Hi, Im hoping to get some help or advice about a puppy i have which developed fading puppy syndrome at 2 days old.
First I would like to say i used to breed the Yorshire Terrier back in the 80s/90s and ive now been breeding the Maltese dog for 15+ years.
Right from the start i realized that a Maltese puppy is much more fragile that a Yorky for at least the first 3 weeks of life. Im also aware fading puppy syndrome is basically a name put on a puppy when its not really known what is wrong with it.
My girl Lambchop (my daughter named her) who weighs around 5lbs had a litter of four puppies born 21/01/17, this litter was the easiest birthing ive ever known with absolutely no problems or complications.
Lampchop had three girls weighing 115g, 90g, 106g and a boy who was the second puppy born weighing 105g. Everything was great with the puppies, all latched on and suckled straight away and the puppies all seemed content.
Two days after the birth the little boy started fading and couldnt suckle or latch on even with me holding him to the teet. Ive had fading puppies before with the Maltese and found that i lost more than i was able to save trying to bottle feed them so now i tube feed them and since learning to tube feed a pup with fading puppy i havent lost a puppy. I spent the first three weeks tubing this puppy every three hours around the clock but expecting him to die as he was so week but he wasnt crying or seemed distressed so i carried on trying with him. When he was exactly 3weeks old he seemed to rally and start fighting to survive. I'd like to also mention his eyes started to open at 14days old (the same time as his sisters) but closed again 5days later and i realized they were crusted shut so i cleaned his eyes at every feeding and finally got them to open at 30days old. This puppy was 6weeks old last Saturday, his sisters today weigh 428g, 455g, 518g and are bouncing around the place, they are very sociable already and love to be held and petted over. The little boy however still only weighs 135g or just under 4oz, At the moment his head is too big for his body so hes top heavy and finds it extremely hard to get up on his feet as he just keeps toppling over, His feet are still like flippers the way the Maltese pups feet are before they open their eyes and start getting up on their legs, his eye sight which i was concerned about seems fine as he watches and follows me and his hearing seems fine too. I did bring him to the vet at 12 days old as he was constipated and screaming in pain, I phoned the vet first as i was afraid to give him liquid paraffin as he only weighed 84g but the vet said to give him 1ml which i did and by the time i brought him to the vets a few hours later he was fine again and had gone to toilet. He had three more bouts of constipation over the next two weeks so i started giving him 1.5ml of water with honey in it at 6pm each day, he hasnt had constipation now for about two weeks. Now he is on 5ml of Royal Canin Babydog formula every four hours around the clock. At the moment he is like a 2week old puppy.
Has anyone ever known a Maltese puppy to only weigh 135g at over 6weeks old as i have never seen it myself and ive spoken to some Maltese friends/breeders and they've never seen or heard of it either, two of them have actually seen him and are stunned by the teeny size of him compared to his sisters, one used to breed Ragdoll cats and she says he looks more like a kitten then a puppy. Can anyone suggest anything that might put some weight on him more quickly (he is gaining 1-2gram at every feeding as i weigh him before each feeding) His coat isnt great yet either but im putting that down to him using all his energy to keep his organs going. He is very alert now and even though his suckle never returned he can lap and he often licks my hand after feeding him when i give him a cuddle. I have had Maltese pups born the heaviest at 227g and the lightest 68g born and ive never had to tube feed a puppy for longer than two weeks which is how long i had to tube feed the puppy born weighing 68g who is perfectly fine and healthy by the way. Both this pups parents have had blood taken and tested for liver shunts which came back clear. Im still tube feeding this puppy even though i would expect him to do perfectly fine on a bottle now but i figure tube feeding would use up less of his energy and id rather that so his food can be used to make him bigger and stronger. Also he has always stayed with his mum and sisters and Lambchop will clean his waste up. Anyway any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

This puppy is obviously never going to be normal, and I would have put him to sleep before now.

Sounds like he had an infection (eyes glued shut etc) and would have needed antibiotics back then. I've had that happen, and the pups got over it, started feeding and grew into normal healthy dogs (similar size). At 6 weeks however, I'd have to agree with Brainless -I'd let this little one go as it's not a normal pup with a normal life ahead.

