Our bitch had a litter of 5 pups five days ago, all similar in size. Three puppies are doing fine, but two are not growing very much. They are now only half the size of their bigger sisters, and weaker. I try to get them to feed alone from their mom while the others are sleeping so they dont get knocked out of the way. I am also trying to supplement twice a day using a syringe, but they resist and wont take more than a few drops. Would anyone have some suggestions they could share with me because I am getting very worried about these two tiny ones.

BTW, the two slow feeders were the first born ones. Mum was so busy cleaning them, she would not relax and let them feed. It wasn't until pup three was delivered two hours later that Mum settled down and let the three of them take their first feed. Pup three is enormous, possibly because she was on the teat within 5 mins of birth.

Hi Novice, you may already have done it, but I'd ask the vet to look at the pups asap. I don't want to be alarmist, but it would be bad enough to lose two, and if the small ones have an infection it could pass to the others.

Are the two smaller pups putting on weight? If they are, there may not be too much to worry about even though they are smaller than the others. How do they look and feel? A healthy puppy should feel warm, firm and solid in you hand, it should have nice pink gums, tongue and feet and it should twitch in its sleep. They make a sort of low grumbling sound but shouldn't cry, unless another pup pushes them off the teat, they get cold, or are annoyed in some other way. If the two small ones are like that, again there may not be anything to worry about. On the other hand if they are completely still, limp when you lift them, feel cold and damp, have a bluish tinge to their lips/gums or are either completely silent or cry all the time (sounds a bit like a seagull), you have a problem and need to get the vet to see them at once.

I've never tried a syringe for supplementing. If the pups suck well on mum, they might do better with a catac feeder or something similar, and if its a large breed a small baby bottle with a premature baby teat works well. The size of the hole in the teat is important. A few drops of milk should drip out slowly when the bottle is held upside down. If the pups are not sucking well, it might be neccessary to use a stomach tube to feed them. Your vet should be able to supply one, and show you how to use it. When helping a smaller pup along, I let it feed at the same time as the others, but plug it on to the best nipple, and keep putting it back if it gets pushed off. You don't say what breed you have, but if its a large one, sometimes the bitches teats can be a bit big for a small newly born, so that's something else to check. At this age, unless they are getting quite a lot from mum, I'd be inclined to express milk from the bitch (as long as she has plenty) and give them that, rather than use a bitch milk substitute. If they are getting very little from mum, you need to hand feed them more often - every 4 hours day & night if they are getting almost nothing from mum.

The other thing I'd do if I had weak pups would be to turn the room heat up or use an overhead heating lamp and/or put the pups on a heating pad. Humidity is important too, and a damp towel over a heater works well.

Best of luck witht he pups - let us know how they get on.

I had a poor feeder in my latest litter. He lost a 3rd of his body weight in 2 days and I really didnt think he'd make it. I bought a baby bottle with fast flowing teat from Tescos which he took to straight away and he's happy and fine in his new home now.

He's just eaten a huge bowl of minced chicken, raw tripe and buscuits ---- think he made it good Nanny Kirsty (schips daughter)

Hi Novice , after you have checked there is nothing wrong with the puppies you could give them the contents of a royal jelly capsule each once daily.
There is also abidex baby drops that I swear by, two drops twice daily should have them catching up in a couple of weeks ,
If the vet is happy that they are not sick then , just hang in there as small puppies sometimes become the biggest ones later on , Mari

Hi Novice,

I had 2 pups in my latest litter I wasn't happy with and Leigh very kindly gots loads of advice for me on how to help them. Unfortunately, 1 developed lumps on her at a week old and was put to sleep as she was weak too, the other was a small pup but very feisty so I knew she would get there in the end.

I didn't supplement feed but just put her onto her dam at every opportunity. Then at 2 weeks old, I started her on Pedigree's weaning food, giving her 2 meals a day and we never looked back, then she joined in weaning properly with the others a week later.

