We have a problem.
The smallest of the pups isnt well..she wont suckle and is crying all the time. Mum is pushing her away.
Took her to the vet, listened to her chest, he said its very wheezy, almost as though there is fluid there.
Gave her antibiotic injection and her temp is good. We have tried bottle and syringe feeding..no joy at all, she just wont have any of it.
Vet said its one of 2 things..pneumonia or FPS...Im devastated..Im not expecting her to live, but I will fight to help her anyway I can.
Have to ring vet again tomorrow.

Any advice please.

I'm sorry to hear this news. If it were me I'd keep trying with the syringe feeding , holding her in close to you and just a drop at a time . If you can't manage could you get someone to hold her while you try to get some drops of milk into her?
I did this with a pup from my last litter and managed to pull him round.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

OH managed to get 0.4ml of lactol into her tummy before he went to work tonight..shes not crying at the moment, but is very twitchy and has the odd whimper.
Im going to try and feed her again in a few mins, looks like its going to be a long night. This is the pup I had decided to keep aswell, as soon as I saw her!!

Wish me luck.

I have recently hand reared 4 pups. 1 was half the size of the others and I was having the same problem. I was constantly trying bottle, syringe, bottle, syringe! Eventually she started to suckle.

I would make sure she isnt getting dehydrated as this could be serious! I stayed up 1 night giving her 0.5ml every hour. Do you have any nutri drops?

My pup pulled through after a lot of hard work and I decided to keep her. Good luck and dont give up!!

Im not giving up..no chance of that...nitemare trying to get her to take the syringe...but its going in, weve got some puppy feeding bottles, but she seems to gag on the teat!!! Ive put her in with mum and the others so mum can see her and clean her..shes managed to suckle for a few minutes...anything is better than nothing. Will keep trying with the syringe though. I cant bear to lose this little girl.

how is the little pup today?

Hope your little pup has perked up this morning toffeecrisp x

>Vet said its one of 2 things..pneumonia or FPS

You may find this post on FPS of some interest:

http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/39665.html

Hope puppy is ok toffeecrisp, it is so stressful when this happens,

Is the crying like colic? Have you tried her with some gripe water? It might do the trick (if it is just a colicky tum)

For my small breed I gave a colicky pup small amounts of gripe water via syringe (about 0.02ml a time for a three day old) and then placing her back on the heat pad with a light blanket over to keep in the heat (supervised, naturally, as you would for any litter ;-) ) I kept topping up every 15mins until she seemed fine and settled. It works very quickly if it is just this.

If it is just colic then this helps enormously and they are back feeding in no time. Fingers crossed it is something simple and not anything too scary!

Hows the pup today? Hope youve managed to snatch some sleep too.

> weve got some puppy feeding bottles, but she seems to gag on the teat!!!

im sorry to hear that your having troubles with yur little girl...i just saw this and thought id quickly post,it may not work but kitten feeder bottle teets are smaller and softer than puppie ones,i know cos i hand raised my kittens this way.the bottles are tiny and so are the teats.you make your own holes in the end so you can give whats needed.

i wonder if this might help with feeding and the gagging?

Morning every1.
Well pup is still with us...every hour or so I was trying to syringe lactol into her...OH got in at 3 from work and took over till 7...between us we were managing to get between 0.2 and 0.4ml...sometimes not even that much! In between feeding her we have put her back in with mum and littermates, she is trying to suckle but just hasnt got the strength to draw it down...even if I take off one of the other pups and latch her on to that teat....a couple of minutes and shes off and sound asleep.
Her weight this morning is 12 3/8ozs..she was 12 1/4 last night...the other 2 whoppas are both over a pound each....Ive been putting those 2 into a warm box and letting her feed by herself without them bullying her for the best teat. They are really piling it on compared to her..I dont suppose an hour or so in a box will do them any harm?
I will keep going and see how much I can get into her. Mum was wormed from day 40 aswell, so I dont think it could be due to that or the other 2 would be the same...she doesnt have a huge amount of milk anyway..so having to make sure she gets plenty to drink and lots of wet food.
Its a struggle and I hope she will be ok at the end of this..I will keep going....
Im not even dressed yet!!!!!

