I have a litter of pups born 3 days ago. The 1st born is much smaller than the rest of litter. It didnt seem bothered about feeding and would only feed if we held it on. As soon as you leave it it falls off. Yesterday it was very week it was just laying there. I phoned vet who told me to come in and get some milk.
The receptionist told us how to give the milk. I asked if it could be fading puppy syndrome. I was shocked to hear she had never even heared of it.
Anyway after just a couple of feeds the pup seemed more lively and today it as even got to feed from mum on their own.
Is there a good chance this little 1 will be ok with special care.

In my experience, yes, the little one will be ok with LOADS of special care - don't slack even if you think it's ok because it's feeding off mom. Keep your eyes peeled and watching that little one very closely because it may feed off mom on its own initiative for a few days then go back to square one - but as already mentioned - don't give up hope yet and make sure you continue with the special care!

It really depends if the pup is just small or if it's small because there's something wrong with it.  Experience is the only way to tell the difference and I couldn't tell without seeing it.

I wouldn't give synthetic milk, but I would hold it on the bitch every half an hour or so, especially when the others are sleeping.  You can only do your best with the knowledge and experience that you have.  Do you have an experienced mentor who can come and advise you?

Ditto Val, I would get it on feeding every 30 mins till it gets the hang of it.

Be careful though. Just because a puppy looks like it's suckling doesn't mean it's getting any milk. Make sure it's getting a nice full little tummy (you should be able to see quite easily). If not, you'll have no choice but to hand feed with the puppy milk formula. Also weigh the pup daily to check that it's putting weight on.

I helped hand rear one of my shar-pei from a couple of days old and she did fine on the milk formula. It was obvious she wasn't growing as fast as the others at about 3 days old and a couple of times in the first month we thought she wasn't going to make it, but she was normal in every way at 6 weeks old and never had any physical problems from her hard start in life. Sadly, not all puppies make it and it could have something wrong that notthing can be done to cure, but you can only do your best to give it the best chance.

I've had "runts" in two litters. Both are now grown up dogs, healthy and fit, but a bit smaller than the average in the breed.
If the problem has to do with something being wrong with the pup, it will eventually not help feeding it by hand or putting it to mum more often. But both mine grew strong fairly quickly just from being put to mum regularily. One more good thing is, if you have some bigger pups, let them do the hard work of making the milk flow in the best teats, then when you see they are getting milk (tail going up in the air, like a radio antenna) swop over to a new teat, and put the little one on where the big one was. That way a lot of energy is saved for the smaller pup. This must be done with discretion, of course, only once in a while, and different big pup each time.
Good luck,
Karen

There was a little pup like this in my sisters last litter.  We lost one puppy to what the vet called fading puppy syndrome and when a second looked like it was going to follow we set to to help it all we could.  It meant hand feeding (both bottle and holding to Mum) and was touch and go for a few days, but now at almost two years old she is the fiesiest little bitch you could meet.  She was a real fighter and helping her through was tough but very rewarding.

I think you need to watch this pup very closely as only a few hours can make the difference between life and death.  If she is not getting a full tummy after feeding from mum then I would bottle feed to build her strength.  Hope all goes well. :)

The pups are 6 days old today. Although the little 1 doesnt seem to be growing its holding its own. The vet said to feed every 2 hours but we are feeding every 1 hour but every 2 through the night. The mother isnt rejecting it it just doesnt seem to be as strong as the others to feed for long enough.

How things turn round. Now things dont look so good for this little pup. I cant believe the size difference between this pup and rest of litter. It is getting pushed away contiously. I dont see the mother pushing it away just seems when I go to check its on its own.
It is very skinny you can feel its bones. Is there a chance we could be feeding it wrong, Ive heared of pups that are hand fed drwnding on the milk.
I have come to face it if the pup dies then there is a reason for this. But obviously I want to give it all the chances I can.

Sorry it doesn't sound very good, does it :(?  Have you tried putting this little one on when the others are asleep?   Give it a bit of time on its own?    As you say, you have to try everything, but be prepared for the worst.

How is Keatah, btw?  

Margot

We had a tiny and every two hours we put the other pups in a warmed box and latched the tiny on.  She gained about a quarter of the daily weight the others gained but she still gained so we persevered.

We kept her and at the age of two and a half she is less than half the size of her mother but a great little character.  She also had an open fontanelle which has never closed fully but is now negligible.  It was hard work at the time but knowing how gorgeous she is now I would have hated to have lost her.

Good luck with your pup.

Andi

Don`t dispair, i had a tiny pup last year she was very small and we tried holding her on and rotating the pups but in the end resorted to hand feeding. We persevered for 3 weeks and in the end she turned out to be superb, she is not much smaller than the standard and has real courage and character.  Chris

I had a 'tiny' ppup in a litter of sibes I had 8 yrs ago. She was only 6ozs at birth when the usual is around 15-16ozs.
I fed her with a bottle for about three weeks until she could get the bitches teats in her mouth then the bitch took over full time.
At 2yrs old, after tests for dwarfism, she was still only 13inches at the shoulder and weighed around 14lbs.
She ia now 8yrs old and living happily at a friends house.
She has always been a fighter and has never ailed for anything in her life.
We gave her the kennel club name 'Microchip' but she ended up with Titch because she answered to it by the time she was four weeks old.

Have you tried boiling some OX liver in some water and then feed the puppy with some of the liquid.  We swear this is what saved our puppy.  You feed it from a pipette every 30 mins or so.  I will do a search on here and see if I can find more details (it was two years ago we used the recipe).  It is definitely worth a try.

Fiona

I found this posted by Staffie Lover a while ago now (Hope they don't mind me posting it :) )

BEEF LIVER REMEDY FOR FADING PUPPIES

>
> It's so simple.....Large piece of Beef Liver, little bit of water, boil
> slowly, about 5 minutes until the blood comes out.  Let cool, drain the
> liquid and put just 4 drops (no matter the breed) into a dropper and give

to

> puppy.
>
> At first you give it every 2 hours for 12 hours, then every 4 hours.  The
> article says you can do this for however long you have to, until you feel
> the puppy is thriving.  I did this for 2 days and the turn around was
> miraculous.  This was the smallest puppy, just 4 ounces, out of a litter

of

> 7.  He was doing fine for 3 days, then he began to fade.  After only the
> second dose, he came around, but I continued for 2 days.
>
> Don't use any of the liver itself, it's way too rich, just the liquid.  I
> wouldn't have another litter without a piece of beef liver in the freezer.
>
> I just spoke to a friend who has a much larger breed and she said she gave
> the 4 drops every hour for 12 hours and then went to every 2 hours, then

to

> 4 hours.  So I guess you can vary it for different breeds.  She agreed it
> was amazing.  She had 2 fading puppies and they are fine now."

If you do a search on 'Liver liquid' you will find other accounts of it being used to save puppies in similar circumstances.

Great advice thank you.

Thank you .