She left for her new home last week, yes, she was a bit smaller than the other's but she has made up for it with cheek and she was certainly the most biddable, I think due to lots of handling as a tiny. Everyone who saw her recently, fell in love with her and now she has a home with a fantastic family. :)

Thank you for all your wonderful advice. The vet checked them again today and said they are coming along nicely. He was the one that recommended the syringe. He said it wasn't necessary to add heat, but I have taken your advice and put a thermostat heater in the corner of the room. They feel warm to the touch, but they do bury themselves under the others as though they need extra warmth. They have pink gums and feet like the others but despite what the vet says, my instincts still tell me something is wrong. When I lift them up, I have to support their necks because their heads fall down limp as though they are in a deep sleep. They take a few seconds to rouse as I carry them to the kitchen table to nurse them on a terry cloth. Once on the table they move around well. I can see the imprint of their backbone which is not visible with the bigger pups. Their eyes look different too, as though they are very tired with little creases around and under the eyes. I slept beside them last night and carefully watched them feeding. They have trouble finding the teat, but eventually latch on, their little feet pummeling mom to increase the flow, but their suction looks weak. They make a snapping sound as though they are not attached properly. Suddenly they fall off and crawl over her back and legs trying to find a teat again, as though they have no sense of direction. Their heads are wobbly like newborns. If the bigger pups wake, the little ones dont have a chance because they get shoved out of the way, so they simply give up and fall asleep under the pile. When the bigger pups finish feeding, the teat looks large. When the small pups fall off, the teat still looks small like it hasn't been doing much work at all.
Am I worrying over nothing or should I be concerned?
BTW, they are terriers.

Hi Novice. I sleep with my pups for the first 10 days. You're being very observant. It's the little signs that are important and it's difficult to judge without seeing them but they're certainly different from the rest, aren't they? I think that you're doing all you can for them. Heat is very important for the first 10 days because pups don't have the maturity to shiver and make themselves warm until then. They need to be at least 70oF, mine are usually nearer to 80oF. Never try to feed pups unless their temperature is normal because they won't be able to digest it.
My experience is that Vets know very little about natural mating, whelping and weaning. They're great for "unzipping" if you need it, but their training doesn't seem to focus on 'normal' births. One newly qualified Vet at my old practice was a whizz in the theatre, but had never seen a normal birth! I once had a Vet who's wife bred Great Danes and he was a treasure. The best advice he gave me was "If keeping it warm and plugging it in whenever the others are asleep doesn't do the trick, then let it go, because you don't want to keep or sell a sickly puppy that has treatment to endure for the rest of its life!"
Your best help will come from an experienced breeder within your breed(your bitch's breeder?). Every breed has them and they're worth their weight in gold and would be a good support for you.
Good luck and keep going!

Hi, if the bitch will tolerate it I would be attempting to get the puppies latched on and then milk gently into its mouth or feed with a dropper/syringe or bottle every 2 hours, night and day. It sounds to me like they are just not getting enough despite your efforts. If you cant or the bitch wont let you milk into the puppies mouth I would get a premature baby bottle and bitch milk replacement( Welpi is a good one) and feed no more than 5 mls every couple of hours. Take the puppies away from the bitch to bottle feed if she starts gettng upset. Stop half way to burp him - hold upright on your chest and rub his back gently just like a baby til he burps and then see if he wants more. Rub the "water works area" and anus very gently with a little damp cotton wool in a circular motion to encourage evacuation before and after each meal. Wash off any milk that spills onto the coat with wet cotton wool as it takes the coat off it allowedto stay there. Puppies up to about 4 days need to have a room temp of 80 degrees IMO, many puppies are lost because they are not warm enough. Very best of luck. Puppies need to "fill up their skins" within 4 days or the prospect is not good, I do hope they come on well for you.

Hi Novice

There was a whelping and handrearing clinic advertised in DW on June 7th - have sent you the contact details privately - does anyone know anything about them?

I spoke to someone who specialised in hand-rearing a few years ago when a pup I was hand rearing was having problems and she was wonderful - but I can't remember who she was :-( She told me to stop using the whelpi and give Liquid Life Aid (a sugar/salts rehydration fluid for farm animals) and evaporated (or condensed I can't remember) milk with Abidec. The pup picked up almost immediately and never looked back.

Christine

>>There was a whelping and handrearing clinic advertised in DW on June 7th

I see they offer a " Transport service to and from the clinic"

Wonder if it stretchs to AUSTRALIA :D

Novice, welcome to the forum :-) Good luck with your puppies.

Hi Leigh

Yes, I did notice that Novice was down under so only sent her the email address :-)

Hope her littles ones catch up

Christine

All I can add to the excellent advice given above, is that if you think a pup may be getting hypothermic (low body temperature) it won't be able to absorb milk even though it's been fed.

In this instance you need to have 20% dextose solution subcutaneously every 3-4 hours - you must ask your vet how to do it - it's routine with hypothermic lambs, but many vets don't seem to cotton on somehow.

