostered a few pups and kittens myself, this stuff is awesome

Did the vet check for a cleft palate, or some other deformity that could cause her problems with suckling, swallowing and latching on?

The fact she inhaled formula makes me suspicious of something like that.