New to the Forum with questions - long ( sorry)

[BellymonsterMom]

We have a new puppy that we took in from a family who couldn't care for her properly. She was too tiny and they were afraid that they couldn't monitor her needs well ( and she seems to need monitoring .

We've had her a month and she hasn't gained any weight ( she's been seen by the regular vet twice and the ER Vet twice). She was eating well, drinks, very active, sleeps in her crate willingly, pottys well ( formed and regularly) She had one hypoglycemic issue where we took her to the ER. I had given her some Maple syrup to perk her up and the ER Vet said this might have stablized her blood sugar- if it even was an attack ( I was stressed out about this happening)

The family said she is a Yorkie/Poodle cross-breed. Mother a toy poodle ( 7 pounds) and the father a Yorkie ( 5 lbs). The breeder told them to put pure maple syrup on her food if she wasn't eating and to get her over the transition hump. The family gave us the food the breeder was feeding - Diamond Natural- but the adult formula- chicken and rice and we changed it to the Puppy formula same brand. She ate fine.

She was flea/parasite/wormed- twice so far. Vet said she looked fine and healthy. She had the second round of three shots and worming in one day...that was the day I took her to the ER. She recovered. She has since had a flea thing again after the last visit when we worried about parasites cause her no gain. She did have tape worm from the fleas.

She isn't gaining weight, but seems to have grown taller- in her legs. She also looks like she is losing a bit of hair on her legs ( or maybe they are just growing and it hasn't filled in?) She has a big head of hair and a tiny tall body. ( we think she is beautiful but I worry about her eating and gaining). The husband overfeeds our poodle ( a mini who is 20lbs-too overweight ) and gave the new one some people food. Recently. So this isn't the cause of her not gaining although it IS the cause of her new feeding issue.

My tubby poodle will ONLY eat Senior Ceasar ( I know, crap food) with dry kibble out all dayand my husband's table scraps. The little one now eats a bit of Puppy Ceasar that I mix with her Diamond Natural Puppy...but NOW she will only eat it if it has cottage cheese or something human-food in it.

She has had an xray ( we worried she swallowed a battery we found missing- she didn't) and the doc said she looks good on the inside...blood tests fine, everything good. She does have a little dry drandruf and she is itchy- although she has no fleas. Thin hair on the back of her pointy ears...but it's light brown so it looks a bit thinner in that area. Vet isn't concerned about the coat...but gave us Hospital food to mix in ( she hates it). We were only giving her 1/3 packet of Ceasar three times a day...we've upped it to 1/2 and I started adding in the cheese. Maybe I was underfeeding her? She does play AWFULLY hard with our poodle and her toys. Maybe too much?

Any other suggestions? She is adorable and very smart. I worry that she is too tiny...the family told us the breeder said she would be between 5-7 pounds. She is 4 mths and 2 pounds. Is 5 to 7 even possible? What should I be feeding? What about the skin issues...add Olive oil to her food? Bacon grease ( my husband's suggestion- of course!) How much food should she be eating? Maybe I was starving her? She always has dry food out and I've seen her run over and pick a teeny crunchie or two out during the day - though not lately .

Sorry this is so long. I'm a wreck worried about this puppy. Thanks!

[Mom to Hot Rod]

First of all, welcome to YT.

I am no expert, but maybe your little one is a little one. (?) While the parents may be of a certain size, nothing says that a tiny could not be a result. You cannot tell 100% of the time.

It certainly sounds as though you are taking all the necessary steps to ensuring her health although I would not add olive oil or bacon grease to her food. There are better alternatives such as salmon oil. There are other alternatives as well but I am not an expert. I would highly suggest that you curtail your husband from giving her so much table scraps. Since she is so small, it would not take much for her to become ill should she get something that is not good or may be too rich or too fatty for her.

Her hair situation could just be growing pains and her coat may fill in as time goes on. There are many suggestions for foods in the health and diet section. I am sure someone will come along soon with a lot more knowledge in that area than I.

I was feeding mine Natural Balance rolls for a long while and now I feed Stella and Chewys freeze dried raw. Every once in awhile they still get a bit picky but over all they love this food. But as you pointed out she is just a puppy and she will need the nutrition that is in puppy food. At 4 months old, I remember our vet telling use that they should be feed about 3 -4 x a day at this point. More on the 3 x but since she is so tiny, I would feed 4-5 times or just leave her kibble out. Her stomach is probably the size of nickel so she will fill up quickly. Have you tried adding some water or seaonless chicken broth to her kibble? Maybe this will make it easier for her to chew it.