Jo and the Casblaidd Flatcoats

That is why I suggested opening up royal jelly capsules , A cold puppy can take this better than milk . royal jelly is the honey bees secret to immunity , so having tried it out for myself I cant say enough good things about it
further to my recommending the abidex , it is a well known tonic for weaker puppies . It is for premature babies to help them catch up Mari

Was it the Betty Bloomfield clinic you were thinking of? The number is
01462 733030

Hi Novice,

I think if these pups are too survive, nature will let them but if they are poorly, then I think you are best to let them go.... it's so difficult. My little girl Cleo who was PTS at 1 week old was getting weaker and when two lumps appeared overnight I knew I would have to say goodbye to her as her life had no quality but it doesn't make it easier. I cried heaps over this little scrap of life being given peace. What I think of is that she's in 'doggy' heaven with her 4 siblings who didn't survive birth and their grand-daddy, Addison.

my little pup who was feisty never carried any weight until weaning kicked in, in fact I think for the first 2 weeks of her life she was lucky if she gained 2oz then the weight piled on as 'proper' food went into her.

I hate to say this but have they got cleft palates or even mild cleft palates as They sound so much like 2 I had in my last litter which both had cleft and soft palate damage.
I didn't find them till they were 10 days old as the holes were not that big and they did feed from the mum but couldn't latch on as well.
If you can get someone to help you and shine small torch in the mouth and check really well for any signs of a cleft palate.
Good luck and I hope they get better.

The bigger pups weigh in this morning at 400grams. The two little ones are only 190gr. (not sure what that converts to in ounces). I'm taking mom and litter to a new vet this morning for a second opinion. This is turning out to be an expensive business but I cant bear to see them slip away when there might be something that can turn them around. I checked the scribblings I wrote down during the birth, and these two were the only ones born head first. I wonder whether that would have anything to do with it. Mom is 18 months old and this is her first litter (and mine). Thank you for all your replies and I'll let you know what the new vet says.

The puppies have been double checked and they have no physical problems. The vet wasn't so concerned about their actual size, more their condition. He noticed the eyes straight away. He wants me to keep putting them on mom at every chance and increase the supplement feedings to 5 times a day, half a ml at each feed. He also gave me two miniature plastic teats to attach to the end of the syringe in the hope that the pups would take to the sucking action better than the drip method.

The bad news is that mom has a high temp. She is developing mastitis in one teat. The vet has given her anti inflammatories and pain killers and wants to check her and pups again in two days. This vet is very thorough and I feel we are in much better hands.

I helped the smallest pup feed against mom until she fell asleep. Then I stretched the tiny plastic teat over the syringe, woke her up and put her against my chest for her supplement feed. She immediately took to it, pummeling against my hand with her little legs. Then I put her back on mom, she drank again and has now fallen asleep. This feels SO good. Now for pup # 2.

HI, dont give up, where there is life there's hope and all that. I know how exhausting and difficult ( and expensive) all this can be. At least if the worst happens you will know you did everything you could. But its sounds promising, if they are keen for grub they're in with a good chance. Very best of luck.

Novice I know very little about rearing a litter so can't offer you any advice but just wanted to let you know that I'm rooting for you and the pups and mum too. Sounds like you are doing a great job, I hope everything turns out for you. The folk here will no doubt keep the advice coming as they are all brill, especially in situations like the one you are in.

Good Luck and Well Done everyone :-)

A friend of mine has a puppy that worried her sick, as it gained hardly any weight in first two weeks, but now at 5 weeks is over 4 pounds. this is within a pound of average weight for age, and he is really making progress since she started them on solids at about 2 weeks in his case!

The vet has checked him out, and all appears to be normal at this stage, so hopefully in the next four weeeks he will pretty well catch up.

|Hope the same happens with yours.

.hi novice , i had a puppy out my last litter he weighed 3 oz born , his backbone stuck out and was not interested in feeding , i placed him on the bitch as often as i could and supplemented his feeds with carnation milk ,honey and abidec drops .It took time for him to catch up with the others and i am pleased to say he did . I am proud ov this little chap , he went on to be placed at crufts!!!!!

Hi. It's working. The little girls weighed in today at 270gr and 280gr. Yaaaaaaaaay!

Excellent News :-)

A good news update. One is now 300grams and the other 320grams, catching up quick to their bigger brother and sisters at 450 - 500grams. So we are on the home stretch now! These two little ones are powering ahead. They were the first two to open their eyes and the first two to walk. I want to thank everyone here for their support and advice.

So pleased that they have turned the corner and you can relax and enjoy them now. Give yourself a big pat on the back!! :-)