My bitch had 9 puppies on 13 Nov, sadly we lost one during the first night. Now one of the pups is considerley smaller than the rest, she doesn't seem to be interested in feeding from her mother or from a bottle, she has lost only 10g in two days. The vet says there is nothing they can do for her as she is so young?. She doesn't cry out in pain or anything and it still as lively as the rest of them. Any ideas or help would be greatly apreciated.

I had a small one in my litter which lost weight and got behind the rest.  I decided not to supplement him with milk as felt that might cause digestive problems.  I kept his fluids up with Liquid Life Aid (a cattle rehydration fluid)   http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Liquid-Life-Aid-960ml/productinfo/LIQ960/  this gave him the strength to feed (although I used to hold him up to the teat and make sure that the others didn't knock him off).  It paid off and we were so pleased when he got to weigh 1lb at around 10 days (my normal dog pup weighs around 19oz at birth).  The other thing I did was to hold him up to mum to encourage her to clean him so that I could be sure that he wasn't constipated.  Anyway he was always slightly behind the rest but was a strong boy in the end.  He went to his new home k at eight weeks and could not have been considered the runt by then. 

When trying to get her to feed you could try rubbing her back to stimulate her to suck.

I do hope your little one picks up, I know how worrying it is. 

Thanks for your advice, I have tried holding her to the teat, she has a few sucks then doesn't bother, Mum and I clean her all the time and she wee's and poo's regularly. I am beside myself with worry, the rest of the pups are nearly 200g heavier than her. Iwill give liquid life aid a try, How much do I give her or will it say on the bottle? do I give it by syringe or bottle? Thanks again

I would do it by syringe - just drop a small amount on the tongue - a little and often.  I make up 250 mls (20mls of life aid the rest tepid water) to use for the day - start with fresh every day.  (a babies bottle hold 250mls so handy to store it in)  When you have one of your bigger puppies on a teat with good production of milk going - take the puppy off and replace with your little one.  If you hold the puppy on to the teat and try and stimulate her to suck - you do need to be quite firm with the rubbing - the same as mum is.  Don't just leave her to suckle on her own till you know that she latched on properly.  With the extra energy from the liquid life aid she should improve enought to have the energy she needs to suck.  Did your vet check for a cleft palate?  I know you must be very tired from your puppies but it very important that you keep putting her on the teat often til she is strong enough to try herself.

I'm sure other breeders will be a long soon to offer more advice.  Try not to get upset - it is so stressful looking after puppies - you just feel so tired and desperate in the first few weeks especially if things don't go well.  Make sure you are keeping your fluids up too - she needs you too.

The vet checked her and the rest of the pups for cleft palate and they all were fine, thank god. I have ordered some liquid life aid and it should be here tomorrow (I hope that its not too late), Will try checking with Pets at home and see if they sell it and nip out and get some.
Thankyou once again for all your advice, its so nice to speak to someone who has been through it. I have vowed I will never do this again it is heart breaking. Have already spoken to the vet about speying my bitch!

I do feel for you,it is such a worry.I had a pup that needed help with feeding.I did give milk supplement and that pup did suffer digestive problems a bit later on but i solved this easily by giving her a few drops of lactase,the enzyme which she needed to break down the lactose and she was fine.Also i found i had more control over how much milk i was dropping into her little mouth by using a pippette.You can usually get them from the vet but i used one from a rescue remedy bottle.The rescue remedy helped me to!
best of luck to you

I very much doubt that Pets at Home will have it - you could try a farm store as it is aimed at cattle but honestly is safe for your pup.  Just try and keep her hydrated - someone more knowledgeable than me will be able to give you a recipe for a liquid to feed her until the liquid life aid gets to you.  They have put it on here before but I can't find it - something like honey and water.  Just try and keep the pup suckling but remember if she is very tiny she will get tired quicker than the others.

oh,and also i gave her boiled water at room temp with a little glucose in it and this gave her the energy to feed better.I would do that first and then try to help her get some collostrum from mum.Then supplement if you need.

Thank you both for your help, I have been with her and my bitch got out of the whelping box and led on the floor next to it so I tried putting her on a teat and she suckled for a bout 2 - 3 mins! I am so relieved you wouldn't believe. hopefully she will carry on like that, i will try every hour with mum outside the whelping box so the others don't get in the way. The others are putting on about 100g a day!

what area of the country are you?  I have a smallish amount in my fridge that would tide you over.  i am in hampshire.

keep doing that with mum and just the weaker pup for as often as poss, but at least every 2 hours.  it doesn't sound like she is feeding for long enough either.  mine feed for usually 15 mins + and that is every 2 hours.

It will take time to get her strength up but if she is still suckling a small amount from mum she still has fight in her.  Just keep at it - little and often - hopefully once you've got the liquid life aid she'll get stronger.

Thanks wendy, I am in Wiltshire a bit far I think. But thank you anyway, I will see if Countrywide sell it.

Coubtrywide sell it, gunna pop down there, will keep you all posted and thanks agin for all your help.

Good luck - let us know how you get on.

keeping everything crossed for you.  good luck and hope & pray she is o.k.

x

Got it and have given her some, Thanks for all your advice, especially Wendy at the end of a phone. will let you all know how she is. x

Thats brilliant you've managed to get it so quickly.  Just keep dropping her small amounts - it will just give her the energy she needs to keep sucking from her mum. 

You will be pleased to know she made it through the night, (thank god) giving her life aid and a feed every two hours. She was even looking for and found the teat on her own this morning (well chuffed)
Will find it so hard to see this one go to a new home, really want to keep her!

how is your little pup this morning? 

