Recently i got some information off the internet about dehydration in young puppies and the breeder i was reading about injected something under the skin, i think it was American and they called it ringers, what are they called in the UK?

They use it a lot on ER etc :D It's an electrolyte solution as I understand it

I had a litter that dehydrated my vet used this method to rehydrate them, injected saline under the skin on their bellies, they were fine after this.

Thanks guys do vets ever put the puppies on a drip? also have you ever heard of breeders in this country doing themselves, i've heard rumours of vets not really being that interested in very young puppies:rolleyes:

Doing "sub q" as the americans call it is very much an american thing -the slightest problem in any animals (even down to hamsters) and they do it themselves. It's a big thing with cats with kidney problems for instance, americans tend to give the fluids at home twice a day, but UK vets consider it nothing but cruel generally speaking (i.e. wen it is on a permanent basis).

I think  not a lot of people in the UK would do something like this themselves if for no other reason than that it would be hard to ge hold of supplies as vets don't hand them out here like they do in the US.

As for vets not being very interested in young puppies- bit of a sweeping statement isn't it? For instance I took an 8 day old kitten to the vet on Friday and he got a very careful examination and antibiotics prescribed etc. With my litter of pups last year I took a pup in to be PTS as I considered it to have no chance of survival and turning into a normal healthy dog (long story) and the vet I saw then actually tried to convince me to not give up. So my experience has been the total opposite. I've often brought newborn kittens to the vet and they've never been uninterested in them. The only time my vet was disapproving and a bit dismissive was when I brought in a litter of accidental crossbred pups -BECAUSE they were crossbred. In his words "They're just mutts, you'll never find GOOD homes for them all." Can't say I disagree with his attitude as he'd be the same with Joe Bloggs down the road who breeds a mongrel litter just becase they can without having thought it through.

>have you ever heard of breeders in this country doing themselves,

Not sure what you mean. Remember it's illegal in the UK for anyone who isn't a qualified vet to perform any action out of the ordinary to an animal. If a non-vet qualified breeder put a puppy on a drip they'd be breaking the law.

it's a saline solution - basically packaged in an sterile IV bag. It's a long story but under vet supervision, I had to inject my last litter of pups at home sub Q several times a day for a few days using vet supplied saline solution. That said I have a good relationship with my vets and they know I have given injections before as I trained as a nurse. It was a critical situation with hand rearing plus anti-biotics until they were fostered by their older full sister.
Edited to add - my understanding is that if this treatment if prescribed by a vet, than a lay person can inject sub Q (in the way I am trained and passed to micro chip) as it is considered a 'non invasive' procedure by the RCVS. Think of owners who have to inject insulin into their dog on a daily basis. Putting a pup on a drip would involve inserting a needle into a vein which then becomes 'invasive'