My bitch had 3 puppies 2 days ago. Puppies lost weight after first 24 hours and again today. The smallest puppy is dehydrated. We took mum and 3 pups to vet tonight and have been advised to feed whelpi to pups. We were not given any rehydration fluid but I was using water this afternoon. Vet advised feeding Whelpi every 2 hours. I spoke to a breeder and she suggested water then two hours later whelpi and then water again. She advised that milk is a food and they need fluid too. Puppies look for and suckle from Mum - vet says she has only a very little milk in one teat. I'm at my wits end as I keep getting conflicting information - I have also spoken to mu MiL who reared my breed for years, she felt I should have been given rehydration fluid and that the water/milk alternation is best.

Vet examined MUm - she is fine - no temperature, passing water etc, eating well but isn't too keen on fluids. I'm wondering if I should giver her some Whelpi too as was suggested on another thread?

The milk can take time to come in and only constant stimulation by the pups will bring it in.  This is a quandary as obviously if you feed the pups they won't need to sickle from Mum, so she wont have milk for them.

You need to keep pups going but also encourage them to suckle as much as you can, and yes Mum needs copious amounts of fluid.  A little weight loss is snot a great worry though gain is preferable, but dehydration is something to avoid.

For this I add a lot of water to the bitches dry food (as often their lips are sore from cleaning) and also give puppy milk and anything to encourage fluid intake.

Hi

I had a similar problem with a 12 day old puppy.  The vet advised slightly watering down the puppy formula to help re-hydrate the pup which did seem to work very quickly.  I had been using  PuppyStim from when he was born which seemed to stimulate him enough to drink on his own  but after bonfire week I think that the mum got so upset I had a problem getting her to eat and the big puppies took all the milk.  I then took over feeding him but he did start to feed again on his own after a few days but I kept going with offering him the formula every 2 hours which he took in addition.  An experienced breeder also suggested using glucose and water if hydration is a problem.  It definitely will help if you can get the mum to drink some of the puppy formula.  Also you can get Nutro Drops which seem to have a good reputation from people on this forum.

Best of luck

If she had pups 2 days ago, I would have expected her milk supply to be coming in.  Would the vet not give her oxytocin to help bring the milk down?

my last litter Mums milk practically dried up and the puppies were not gaining although Mum thought she was feeding .

I used Lactol kept a log for each puppy ..fed every 2 hrs weighed once a day still let mum feed and clean/ toilet her babies (I did too) ...
I hoped Mums milk would come back I gave her plenty of fluids ie Lactol ,goats milk watered down and really cold water , soaked her food , but did have to hand feed her in the whelp box. It didnt return but the puppies thrived and grew into beautiful happy healthy  puppies..a lot of hard work but once you get the hang of it well worth it.

the puppy that is dehydrated should be given Lectade which is even more important than milk you can buy this at the vet or if pup very bad vet should keep him in on a drip they usually come around pretty quickly it would do no harm to give him nutridrops for a boost to give him energy ..dont delay

Use newborn baby bottles from tesco and sterilise with milton (tesco sell a travel sterilising kit for about £5 was brilliant)

Four years ago I also had a bitch that after whelping 6 pups the milk did not come in.   We raised all six pups from the day of birth by bottle feeding them with whelpi given every 2 hours, it not only is a feed but also contains the fluid that they need.   All six pups survived and are now healthy, one even goes picking up 3 times a week.   The bitches milk never did come in - she had gone down with kennel cough two weeks prior and it was put down to her having an infection which caused the failure of her to produce any milk.

Best of luck with the pups.

I have just had a similar situation regarding dehydration. I have just hand reared 4 puppies (now 4 weeks old) and one was dehydrated a few times as she wasnt suckling well. The vet gave fluids under the skin and she picked up quite quickly. He gave me lectade to give her in between feeds and this sorted the problem.

Once she started feeding regularly she was fine.

Good luck

Thank you for responses. Vet tested bitch's calcium levels and they were fine so no Oxytocin.I have been giving Welpi alternating with water every 2 hours and this morning the pups seem much better and have gained some weight. Not back to birth weight but in the right direction. The pups are aslo suckling from the bitch :-) So I think I'm heading in the right direction.

This is our first litter and I have found the contradictions in the advice I have been given so frustrating - breeders advice and vet's advice often at odds with one another.

Thank you again - I'll pop on again later.

Most breeders have more experience of whelping and rearing puppies than most vets unless they breed themselves.

Are you soaking her food ..

I soak the food for a good 10 mins before letting the mother have anything. If you really really soak it and only let them eat soaked food it does help. Mine all like everything warm.  I have the odd one who loves being hand fed in the box and will scoff it down if I hand feed her. I don't mind if she produces plenty of milk for her pups. :-)

Hi Callsher

As Brainless mentioned, the puppies need to be suckling frequently to bring in the dam's milk.

I currently have a 7 week old litter that were very big pups born - the pups were twice the size of her pups from 18 months ago. They were very strong and very hungry and were constantly at the milkbar for the first 24-36 hours. As long as the dam is healthy, eating and drinking heaps (my bitch was fed 4 times a day) her milk supply will build up.  Mums will not normally turn up their nose at water if you mix in some commercial puppy milk.

This continues as the pups growth dictates over the next few weeks.  You will find times when they will need to up the supply and will need to feed more frequently.

The same as with "skin" babies.

Morning - This is day 4 and all puppies have now either regained birth weight or passed it. Mum seems hungry so I've upped her food and I'm adding water. There is the tiniest drop of milk in a couple of nipples so I've still got my fingers crossed. Mum is drinking fine now.

I'm logging weight of each puppy at least twice per day and doing this at the same time each day to get a comparison.

The book I have suggests having food for mum there constantly - thoughts on this?

Callsher

I always have food available all the time, one bowl soaked and the other dry, as I dont want to risk the food going off, but offer her well soaked food at least four times a day, and if she should get really hungry there is the dry to top up on.

I also offer the soaked food in the whelping box so she has no need to leave the box except to go to the toilet.

We also are on day 4, Mum has masses of milk, we are feeding her (as Brainless says) soaked food at least 4 times a day, along with Royal Canin puppy milk, water and up to a pound of steak mince daily. All puppies are gaining at least an ounce each day. Milk is supply and demand, the more they suck, the more it comes, mine have milky whiskers and chins.