I can't remember if i mentioned to keep her as warm as possible too, as they can lose their strength by getting cold and even more so this weather.  i guess you have some heating for them?  a heatpad or the like.  i would put the little one on a hot water bottle (supervised) and hopefully this will also help her.

so pleased to hear that, brilliant news, but keep on with this for a couple of days with her and watch her 'like a hawk'!

sorry i must have been slowly typing when you had just posted mins before.

I'm so pleased for you - keep on with the life aid and check that she is suckling properly from mum - not just dozing!  I lost a little one at two days old 5 years ago and it broke my heart to see her fade away with seemingly nothing I could do - felt so helpless - since then I have been much more careful to check that they are suckling and not just keeping warm.  Once I found out about liquid life aid I've used it for every litter, it just seems to help them so much.

I have a heat pad in the whelping box and have been using a hot water bottle but because the central heating is on they all seem to stay away from the heat pad and space theirselves out around the whelping box, usually 2 in each corner (bless) so i have turned it off but do make sure everyone is warm.
As for life aid, should be called miracle aid! I think I need some, nicotine doesn't seem enough!!

i know it is almost like 'a heart stopping' moment and such a massive worry but it sounds like the worst is over now.

will be keeping fingers crossed for you and hope she gets stronger and stronger each day.

x

So pleased to hear the baby is feeding now,well done.My situation was like yours and my heart was in my mouth for the first couple of weeks and lack of sleep doesn't help.I lost almost a stone in weight! All the pups thrived though and the little one was fine with a huge character.At the time i swore i'd never do that again but now.10 months later i look at new born pups and feel envious!

I also have one that being a bit smaller than the others, tends to get barged out of the way when the gannets rush forward for dinner......I am just topping him up 2 hourly with 20ml of royal canin puppy milk and its amazing how much difference its made in 24 hours. its hard work but well worth it and I have done this several times before, and usually by 8 weeks youd never know there was one small one! Reading your post again....are you not keeping one of your puppies then?

I would love to keep one, but already having 3 GSD's I don't know if I could cope with another one!!
I am working on the other half to keep this little girl though, If i had my way and a big enough house and wallett I would keep them all!

maybe i am going off the original topic now...but I have to ask...why are you breeding from her then?

This was a mistake, My bitch came into season and I kept my male away from her (obviosly not well enough) she was in season 2 days then on the 3rd day my male went into be castrated. My vet told me she wouldn't be pregnant after 2 days in heat. And here I am 9 weeks later with 8 pups.

I had the same with a little pup, he was weak and not feeding long enough, i supplemented him with welpi & a life aid colostrum, at times he seemed he was picking up, then he went down hill again despite feeding him every 2 hours day & night, sadly at day 5 he faded, it was heartbreaking and never gets easier,  i hope your puppy pulls through,

aha.

Is there a problem with breeding and not keeping?

My point exactly lucy lu, I know many breeders who don't keep any pups, Imagine how many dogs some breeders would end up with!

well some of us would question the motives...but thats for a different thread.

What are you implying? I only came on here to ask a question about a sick pup and not to be judged by people.

I agree, we have 1, possibly 2 litters a year and of course we don't always want to keep one. However we enjoy having puppies, always have a waiting list, (this time we ARE keeping one), so I can see nothing wrong with breeding and not keeping under those circumstances.

Thanks for that snomaes, I don't see a problem with it either but obviously some people do!!.
It won't be happening again as she is due to be speyed when she has finished lactating and the pups are all gone (boo hoo)

someone comes here with heart in mouth desperate for advice and support to save a weak baby and then recieves implications of dodgy breeding!?Please!!

Hope you have a good day with your puppies and that she is still feeding?  Don't panic when you weigh her if she hasn't put on much when you weigh them as long as a little has gone on. 

lucylu i think you will find that i gave supportive advice based on my own experiences.

i am so disheartened by some people 'judging' others when all they need is help desperately for a weak puppy.

IMO no one has the right to judge others.

hope your little pup is still doing well roxy

As far as I can see, this little puppy has been given every possible help from everyone who responded. 
That doesn't mean that responsible breeders shouldn't encourage others to be responsible too, and for most that means only breeding from the best dogs for the improvement or maintenance of their breeds and only trying to produce puppies for that purpose.

This modern idea that we mustn't 'judge' people always makes me smile.  We all have to make judgments everyday or we wouldn't know who to choose for our friends or who we should trust to help us make decisions. :)

when someone asks for specific advise for a sick puppy then why would someone ask the poster 'why do you breed?'  It is nothing to do with the subject whatsoever.

The worry, stress, lack of sleep, tears etc is so overwhelming when looking after a weak or poss poorly pup that the last thing anyone needs is people questioning their motives etc..  They need support!

Thanks again to all of you who have supported me and pup through this. You will be pleased to know she made it through another night and has put on 80g in a day. I am sooooooo Happy!!!

Your news that your baby is continuing to improve is so heartening.  I'm glad that you were able to get the liquid life aid so quickly - it really is miracle worker - isn't it?  What a result, nice to get some good news for a change!!  I also find it good to give all the pups when they are being wormed as that can take quite a lot out of them.  Good luck and I hope she continues to come on leaps and bounds.

well wendy you will be delighted to know that i offered my help here

"I also have one that being a bit smaller than the others, tends to get barged out of the way when the gannets rush forward for dinner......I am just topping him up 2 hourly with 20ml of royal canin puppy milk and its amazing how much difference its made in 24 hours. its hard work but well worth it and I have done this several times before, and usually by 8 weeks youd never know there was one small one"

I have found with my pups that are heavy at birth compared to the 10 - 12 ounces which is average, that the pups either loose up to an ounce or don't gain for around two days.

The first time this happened I was worried, now with more experience I know by the look and behaviour of the pups that they are thriving, they get that rounded look with plush coats and have that contented hum.

I always latch on any pup that is smaller or slower on the uptake anytime I pass the box or the others are sleeping.