Yes well i was thinking along those lines myself until he hit 3weeks old but im watching him get stronger and more curious ever day so im hoping your wrong and he just needs extra time. Also apart from the few bouts of constipation he has never seemed distressed or fretful as if he had i probably would have had him put to sleep and i feel he is going to be grand now he just needs to put on more weight but thanks for your input.

I am wondering why you haven't got him onto solid/weaning food??? 

I have usually found any pups that were slow to gain took off once weaning started.

I would expect 6 week old puppies to be virtually weaned and off milk.

Yes i usually start my pups on solids at 4 weeks old but up until the last few days i didnt think he was mature enough to put on the solids as he really is more like a 2 week old puppy than a 6 week old but I think i will start him on solids today and see how he does, i was just worried to as he isnt up on his legs fully yet but he is starting to get up on his legs and seems to be able to stand and balance for longer each time before toppling over so thats what i'l do. thanks

Good luck, I assume your going to keep him as a pet if he survives.

Hi, yes hes going nowhere :) ive bonded too much to him now so he staying with me. He had been booked before he was born but i cancelled the booking & found the family another lovely little male from a reputable breeder. I wouldnt let him go even if i hadnt bonded with him as i dont know if he will have any health issues. He is getting stronger every day and i started him on solids earlier which he was happy enough lapping of my finger and is sleeping peacefully now. I just wondered if anyone else had exoerienced something similar as ive never known the like if this little man.

I agree with Goldmali most likely he had an infection or two, and may have needed antibiotics when you started tube-feeding him. Sometimes in preemies or particularly delicate puppies once they show signs of going downhill antibiotics may be given as preventative measure, to hopefully help fight whatever made the puppy feel worse, but even more importantly to prevent further infections developing. It sounds like your little boy fought what has been bothering him himself and due to your care, but it has taken its toll and he is now understandably behind his siblings.

Especially for a small weak puppy I would start weaning onto solids as soon as possible, for them to gain extra strength. This I would do at 2 weeks. I had a very small puppy (109 g at birth, down to 106 g at 4 days of age) who was rejected by his mother and therefore bottlefed, got ill and almost died at 3 weeks, needed antibiotics, stopped eating but started again once the antibiotics had kicked in. In the meantime I just gave him Life Aid to make him stronger. He's now a very handsome 2 year old of normal size for the breed (10 inches/3 kilos) -even though I named him Mickey as he used to look like a little mouse.

Thanks for that Goldmali, Im guessing Mickey is a Papillon? beautiful breed of dog. At least you've given me hope that maybe i did the right thing fighting so hard to keep him alive.
I dont even worm our Maltese pups until 4weeks old as i find them just so fragile, I wormed my first ever litter of Maltese at 2 weeks old just as i used to with our Yorkie puppys, all three puppies were really sick so now i worm mum at 40days pregnant and the puppies at 4weeks old and have never found a worm in my dogs or pups. My pups are only starting to open their eyes at 14days old so i really think they are not mature enough to put on solids which i normally do at 4weeks old at the same time they come down from a cage on my bed to a pen in the kitchen. As i said i also worm them and start puppy pad training them at the same time as starting them on solids. This little pup is just the cutest little man, i would love to put up photos to show you but i dont think we can here. All four puppies are really great pups and rarely cry, now the only time they cry is for attention. I know ive had 45days now of no sleep or no more than 3 and a half hours of sleep at a time what with feeding the little man but he makes it so easy as hes not at all fretful and when i give him a cuddle afterwards he just stares up at me with the cutest little expression, if i put him down on my bed and talk to him he will follow my voice and crawl towards me and now in the last couple of days he has started getting up on his little legs and taking a few steps toward me before going head over heels and carrying on. Theres been so many times ive been so exhausted ive just about given up on him and everytime he will then do something that gives me hope. If i thought i was being cruel or hurting him i would have given up long ago but he is just a really chilled out pup. Please god now hes on solids he will go from leaps to bounds and i will have good news for you all then, Im just so shocked at the size of him though he weighs 139g today so at least hes going in the right direction. I have gotten in the habit of calling him my little Munchkin so thats probably what i will name him. Anyway thanks again for getting in touch as at least you've given me hope and as my father always used to say "where theres life theres hope" x