I had a litter of pups on Saturday and they are all doing well, there is one out the 6 and he is very small. Compared to the 2 big ones he’s 1/4 their size. Very small and skinny. I’m trying to make sure he’s attached every 2 hours but he’s not gaining like the others are. But he’s acting normal... just very small and doesn’t seem to be growing and gaining. Is there anything else I can be doing.

Has the vet checked for cleft palate etc? If he's ok physically and just not up to the weight of the others, they will be pushing him off the teats even if you are right there trying to latch him on. I had one like that in my last litter, at birth she was just a tiny bit smaller than the others, but she just didn't seem to be getting the nourishment even with me latching her on constantly. At 6 days I went and got some puppy milk from PAH (not the stuff on the shelf, but from the vet area) and topped her up 3 or 4 times a day and that kept her gaining steadily until they were old enough to be weaned.

Hi Lucy
Yeah he’s been checked and is fine, I sit the whole time watching and making sure he’s not budged off the teat. I’ve literally sat 2 hours round the clock watching him feed and hardly gain a thing

This morning I’ve weighed him again and after watching him feed the past 24 hours every 2 hours he’s still 130g! I don’t I understand why he isn’t gaining if he’s feeding.

That was just like Katie, she gained little or no weight. I think that although she looked like she was on the teat properly, she wasn't suckling much of the time. When I syringe fed her with the puppy milk it made a big difference.

Hi Lucy
Do I just use a 1ml syringe for this? I’m so worried about him.

I just used one of those little syringes you get with the liquid wormers, it depends on the size of your puppy of course and I'm not an expert. But I just teased the syringe into the corner of her mouth and dribbled it down her. I think it had recommended amounts written on the side of the tin.

Hi
I used the sponge and he takes it well but still another 24 hours on and no gain. Not sure what to do now?

I would be tube feeding him.  There are videos on YouTube demonstrating how to do this.  It sounds scary and intimidating at first, but it is pretty easy and very effective and quick.

Search for tube feeding puppies on YouTube.

No weight gain for how many days now?

I think I'd go back to the vet. With a good intake (from bottle if not necessarily from bitch) and no change at all I'd be wondering about a cardiac or renal issue or possibly an infection? Does the puppy act normally? Is he settled after a feed? Is he more or less vocal than the others?

We are now on day 4 with no more than 2g gain in total. Once I’ve sponge fed him he’s quite and sleeps doesn’t cry etc and moves around as the others do. How do I know if he’s abnormal? Surely if there was serious issues he would of passed by now?

Axe I'm sorry, I'm not a dog breeder and my knowledge is very much new born mammal rather than puppy specific. At that tiny size I don't know how or if these abnormalities can be diagnosed. I just know from other new born mammals I've known, including humans, that when a young one has primary failure to thrive it is often because there is an abnormality. An abnormal heart, for example, often takes phenomenal calories to work and so all the food goes into that and growth is poor or non-existent. It's hard to gauge if there are abnormalities given your hard work to help him too - would he have survived without you making sure to latch him every 2 hours and sponge feeding? We can't know.

Does the puppy seem to settle after feeding from mum too? Or only after sponge feeds? Does he seek his littermates or sleep off on his own? Does he adopt similar varied postures to them or sleep in a specific position?

As onetwothreefour says, tube feeding might be worth thinking about - suckling takes a lot of energy which could be saved for growing if his tummy is filled for him.

Hopefully these other good people on here will soon weigh in to comment with far more experienced views. I didn't want to read and run as I feel for you worrying over this tiny creature.

Thanks poodlenoodle
Yes he acts exactly the same as his litter mates in ever way it’s just his size. They are all 300g + now and he’s just 130g he’s settled in between feeds, cries to be fed if Mum is out the box and he’s just fed from her and is now peacefully sleeping. Very upsetting as I don’t want him to suffer and prolong anything if he should just be PTS but i don’t know.

To be honest there's not much you can do except feed and make sure he's kept warm enough and fingers crossed he will be okay.

You really should be tube feeding.  It is really quite simple.  If you're not confident enough to do it, ask experienced breeder to show you how.  It can be the difference between life and death. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbX4mk291Pc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2sdSSmbDCw

It takes 2 seconds and zero energy from the puppy to give him a full belly of milk.  As compared to a lot of unnecessary energy expenditure sucking on mum or on sponges (which are not great for hygiene reasons anyway - they are bacterial breeding grounds, just like your washing up sponge is and can also lead to aspiration.)

You are doing most of the things you can, if I have pups like this I also like to give them some liquid glucose (like this: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/271189056) and just a blob the size of your little finger nail on the roof of their mouth which gives them an energy boost, and then try feeding them, or putting them on mum about 15 mins afterwards. I personally prefer to use a syringe as its easier to control and see how much they are taking.
Further to this make sure your pups are not too hot as this can make some pups lethargic and not feed so well (even if the others are thriving)

If this was my pup, I'd ask the vet for antibiotics as there could be an infection even if there is nothing visible. If that didn't do any good, I'd have it put to sleep -chances are it would grow up with various problems, and currently, harsh as it sounds, you are just barely keeping it alive when maybe nature doesn't intend for it to live.

I do have a huge amount of experience of handrearing kittens, and have a decent amount of experience with pups, so that's what I base my opinions on. For what it is worth, I would not try tube feeding. I did try several times with kittens and every single one died soon after.

In our last litter of 11 (was 12), which was a very large number for my breed, we had one puppy that was half the size of the others. We just made sure that he was latched on first, then latched him on again after the others had finished. We supplemented his feeding for the first few days but then found he was ok feeding just from his mum. We did wean the litter earlier than normal because of him, he took to food really well and by the age of 6 months he had caught up in size with the rest of the litter. The only problem we've got with him was that he was spoilt rotten by everyone and can be a little so and so now, but we wouldn't be without him.

You could try Puppystim.

Thanks guys went to visit our vet again last night and he thought it was likely he had water on the brain and 15g gain in 10 days wasn’t enough and I was essentially keeping him alive by feeding him. He was put to sleep

I has a pup like this for 11 days before I opted to put to sleep. She was feeding off Mum and getting fed by bottle and still little to no gain.

Pups are born pretty immature, and can survive quite a while with abnormailities, that will stop them developing properly, and they would eventually die.

Sometimes breeding is so hard.... of course losing one is why some animals have multiple birth but this doesn't make it any easier for the breeder!   For what it's worth Axe, I think you did the right thing for this particular pup.

Oh so sorry to hear that, definitely sounds like there was something serious wrong. Heartbreaking when you had tried so hard. x

Thanks all! Was very sad, but obviously for the best.