Keep going toffeecrisp.  We're all rooting for you.  :-)

{{{{  HUGS  }}}}

Sending positive thoughts. 

Morning Toffeecrisp, first congratulations on the arrival of your puppies. How is the little one doing?
Karen

(They are really piling it on compared to her..I dont suppose an hour or so in a box will do them any harm?)

Personally I wouldn't be putting the other pups in a box for an hour or so, to let this little one feed, why should they suffer? I would just sit in the whelping area and when the little one is making her way to a teat just swap the pups around let her have the back teat and a little suckle 1-2 mins may be enough for her, if she is small and weak she will not need anywhere near as much as the other pups do. She needs to feed then sleep a lot to build herself up.

She will need the body heat from the other pups so removing them is not a good idea, also the pups feed intermittently. If she is still chesty, once she has had her feed via yourself or her mum and after either yourself or the dam has stimulated her to toilet, it may be a good idea to let her snuggle up to your neck whilst she sleeps, it will give her extra heat and the feeling of TLC from yourself, which all goes a long way if she is still fluidy.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that the little one will push through, best of luck!

Just got back and read this and apologies if you are already acting on the following:

Is the pup still ok.
Firstly get it on a heat pad with a thin cloth draped over it,
get the vet to put a bolus of ringers solution under the skin,
keep up the ABs
Get some glucose powder and put a tiny bit on the tip of you finger - rub on roof of it's mouth.
All this pup needs in this critical time is heat - fluids - glucose.
Then....Find someone who can tube feed this puppy until it is strong enough to suck, giving bottles and syringe feed to a wheezy pup is asking for trouble, inhaled milk will increase its likelyhood to get pneumonia.

Please let us know.

Morning
Welcome to zombie land!!!
The pup is still with us...shes suckling from mum and is sleeping with her litter mates. Shes not crying as much, except when she cant get milk out fast enough..then its really loud and I move her to a teat the others have started on. Im still feeding lactol aswell, I was trying to get some into her at 3am and I was so tired I started crying, felt a bit of a muppet too. She is gaining weight, all be it a small amount, but its going on.
Ive weighed her this morning and she has put on 10gms in 24hrs. She is twitchy in her sleep, just not as much as the other the other 2....I read in the Book of the Bitch that this is what healthy puppies should do..shes so tiny compared to the others.
I was putting the other 2 pups in a box so she could feed as it was what the vet told me to do at first, but I can see she needs the warmth from them and mum. Mum isnt trying to push her away now, shes actually cleaning her and checking her etc, so that in itself must be a good sign...or am I clutching at straws here! Shes not as chesty as she was, but its still there. Back to vets today for a checkup.

Oh that's really good news, hope the check up at the vets goes well.
Karen x

Just caught up with this thread. Sound like you are doing everything you can. Not much adivce i can offer than to say WELL DONE and give you some much needed prasie as you probably feel drained and awful right now.
You're doing a cracking job. Keep it up and let us know how it goes at the vets today. :-)

All signs are looking good. :-)

Fingers, legs and toes all crossed now, if you can get her over the next couple of days and if her appetite is still picking up, all this worry may well be worth it.

Well done, all sounding good. Keep us updated.

signs look good, keep up the good work, hope the poor little baby pulls through, sounds like she will now x

Update
Been to vet...said she seems to be doing ok if a little small...she has a bit of diaroo..stop the lactol and keep her on mums milk...as much as possible. Its not a lot, but have to ring vet again in morning....just one thing after another at the moment and just when I thought she was doing so well...shes still suckling well from mum...is actually managing to hold onto the bigger teat when one of the others decides she wants it. I have been putting my hand in between to seperate them, to stop the bigger ones pushing her off..lovely and warm in the whelping box!! Going to be another long night..good job weve got sky tv!!!

Thankyou everyone for your kind words and advice..fingers crossed she gets through this I couldnt bear to lose her now:(

Yes, your vet is most probably spot on in now stopping the lactol. The diarrhoea may be because she is finally taking down a lot of milk and her stomache hasn't stretched enough for her new appetite, so a lactol top up aswell will cause her body to have diarrhoea, over feeding also causes problems like this too.

Putting your hand in the way whilst she is feeding is a good move, it's what we do in cases like this none of us remembered to tell you, Doh! :-D She sounds like a real fighter, glad you are keeping her, she is all the more special to you now.