Good luck. What is her name?

[BellymonsterMom]

Her name is Bella ( aka BellyMonster- she is quite the bossy thing). I have put my foot down about the treats and table scraps...especially after watching the 2 pound pup trotting along the kitchen floor with what looked to be a 4 pound Pupperoni !! My dear poodle eats all this junk-- but she's a healthy 8 yrs and our second poodle- the first lived to a healthy 17 and ate all manner of the same junk and wouldn't eat any dogfood but Gainesburgers- talk about icky food. My step-daughter's ex was a Vet with a specialty in Nutrition and years ago told us that Vet and specialty food is a scam and the typical dog will be fine on a supermarket diet. I was shocked and still wary but my husband took it to heart and ran with it.

My poodle was affected by the food poisoning a few years ago...urinating uncontrollably but she was treated successfully. I can't believe we put her back on food ( I was cooking for her) but the vet said it was best for balanced nutrition and that the recall was an anomoly. I was leaning toward cooking for Bella...but hesitate because she ISN'T the typical dog and I want to be certain about the nutrition balance. I do hope she reaches her potential growth-wise. I'd like her to be a more robust 5 pounds for her sake ( and mine- I'm armed with Puppy Nutr-cal and Maple Syrup at all times ready to swoop in and it's exhausting!!)

Thanks for the feedback and I'll look into the food brand you mentioned!

[Ringo1]

I used to add fish oil (salmon oil) to my Westie's food for his skin allergies. He actually liked in on there. That, along with a change in food, really helped his skin allergies.

Your little one just had dry skin though so the Salmon Oil could help her.

My little Lucy was a picky eater. I now feed her Wellness Limited Ingredient of an evening. She has liver issues so gets vegetarian kibble in the AM.

Anyhoo ~ things she loves mixed in with her decent grade kibble: cooked carrots, green beans, cottage cheese, Wellness 99% canned meat; buttered noodles, plain chicken and/or broth with no seasoning . . lots of possibilities.

She eats everything better if I heat it up in the microwave first and it's a little bit warm.

I don't free feed either - she gets fed twice a day and food bowls get taken up. (Mainly because each dog will eat the other's food).

She likes to snack on Apples, and plain cheerios.

Good Luck!

[Shelby&Seymour]

Hi there and Welcome!
May I suggest you get some Nutrical to keep in the house... this is something you can use instead of the maple syrup for hypoclycemia and also it has nutrients in it for puppies that aren't eating well.... it can be found at Petsmart.. it is in a tube. It DOES work (we used it for Seymour when he was little because he wasn't a big eater.... actually he was very little when we got him... about 2 pounds at 16 weeks).
There are some very good foods out there for puppies. We feed Innova small bites at this time, we started out Shelby & Seymour on Royal Canin puppy small bites and they did well.... but Royal Canin had corn in it and the weight became an issue (they got chubby!). Sometimes there can be an issue with allergies and corn also.... but that was't the case with us... We have also fed Blue but it was difficult to get in our area which was kind of a pain in the butt to have to drive 40 minutes to get dogfood.
Seeger (our newest addition) started out on Innova and is doing well. We got him at about 14-15 weeks and now he is a little over 7 mos old. Still eating and growing!
I wish you good luck and hope that you find a good dog food that works for Bella! Keep us posted on her progress!

[BellymonsterMom]

I'm going to try the Wellness ( if it's wet food) and see what else we can do. I made her dog food...chicken, brown rice, seasonless broth, carrots and some oats...but she won't eat much.

She is a bit itchy...I think she has an allergy. I'm going to take her to the vet again. Doesn't seem to be growing, thin hair ( just a smattering on her chest) and the food thing. She was 2 lbs at the last vet visit...4 months old. She is active, she MUST be eating something as she poops /pees regularly. Maybe I'm over estimating how much she should be eating?

[Ringo1]

Wellness makes a canned meat - 99% Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Salmon, Lamb, whatever.

Both my dogs love it mixed with their kibble.

She just may not eat very much. Lucy is 4 lbs and eats only a handful of kibble in the morning and another handful for dinner - mixed with the canned.

Does your Vet think she is underweight?

