Hi all I really hope you can help me.

My chihuahua gave birth 8 days ago to a singleton pup and I'm concerned he isn't getting enough milk. He is quite a big boy but he gets quite restless and whines while nursing. I have tried giving him lactol milk supplement but he really isn't taking to it and isn't interested in feeding from anything but mom. I do regular checks on mom and her nipples do not seem engorged or red, but when I do check for milk there is none except for the top two teets which he will not latch to as much as I have tried to get him to. I am giving her warm compresses when he is sleeping and I've been adding water to all of her food as she will not drink the water straight. Are there any suggestions for me to try to help get her milk going again? Do you think boiled or scrambled eggs will help? I'm going to get some goats milk as I've seen that normally works but any suggestion would be greatfully recieved as I don't want him to fade.  Of course I am going to speak to my vet as soon as the surgery opens, but was wondering if I could try anything in the meantime. Thanks

You don't mention his weight.  Is he gaining steadily?   I think this would be your best indication of what is going on.  As someone recently said here on the forum, nature seems to know how much milk the bitch needs to produce, according to how many puppies she has.  So if he is gaining around 10g per day, I wouldn't worry more than necessary.

You can always feed a puppy milk substitute (Royal Canin has a good one), which I would certainly do if the puppy is losing weight at all.  I have had success using a syringe (very carefully) instead of asking the pup to take it from a bottle and nipple.

If he's gaining well then his restlessness could be because he is taking too much being a singleton, or he's simply a crosspatch and impatient.

> If he's gaining well then his restlessness could be because he is taking too much being a singleton, or he's simply a crosspatch and impatient.

Agreed.   Some puppies are just 'fussy' when nursing.   If he's a singleton, it would be VERY unlikely he's not getting enough from mum unless for some reason, she isn't producing milk at all.    We had a couple of singleton 'litters' and if anything, had to be careful to rotate the puppy round all the teats, or risk mum developing mastitis.    I don't see why you should need to be supplementing him at all, provided he is gaining.   The act of nursing should promote lactation so provided he's otherwise okay, and gaining, the more you can leave him on her, the better.   Is she attending to his emptying because some of this could be simply he's uncomfortable!!

ps    The first time we had a singleton, I panicked because mum was hardly eating at all.   I didn't realise why - nature dictated that she only had one to cater for, so she didn't need much food, and fact is if she was eating as expected, she would have been making more milk than he needed.

There could be other reasons for his restlessness, like being cold, or having a sore tummy due to needing a poo or needing wormed. So don't panic about milk production but try using a heat pad if you don't have one, or reminding mum to stimulate pup to pee and poo.

Incidentally, if you're checking the milk at the back teats its not just a matter of pinching the nipple. You'll need to massage the whole breast to see milk coming down. So if you haven't been doing this she may have more milk coming through than you think.

Hi all thank you for your comments this has meant a lot as I was panicking quite a bit. I couldn't update my original post as the time-limit had expired.
I forgot to mention that he was born weighing 116 grams and on day 8 he only weighed 172 grams and I had read that they normally gain double their weight after one week hence my panic. I did consult my vet who examined both puppy and mum and said that both were fine and I need not worry so much aslong as he still gained daily there was nothing wrong.
He is now 15 days old and weighs 273 grams, so has had quite a big growth spurt in that time.

This is my first time dealing with a nursing dog and puppy so again thank you.