Hi all
Am new to the forum and would appreciate any advice. My bitch has 4 3-day-old pups, all bitches.  There were no complications at whelping and all pups are warm, plump and either suckling or sleeping and gaining weight.  Hardly any crying. Mum is generally relaxed (she is an excitable bitch at the best of times!), eating well and taken to motherhood very well. She's doing a grand job.
However, the smallest (and last born) has a small amount of milk coming through her nose after suckling.  I have read many threads (this forum is excellent and a mine of info!) and understand this may be caused by a cleft palate.  We can't see anything obvious but if so I imagine it would be a very small hole as it is not much milk?  Puppy is not too keen on an oral examination and that sets mum off fretting as well.   Many members have said such pups should be pts but I am very reluctant to do this as she is gaining weight and seems fine in all other respects.  We plan to keep one so she would be the natural choice.     My questions are, should I just wait and see how things develop or should our vet see her?  Will it achieve anything at this point? Longer term, if she does have a small hole can it be 'repaired'?  Will it set her back in other ways?
Thanks for any advice
Jon

Hi - I have a puppy who is 10 weeks old today.  She nearly died when she was 24 hrs old and I had to syringe feed her.  Took her to vet - just a bit cold and dehydrated.  Gave her antibiotic injection as a precaution.  Checked for cleft palate - no signs.  She continued to be very slow to thrive and took her back to vet - again no sign of cleft palate.  She did improve slightly when she started solid food.  She often sneezes when she laps milk/water and did get a chest infection.  Eventually at 8 weeks they did find that she has a small slit in the soft tissue in her throat.  She was operated on yesterday - made a remarkable recovery and was eating sloppy food within an hour.  Since she has been home she has eaten like a horse and I'm sure she'll soon be up to normal weight/size for her age.  Going back to vet tomorrow to check all is ok.  As is often the case with puppies who are hand reared etc, she is extremely well socialised and a lovely puppy.  I would say, go with your gut feeling, if you think she will make it - with may be a bit of extra TLC - go for it.  I think people are to quick to have their puppies put down and not give them a chance of life.  Yes, she has cost me a bit of money - but I'd far  rather spend my money on my dogs and have a clear consience.

Giving the pup a chance if it has a good chance at a normal life is fine. 

Your pup had a very small hard to identify cleft and yet still had problems like chest infections which apart from the inability to feed properly are the main problems with trying to rear obvious clefts.

Also I think if you decide to rear an abnormal pup then it is only right if the breeder keeps it themselves and of course never breeds from it.

Agreed Brainless.  My feeling is there isn't a major problem but of course only time will tell. The pup would stay with us.

Thank you! My thoughts exactly Cuckmereannie.. your response has given me encouragement and my gut feeling is she will make it. Yes she is smaller than the others and yes she is not growing as fast   She has put on about 60gms in just less than 3 days whereas the biggest 2 have put on about 100gms.. she started smaller and is not growing as fast.  The third has only put on 60 gms also but she doesn't have this problem and seems a bit stronger. But she is warm, not cold at all just smaller and weaker than the others.  She sucks like mad even though she has some coming down her nose!  My feeling is she has a small opening like your puppy that hopefully can be corrected when she is big enough!   I am going to try my hardest to look out for her and hopefully all will be right in the end.  Thanks.

Treblebass,

I am not dismissing it altogether but I have had ones in every litter that are so greedy the milk comes out the nose, sometimes even choking themselves. I have checked and checked and never had a cleft palate yet..

Good luck :-)

Thanks Blue, I hope that is the reason, maybe because she's smaller she feels she has to suck harder! :-)

Blue
The milk has stopped coming out of her nose for the last 2 days so I think you were right thank goodness!  She's doubled her weight in 7 days.  Thanks!