I have a 17 day old puppy who cannot regulate her own heat yet is this normal?? I've had her at the vets everyday as she is weak is this a case of fading puppy syndrome?? Is there something I can do to help her to thrive?? I've already got her heat mat and it helps a lot I'm just concerned that she can regulate as they say usually puppy's can regulate from day 4 all help is appreciated.

I believe you have misheard the time scale and believe it is at around 4 weeks old not 4 days old.

Is this a puppy you have bred yourself?

Hi yes was unexpected pregnancy so everything is new to me. It was my vet who told me it is around the 4 day mark.

> they say usually puppy's can regulate from day 4

I don't know who "they" are but "they" have no canine knowledge at all.  Is she cuddled up to mum most of the time?  When mum is having a short break (shouldn't be very long at 17 days)  are all the litter huddled in a big pile,, which is the norm.

Depending on the size of breed,, I would say that no pup can regulate it's own body heat at 17 days. No disrespect to your vet, but vets are not experts on litters and breeding.  They only see bitches who are in difficulty and needing a C-section.  Very few vets will have seen a natural whelping.

Are you saying that pup is moving off the heat pad?  Can you give us more information?

If you live in the south it may be too warm..the temperature in my living room today was 26C.

She's a singleton puppy, she is a Boston terrier the vet advised me to put her in a box on her own with adequate heat and to give her hourly feeds. She is very weak and really small weighing in at just over 170 grams. She doesn't really move a lot she tends to just stay put.

They cant regulate their heat for three weeks at which point their temperature finally reaches adult levels.

http://motherandpuppies.royalcanin.co.uk/from-nursing-to-weaning/week-by-week-from-birth-to-weaning

"Don't forget, the puppy is incapable of regulating his own temperature!
Hence, the importance of ensuring that the whelping area is placed in a warm room.
A temperature of at least 30° C within the environment of the puppies is necessary during the first week.
The easiest way of checking the temperature is to place a thermometer in the whelping box.
Temperature can then be progressively brought down to 25° C during the fourth week. "

Mine is a thick coated Nordic  breed (even the newborns have thick coats) and I never keep it that warm, but they do have an den like whelping area.

What on earth is the vet on about the pup needs to be with it's mother as much as possible for warmth and food!!!

A pup that doesn't twitch and move about is not normal.  6 1/2 ounces would be the size of the smallest newborn in my breed, which normally are at least double that.

What does your bitches breeder say they should know what is a normal size and development of a puppy of your breed.

I have a litter of 16 day old puppies at the moment and they are up on their feet wobbling around, sitting up and  making lot of noise so it does sound your puppy is indeed very weak if she is not moving about at all.

What does the vet do when you take her in?

I would be giving the puppy puppy stim ( if you can get it) or nutridrops for extra boost&energy.
Is there a reason she can not be with mum?
Does the mum not have milk anymore or are you putting her on mum every hour to feed? Does mum clean and toilet her Ok?
Is she still gaining weight every day & pooping Ok, is she going on her own or mum/you stimulating her to go?

emzbright
Please come back and let us know what is happening.  No way should this pup be away from mum.  I don't think you are getting much help from your vet.

I know absoultely nothing about breeding and I can see that your vet is not only wrong, but at best a complete idiot who should not be advising you on any of this.  Change vets ASAP (I'd probably raise a complaint about him too, as his advice sounds dangerous to me) and talk to your bitch's breeder if they are amenable to helping, and get that pup back with its mother!

I'd suggest 'by day 4' is a tad ambitious too.    Once mine were up and usually had sight, I felt they were able to regulate their heat, BUT we always had a heat lamp on, to keep the area dry as much as anything, so I never really was aware of exactly when they were doing this.

Fading puppies - yes I'm afraid this puppy could still be at risk.   I think, but can't remember exactly, the breeder of my Whippet, despite her best efforts, lost a whole litter to this, by around day 19, start.

Might help?   http://showdogsupersite.com/kenlclub/breedvet/fading.html

Hi all sorry for not replying back to you all. Our puppy gained her angel wings yesterday afternoon devastated is a understatement now have a mum who is pining for her

So sorry to hear that

My condolences....

So sorry.    {{{{  HUGS  }}}}

I'm sorry, I was hoping maybe she can be turned around. Try topping up exercise and taking your girl out to give her/you other things to think about and it will help with drying out the milk too. Luckily dogs do get over the loss quite quickly & hormones will return to normal. If she was still feeding you must keep an eye on her teats and that she does not get mastitis as she will be full for a bit before her body shuts down the milk production. 
There is a medication vet can give to dry her milk out, if you go down that route, I would go to different vets as the one you used sadly did seem to be giving not very good advise.