Your both doing great. :-)

Aww thats good to hear she's holding her own toffeecrisp. She's a little fighter! xx

As long as she is gaining weight dont worry about her size. The pup I kept and had trouble hand rearing was 6oz and the rest of the litter 12oz - 14oz. She was a little fighter like yours. She is now 13 weeks and great fun!

Your doing a great job!!!! xxx

Ah keep up the good work, we had apuppy male in this litter we have now, he was half the size of the other 2, i was worried we would loose him, now at 7 weeks he is exactly the same size as the other pups, they do catch up in their own time, good luck, you have 1 special little girl there. x

Good Luck with this pup Toffeecrisp - Fingers crossed for you here x

You do realise that you won't be able to let this little pup go to anyone else don't you?  She will have to stay with you!  Good luck, positive vibes going your way :-)

Hi everyone
well lil pupster is still with us ..she still holding on regardless. We are on day 9 now.
The other 2 pups are doing really well..little one is struggling to get the weight on...its seems to stick between 12 3/4 ozs and 13 3/4 ozs..so frustrating,Im putting her on the teat as often as she will latch on, which is quite often. Is there any other way I can get the weight on her or is it just a wait and see thing? Shes feeding at the mo and is on the best back teat...as the other 2 are stronger than her they can get milk from any of them.

sounds like your doing a great job ,only thing i can think of is letting 1 of the other pups start on good nipple to get the milk flowing fast and let little 1 on so so she dont have to suck to hard and get to tired to quickly then maybe she will get more food ...well done you xxx

Good work Toffeecrisp ..... I know how you are feeling one of my little girls will not suckle & she also will not take a bottle , so just getting into her what we can , constant watch for the last 5 days but at least she is still here , i'm just keeping my fingers crossed but when she cry's it's heart breaking :0(

Her sister on the other hand is a monster she was 1lb 8oz born and 5 days later is 2lb 4 oz she is more like a baby seal lol xxx

hello again...well she seems to be doing ok at the moment..is feeding reasonably well..if 5 to 10 mins is anything to go by, she now weighs in at
14 5/8oz..the other 2 are 1lb 12oz and 1lb 7oz...baby hippos here!!
We are at the vet on friday with her..one eye has opened but the other is stuck shut...it has some sticky discharge coming out...I keep cleaning it with cooled boiled water and cotton wool 5/6 times a day but it just wont stay open:(
I cant get to the vet till friday due to hubbys work shift and I dont drive.

Strawberryblond

yes it heartbreaking when they cry, I feel so useless sometimes.
Fingers crossed for your little girl..good luck and keep going:)

Update
Day 16
Weight is now going on at a nice steady rate, now weighs in at 1lb 5ozs..no problems suckling. Eyes are open and she is alert and trying to stand.
Im so glad I struggled and fought for her to survive..the nights without sleep have hopefully paid off!!

Fingers crossed that she will continue to improve..the signs are good though:)

Many Thanks to everyone who helped me through this.

I have been reading this thread and was wondering how she was doing.  Really pleased to hear that all your hard work is paying off, she certainly sounds like a little fighter.  :) Is she the one you will be keeping?

Thats great news toffeecrisp, well done,

Well done toffeecrisp you have a little fighter there, are you going to keep her ?

im so plz to read she is doing so well ,well done you x

Am I going to keep her???
I think I just might:)  3 other people want her aswell!!!!
The other 2 are really great..starting to play...one of them has started toddling and did her 1st poo by herself..lol.

I think you should lol x you surely have a fighter there

Sounds like it's a done deal then!! :) I don't think I would be able to part with her either.

So pleased she's picked up.  I couldn't put this thread down when I first read it, every post i almost held my breath for her.

Keepinf fingers crossed she continues to make good progress.

pup is doing really well...all 3 are up toddling and are trying to play...so funny to watch them...they are starting to bark...very early I think!!
I love them all..my house looks like a bomb has gone off because I spend so much time watching them..even while they are sleeping..lol.
Have had to raise the height of the entrance as one has already escaped..hubby has put a gate on it aswell so we can close it when mum isnt in.
Have started them on sloppy food and they have taken to it like ducks to water:)