Well my litter has arrived and is a large one for thr breed. However I am concerned because they are all very small and thin looking. You can see ever rib and they just look scrawny. They weigh much less than my last litter did. They seem strong and are already feeding. Why is this likely to have happened? Is it just because it is a large litter? Will they catch up? One little girl is tiny. Half the size of a normal pup.

iv had a girl in a large litter half the size she is now normal size of the breed :)....iv found if ist a large litter and mum was wormed from day 40 pups are born thinner then a litter not wormed it takes 24h for pups to plump up as i call it ,as long as all feeding well dont worry ,have you used same stud? but congrats glad all went well :)

I have not used this stud before. I also did not worm this time as I had problems with mum vomiting after being given the wormer.

> ....iv found if ist a large litter and mum was wormed from day 40 pups are born thinner then a litter not wormed

I have found quite the opposite my pups are bigger than average for the breed (makes sense as no worm burden).

Puppies born thin is probably down to the placenta failing.

I have found whatever the size at birth pups will make the size their genetics would predict based on feeding them well after birth.

I have had very heavy pups make smaller adults than those who were smaller pups.

"I have found whatever the size at birth pups will make the size their genetics would predict based on feeding them well after birth".

yes i agree about genetics of size of pups to adulthood ,but i have had thinner pups since worming mum at day 40 the difference iv found is pups gain weight better and grow better because no worm their coats are better too.

Congrats on the new arrivals, how many and what sexes?

I have always done the daily worming regime from day 40 and my pups have been bigger than expected for the breed when I have asked around for average weights or what the sire has produced in the past if that info available, my girls were the lower end of breed weight and sires a couple lbs heavier.

Thanks Barbara for mentioning genetics or poorly functioning placenta as I brought this up on another thread and no one seemed to accept those as options for small pups.

If you haven't wormed then keep a close eye on the pups as they may become pot bellied with a worm load and feeding slow down in the first week and need worming earlier.

Don't be tempted to supplement feed because Mum needs to know how much milk to produce, if the pups appear lethargic give a drop or 2 of vet/nutrodrops before latching them on for a feed.

Hopefully they will all plump up soon

I had a litter with smaller than average pups, with one very small pup (half the size of her siblings). By six weeks old they were on par with previous litters size and weight. The tiny one is now seven months old and bigger than her mom.

I would also support poor functioning placentas as a possible cause for small birth weight as the placenta in my tiny puppy was very clearly "not the norm".

It isn't always easy to see which placenta belongs to which pup unless it remains attached at delivery as it may arrive with a previous pups or Mum eats it before you get a chance to look.

As  midwife we used to take the placentas to the sluice to examine them, check there were the right number of blood vessels in the cord, 2 membranes and then we had to feel them, some were very gritty,others had areas that had died, some cords were thick and juicy,others like bits of string, the less healthy placentas you wondered how a baby had survived and also explained the premature labours in some cases.

I have no idea if the placentas were normal or not. They all came out with each pup but mum ate them pretty quickly. They just looked like a blob of slimy tissue.there are 10 puppies 6 girls and 4 boys. All are feeding well and mum seems to have plenty of milk so  I hope they will soon catch up.

Is there anything that can be done to prevent placenta problems in future litters? mum had a very picky appetite and vomited a lot during the pregnancy. She is always a slim girl and would not eat any extra food even towards the end. She mainly ate tinned butchers tripe as she didn't want her normal raw diet. She did have a meal earlier but threw it up again but as she ate a lot of placents I won't worry too much about that one.

If Mum's diet was poor due to lack of appetite then that too can contribute to low weight pups though usually it is the dam who suffers as the pups are like parasites and take at the expense of her condition, how is she looking?

I hope her appetite picks up to feed all those mouths, goats milk to drink plus cottage cheese to boost her calcium and anything else you can get her to eat, tinned chicken in white sauce mixed with rice goes down well[works if they are poorly too] here and easy to put together,warmed slightly releases the smells, rice pudding also has lots of calories, puppy kibble available 24/7 to snack on, I tend to look in my food cupboard and try anything non spicey when they are being fussy, what works one day may not the next.

Mum is looking very thin now without her belly. I have tried most of your suggestions over the last couple of weeks to try to get he r to eat. Goats milk really upset het tum as do yoghurt and cottage cheese. Will try the chicken in sauce. She.  Might like that.

ive been so lucky with our girl she dont stop eating i wish she would drink more tho

Littlest girl didn't make it through the night. I guess there might have been something wrong to cause her to be so small. Amazing how upsetting it is to lose a puppy that has only been here for such a short time. all the others looking ok and have put on a few grams

So sorry to hear about the little girl but glad the others are making progress. Reading this made me look forward a couple of weeks to my turn. Always remembering puppies I have lost over the years. Some just have a problem and it takes the edge off a bit for a while but the main thing is that your others are thriving. Busy times ahead!

yes it sure does pull on your heart :(....have you tried goats milk in warm water more water then goats milk?? eating at the mo can be small but she really needs to drink alot ,and she has a big litter too.

Sorry the little one didn't make it, may she RIP.

Glad the others are gaining as they normally lose in the first 24hrs.

i must of been lucky as none of my pups have ever lost but my kids didnt either :)

It may depend on when you weigh them after birth. 

I weigh as soon as out the bag and tagged, so they are wet and still haven't passed the meconium. 

I am sure if I waited until all pups were born and dry they would weigh less and therefore perhaps not loose that little bit the first day.

I have usually found a slight drop in weight with an average size litter, regained the day after and gaining from then on.  I have generally found it's the pups that are particularly large that drop a bit.

I weigh mine whilst freshly born too, I presumed everyone did so there was a record of order of birth/sex/weight/color/pattern as you were going along and ID if needs be.

I sex/weigh and also photo straight away. My breed have specific markings so to take a photo front and back helps to identify which puppies came when.