Cookie's milk is drying up

[majic50]

Cookie's baby is 6 days old. Her milk came in late the second day, but by today all her teats but one appear to be dried up and he doesn't seem to be getting much milk out of that. He really fights with it.

He started out at 4.1 oz and his weight went down quite a lot before her milk came in. By today he finally weighed 4.2 oz, so I had the vet show me how to do tube feedings. After three tube feedings and about 5 1/2 mL of puppy formula, he is already up to 4.4 oz.

I hope is weight keeps going up. I would hate to lose him. At one time he was down to 3.4 oz. He just seems so tiny.

[majic50]

Hero is up to 4.8 oz as of this morning, so is gaining from the tube feeding.

I had hoped to breed Cookie again next year. Should I expect her milk to dry up again? I don't want to have to tube feed a whole litter.

[MyTrixie143]

Aw, I hope the little guy makes it.

May I ask why you are tube feeding him? Is he not able to latch onto a nipple from a bottle?
Just make sure he is kept warm and is gaining weight everyday.

It may or may not happen again with her next litter. But there are supplements that you can give them that are suppose to aid in giving the mom a good milk production.
J-B Wholsale Pet Supplies, Inc.

[bjh]

When a puppy suckles on the momma that was what stimulates milk production. If she is only nursing one puppy then I would expect most of the milk to come from 1 nipple. If you are tube feeding the puppy then the momma will continue to dry up. When you tried to squeeze milk out of the nipple you may have done it after he had eaten. Have you tried giving the momma whelping pudding to increase the milk production? It is important that the momma eats 3 or 4 good meals a day.

[majic50]

Originally Posted by MyTrixie143

Aw, I hope the little guy makes it.

May I ask why you are tube feeding him? Is he not able to latch onto a nipple from a bottle?
Just make sure he is kept warm and is gaining weight everyday.

It may or may not happen again with her next litter. But there are supplements that you can give them that are suppose to aid in giving the mom a good milk production.
J-B Wholsale Pet Supplies, Inc.

I didn't seem to be able to latch on to his mother at first. He is now, but there doesn't seem to be enough milk now. Only one teat appears to have milk, even though they all had milk to begin with. He wasn't gaining everyday, that's why I'm supplementing him. He is being kept warm with a heating pad.

I tried a bottle, but the nipples don't come with holes in them and my hand doesn't seem to be steady enough to make a small enough hole. I tried with multiple nipples, the milk is coming out so fast that I'm afraid I'll drown him. My vet seems to think that tube feeding is the only way to make sure he doesn't aspirate the formula. She showed me how to insert the tube correctly, which is much easier than I expected it to be.

I didn't give any calcium supplements before whelping, as my vet recommended against it. She said that her body would get used to having the calcium and when she started nursing the puppies it would drain her calcium and she could get eclampsia. (That seems like close to what she said, anyway.) She started calcium supplements as soon as she started whelping.

[majic50]

Originally Posted by bjh

When a puppy suckles on the momma that was what stimulates milk production. If she is only nursing one puppy then I would expect most of the milk to come from 1 nipple. If you are tube feeding the puppy then the momma will continue to dry up. When you tried to squeeze milk out of the nipple you may have done it after he had eaten. Have you tried giving the momma whelping pudding to increase the milk production? It is important that the momma eats 3 or 4 good meals a day.

I figured that was the reason most of the nipples dried up, but he wasn't gaining weight. He was 6 days old and only .1 oz above his birth weight of 4.1. I always keep a very close watch on their weights. I thought he lost quite a bit, but I was waiting for him to gain it back. He stayed at 3.7 oz for 2 days before he went up to 3.9 and it was 2 more days before he made it to 4.1. I didn't want to supplement him. Every hour two, day and night, I was making sure he latched on to his mother, but it didn't seem to matter. He still didn't gain weight and he cried a lot. I assumed he was crying from hunger. My friend has been telling me to supplement him from the first day, but I didn't want Cookie to quit producing milk for him. It got to the point that I didn't think I had a choice any more.

[majic50]

Originally Posted by bjh

When a puppy suckles on the momma that was what stimulates milk production. If she is only nursing one puppy then I would expect most of the milk to come from 1 nipple. If you are tube feeding the puppy then the momma will continue to dry up. When you tried to squeeze milk out of the nipple you may have done it after he had eaten. Have you tried giving the momma whelping pudding to increase the milk production? It is important that the momma eats 3 or 4 good meals a day.

Oh yeah! Whelping pudding. I thought it was for whelping and since the vet told me the puppies wouldn't be born before May 20th, I didn't get around to making it before the puppies were born. I don't know if it will help now? She eats well. There is dry puppy food out all the time, plus I feed her canned Chicken Soup for puppies and she gets her calcium supplement.

[bjh]

Originally Posted by majic50

Oh yeah! Whelping pudding. I thought it was for whelping and since the vet told me the puppies wouldn't be born before May 20th, I didn't get around to making it before the puppies were born. I don't know if it will help now? She eats well. There is dry puppy food out all the time, plus I feed her canned Chicken Soup for puppies and she gets her calcium supplement.

I've never used the whelping pudding myself but it might help. It sounds like she is eating enough. I hope your baby continues to do well. I know it can be stressful worrying if they are getting enough. I have never tube fed a Yorkie and I hope I never have to. Knock on wood!

[katelin]

I fed all of that and also gave her a little whelping pudding as a snack between meals, and I also used cottage cheese as a snack between meals. It just gives them a little blood sugar bump, IMO. Good luck.

[Susan123]

The puppies have their way of getting it out that's much more efficient than ours. Before tube feeding, I would put them on the teat first to nurse. I would also express milk....There is a way you can do it with a big syringe, using the plunger as suction. I'd also have her using two teats, but I've never had a singleton. Sounds like your doing a great job. Tube feeding is a great way to put on weight. I'd rather tube feed that bottle or syringe any day. The risks are actually less for aspiration. Good luck with him, I'm sure he'll keep gaining for you. Also, lots of water for mom helps with milk.

[majic50]

Actually, I think Cookie knows she's not producing enough milk. She comes to get me. She won't leave me alone until I go check on her baby. Then she sits here on the arm of my chair and watches while I feed him. When I put him back she gets in the box with him and stays until the next time; unless she has to eat or go potty.

[majic50]

He nurses from Mom off and on during the day, but you can tell by watching, that's he's fighting for every drop. He can nurse for 10 minutes and when he's done, I pick him up and he still acts like he's hungry. I keep dry puppy food and fresh water in the box for her all the time.

[katelin]

Try the whelping pudding. Richer foods, high quality protein with a little fat, like a little scrambled egg, cottage cheese, these may make her milk richer. That's what my old Scottish grandmother used to tell me - why not with Yorkies too?? (LOL) Also, a little boiled chicken would be good for mom.

My singleton nursed everywhere, not just on one or two teats. But if you have to choose, use the farthest back towards the tail, they hold the most milk and are usually easier to get the milk out of.

That is so sweet that you mom comes to get you to feed her baby. She's a good little mommy.

[majic50]

Originally Posted by katelin

Try the whelping pudding. Richer foods, high quality protein with a little fat, like a little scrambled egg, cottage cheese, these may make her milk richer. That's what my old Scottish grandmother used to tell me - why not with Yorkies too?? (LOL) Also, a little boiled chicken would be good for mom.

My singleton nursed everywhere, not just on one or two teats. But if you have to choose, use the farthest back towards the tail, they hold the most milk and are usually easier to get the milk out of.

That is so sweet that you mom comes to get you to feed her baby. She's a good little mommy.

He doesn't have a choice on which one he nurses. There all dried up except the one on the right side in the back.