RUNT LITTER .. .PLS REPLY - Page 1

Good Day, to All experienced breeders, I need your opinion. This is my case, I have my 1st runt litter. The dam died when the pup was a week old. Since they have not received proper nutrition and care from their mom, I have become their foster mother. I’m a newbie in this situation so the pups came out runt. To date, they are 1 month and 2 weeks old, but they’re just a month old size. Physically, they seemed to be 2 weeks delayed. May I know from your experiences, will the pups still come out normal in size? What can I do to help them grow faster as they should be? Tnx.

I think that as long as there is good nutrition and no catastrophes, the pups will reach their genetic pre-programmed size. I agree that the kibble you're feeding is NOT the best, but I don't know what country you are in and what you have available to you. If you can find a higher end kibble (try vet's office or pet stores) and change the cow's milk for goat's milk, it would be a better choice. I would also add yogurt for the good bacteria. Make sure it's unsweetened, whole milk, unflavored, live culture yogurt. At 6 weeks of age, you can cut their feedings back a bit. Puppies WILL gorge, they have no good sense about when they are full. I would leave pans of dry kibble out ALL the time for them, refilling. I would also use the goat's milk at 3 specified feeding times during the day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). To the goat's milk, I would add the yogurt, possibly some cooked, chopped chicken or cooked hamburger, some ground raw veggies and fruit (carrots, apples, green beans, bananas, etc.). I would also be giving each pup one puppy vitamin tablet daily. When you're adding new foods, add only one food at a time and stick with that for a couple of days before adding another food. That way you can watch for any bad reaction. Let us know how they're getting on! JDN - US

Oh yes, Funk Man with his wealth of knowledge is back among us. It's MORE than possible to "save" orphan pups. Have a look at any of the Mittelwest R litter (VA Winnie x VA Tito). Winnie had to have a C section and the TWELVE pups were hand raised successfully because her milk didn't come in after the surgery. These dogs are over 12 months now, all thriving. Look some of them up here on Schafer. Dudee, what country are you in? Yes, you've done a bad job so far. But you don't have to continue doing a bad job. Hopefully, you can learn from your mistakes, CLEAN UP YOUR YARD and maybe think long and hard before breeding ever again. Don't worry about descended/undescended testicles. There's nothing you can do about them and it is very difficult for novices to be able to feel them. There has to be better food available than Purina, even if you cook for the litter yourself or feed raw. JDN - US

Dudee, Kizz wasn't yelling at you, she was yelling at that idiot funkman. Don't pay ANY attention to anything he says anywhere. He's not worth your time, effort or worry. Yes, breeding is VERY tiring, even when things go right. It's a lot of work and a lot of expense. And you've bred for the wrong reasons. I'm really glad to hear that you're not going to do it again. If family members want puppies, they can bloody well go out and buy them like you did! Okay, to feed the babies. At six weeks, move their food to three times daily. Overfeeding will cause diahrreah. Cut out the cow's milk and if you feel you MUST give them dairy, give them whole yogurt or cottage cheese or goats milk. Allow about 2 tablespoons per pup per meal. You can chop up chicken thighs with skin and fat and fry them for the pups. If you are cooking the meat, it MUST be boneless. If you are going to feed raw chicken with bones (never never NEVER feed cooked bones) try them on chopped up chicken wings. You can also feed them raw, ground beef or if you want to you can cook it. Add veggies like ground up carrots, steamed and mashed green beans, ground up apples, mashed bananas. Give them a good vitamin tablet once a day with vitamin C in the tablet. I would start with 1 cup of puppy food (about 80% meat, 10% veggies, 10% cottage cheese/yogurt) for each puppy, feed that three times a day. If they seem hungry after their meal, add 1/4 cup to each meal the next day. Gradually move up the amounts. You can leave dry kibble in a pan for them all the time. But that should be in addition to their other food. Make sure they have fresh water ALL the time. When pups are 8-10 weeks old, you can add one raw egg in their food once a week for each puppy. If you have access to rabbit, you can try them on that meat at that time. Just remember, if you're cooking, NO BONES. If you're feeding raw food, then leave the bones in there, they are a good source of calcium. JDN - US

Hey Dudee, sounds like it's going better! I'm away for five days at a dog show (beautiful KY and a GREAT club is hosting!) so I'm sure others can help you out as you need. I'm taking the laptop, but don't know about logging in. Anyway, best of luck with the babies and remember, they DO grow up and go away. Enjoy them in between all the hard work! JDN - US