Hi all
I am currently trying to hand rear one tiny little puppy. He was one of a litter of two, his littermate died at 2 days old. He is now 9 days old but is still only 6 ounces. He weighed 8 at birth which is fairly good for the breed. The trouble is he fights against the bottle. He clamps his jaws shut and refuses to suck. By luck, I also have another litter that are 3 weeks old, so he does spend a lot of time with his adoptive Mum. She is very accepting of him but doesn't seem to wash him as much as her own. I have also tried to syringe feed him but he fights against that as well. I took him to the Vets today and he has had injections of fluid under his skin as he is de-hydrated. She also gave him some anti-biotics in case of pneumonia. Any hints or tips would be welcome, as I don't want this little chap to lose his battle with life. P.S. I am feeding him Lactol.

When you are syringe feeding him, are you putting a finger in his mouth and waiting til he starts to suck before slowing syringing the milk into him?  If you're already doing that, sorry, can't suggest anything else.  We helped to feed a litter of 15 many years ago and found that this worked.  Is he sucking from his adoptive mum?  Best of luck to you.

No, I haven't tried doing that but I will. He is feeding off his new mum, but has to compete with 5 much bigger puppies!

If the older pups are 3 weeks old, I'd remove them now and then to give the little one a chance to suckle all on his own.

Thanks, I'll try that!

You could let the older pups start feeding, then when they've got the milk flowing, remove one of the bigger ones, and replace it at the teat with the little one. That way your little chap will get the milk, without wasting energy in the process.
Keeping fingers crossed for the little one!
Karen

When I had a little one in the litter, I used to bring him in the lounge & let him suckle from his mother on his own. It suited both of them & in no time he was getting bigger & stronger.

Also, if you are hand feeding him, which I wouldn't at this stage, you must be very careful to make sure the milk doesn't go onto his lungs. When I have hand fed, (& I have loads of litters due to none of my bitches having milk for about a year) I used to keep the pups head down & gentle syringe the milk in.

I wouldn't be using Lactol either. The vets have much better stuff. I used Waltham replacement milk & it was excellent.

Hope you go OK with this.

If you think she's not stimulating him enough try putting some sunflower oil on his bottom, she'll probably want to lick that off and do the job much better :)  I'd definately keep him on foster mum rather than hand feed if poss, he'll do much better for it :)

Hi All
An update on my little chap..... he is getting weaker and is refusing to suck off the bitch or take ANYTHING from the bottle or syringe. He is fading, and I am wondering if I am doing the right thing by taking him for injections of fluid at the Vets twice a day. He is no better, if anything I would say he is worse. I can't put him in with the other pups, as they are up on their feet now and are "chewing" him. I think they think that he is a toy. I am so upset, I almost wish that I had just let him go off to sleep a couple of days ago, instead of prolonging what seems like the inevitable.

Please don't give up on him yet, he is obviously becoming weak, if he were one of my babes I would persist with the hand rearing, keep trying the feeding with my other bitch and wrap him in a loose fleece and keep him with me offering him TLC on the spot, he would be with me constantly like a baby, be on my knee whilst sitting with me on the sofa etc, I truly believe that that extra bit of TLC can really help a pup pull through.

Will the vet not tube feed him to get him going????
 
When I hand reared I used Whelpi and then a home made receipe of goats milk with egg yolks afterwards, (if you would like the receipe just pm me)  I hand reared a litter of 9, and many of them just would not take to the bottle, or the syringe to start with, please persevere with the syringe, make triple the amount, if you loose a load it does not matter, just get him to take something into him, very very slowly press the syringe into the sides of his mouth, open with your little finger first, it could take me upto 20 mins to just get the tiniest amount into a pup to start with, please just keep trying, he will get used to it.

With regards to the fantastic oportunity for him to have your other bitches milk, it will be difficult to keep the bigger litter with a younger pup, they are play biting now and you are right your other pup can not stay with them he is nowhere near as developed, he will have no chance on his own to feed with older 'siblings' and still needs more sleep, are the other pups chewing his ears??? This is a bad sign for him, he is seen as an intergrator, he probably smells differently with all the handling and alien milk smell. When you do one of your daily bedding changes for mum and pups I would wrap him in that, (the clean parts obviously) to re-scent him and take away any alien smells.

Personally re: his feeding with your other bitch, I would remove all but one or two of the older pups to allow him time to feed, if he is still being chewed personally, when he falls asleep after a quick feed pop back all the other pups and remove him to a seperate cardboard box bedded with a warm fleece, I would wash and clean him myself with warm cotton wool gently massage his tummy and anus and take on that job myself.

The other pups are going to become much to playful for him, by all means allow supervised socialising with the others when he is stronger and more lively himself, but remove him and play with him yourself to make up for any sibling play he is missing out on. He is going to need protection until much older and able to stand on his own two feet and play with the other pups himself.

If you can just get him to feed for the next couple of days you can bring him back, please keep trying, I have my fingers, toes, arms and legs crossed for this little one I hope and pray he will pull through.

LIQUID LIFE AID it saves puppies,its about £15 a bottle but lasts ages.

Try an Eye dropper instead of syringe,thats what I have been using its so much easier just to squeeze the right amount into the side of the pups mouth, I know what you are going through just now, I am in the same position only mine is  3wks now and I did not think he would make it as far as this. Keep trying, I was wrapping the puppy in a t towel, just like a baby in a shawl and feeding him that way, and giving loads of cuddles and letting him fall asleep in my arms, I think the problem with mine was he could not suck properly, even yet he has difficulty attaching himself onto mum, but he is now lapping in a dish with the others.  Its so tiring, but worth it in the end, and yes I would keep going to the vet to get the jabs, they do help.

All fingers and toes crossed for your little one.

Hi, Could you tube feed?  I have never done it but have read about a litter that were tube fed a couple of times as the litter was large. If you get The whelping and rearing of puppies by Muriel P Lee it tells you how to go about it.  It is meant to be easier on the pup. Good luck.

My little chap passed away last night. I haven't been able to get on line before now, ****** computer. I am absolutely heartbroken but am consoling myself that he is no longer suffering. Can't talk anymore, I am getting upset again.
Thanks everybody for your kind words.

You tried your best and you could do no more. Run free little one :)
Lucy
xx

((((hugs)))))) to you, sorry about the little one.

You did all you could have done and gave him the best possible chance.

Oh, Lopear, I'm so sorry to read your sad news.  You did your best and gave the little one the best possible chance - it just wasn't meant to be.

So, So, Sorry, absolutely heartbreaking, you tried your very hardest, sometimes everything is against us. So sorry.

So very sorry, you tried your very best and he was loved every minute of his short life.

so sorry to hear about the little one

So sorry his little life had to end so soon. But you did everything you could, sometimes it's just not enough. Pups that fade away sometimes suffer from something that doesn't show, it's nature's way of sparing them more suffering later on. Big hug, and don't forget to enjoy your other pups!
Karen

You couldn't have done more for him and gave him the best possible chance.  So sorry he didn't make it, sometimes it's just not meant to be :(  perhaps there was more wrong than could have been helped :( :(

Try to enjoy the remaining pups

{{{HUGS}}}

Dill