[sugarmamma]

Originally Posted by BellymonsterMom

I'm going to try the Wellness ( if it's wet food) and see what else we can do. I made her dog food...chicken, brown rice, seasonless broth, carrots and some oats...but she won't eat much.

She is a bit itchy...I think she has an allergy. I'm going to take her to the vet again. Doesn't seem to be growing, thin hair ( just a smattering on her chest) and the food thing. She was 2 lbs at the last vet visit...4 months old. She is active, she MUST be eating something as she poops /pees regularly. Maybe I'm over estimating how much she should be eating?

My Sugar is 3# and eats a total of just over 1/4 of a cup of homecooked food split between 2 meals per day.

The little ones don't eat much but it is imperative that she eats at least something twice a day. What is her food volume over the course of a 24 hour period?

[FlDebra]

Originally Posted by BellymonsterMom

We have a new puppy that we took in from a family who couldn't care for her properly. She was too tiny and they were afraid that they couldn't monitor her needs well ( and she seems to need monitoring .

We've had her a month and she hasn't gained any weight ( she's been seen by the regular vet twice and the ER Vet twice). She was eating well, drinks, very active, sleeps in her crate willingly, pottys well ( formed and regularly) She had one hypoglycemic issue where we took her to the ER. I had given her some Maple syrup to perk her up and the ER Vet said this might have stablized her blood sugar- if it even was an attack ( I was stressed out about this happening)

The family said she is a Yorkie/Poodle cross-breed. Mother a toy poodle ( 7 pounds) and the father a Yorkie ( 5 lbs). The breeder told them to put pure maple syrup on her food if she wasn't eating and to get her over the transition hump. The family gave us the food the breeder was feeding - Diamond Natural- but the adult formula- chicken and rice and we changed it to the Puppy formula same brand. She ate fine.

She was flea/parasite/wormed- twice so far. Vet said she looked fine and healthy. She had the second round of three shots and worming in one day...that was the day I took her to the ER. She recovered. She has since had a flea thing again after the last visit when we worried about parasites cause her no gain. She did have tape worm from the fleas.

She isn't gaining weight, but seems to have grown taller- in her legs. She also looks like she is losing a bit of hair on her legs ( or maybe they are just growing and it hasn't filled in?) She has a big head of hair and a tiny tall body. ( we think she is beautiful but I worry about her eating and gaining). The husband overfeeds our poodle ( a mini who is 20lbs-too overweight ) and gave the new one some people food. Recently. So this isn't the cause of her not gaining although it IS the cause of her new feeding issue.

My tubby poodle will ONLY eat Senior Ceasar ( I know, crap food) with dry kibble out all dayand my husband's table scraps. The little one now eats a bit of Puppy Ceasar that I mix with her Diamond Natural Puppy...but NOW she will only eat it if it has cottage cheese or something human-food in it.

She has had an xray ( we worried she swallowed a battery we found missing- she didn't) and the doc said she looks good on the inside...blood tests fine, everything good. She does have a little dry drandruf and she is itchy- although she has no fleas. Thin hair on the back of her pointy ears...but it's light brown so it looks a bit thinner in that area. Vet isn't concerned about the coat...but gave us Hospital food to mix in ( she hates it). We were only giving her 1/3 packet of Ceasar three times a day...we've upped it to 1/2 and I started adding in the cheese. Maybe I was underfeeding her? She does play AWFULLY hard with our poodle and her toys. Maybe too much?

Any other suggestions? She is adorable and very smart. I worry that she is too tiny...the family told us the breeder said she would be between 5-7 pounds. She is 4 mths and 2 pounds. Is 5 to 7 even possible? What should I be feeding? What about the skin issues...add Olive oil to her food? Bacon grease ( my husband's suggestion- of course!) How much food should she be eating? Maybe I was starving her? She always has dry food out and I've seen her run over and pick a teeny crunchie or two out during the day - though not lately .

Sorry this is so long. I'm a wreck worried about this puppy. Thanks!

You say she is now 16 weeks old, you have had her a month (since she was 12 weeks) and you got her from a family that thought she was too small to monitor. So, I am not sure how old she was when she was taken from mom. She should have been with mom & siblings until 12 weeks old to give the best start. During that time, it sounds as if she may have had quite a lot of

Being 2 pounds at 16 weeks is small but not too tiny -- I have one that did not quite make 2 pounds at 4 months. She is healthy. Don't worry about the thinning hair -- silky coats often look sparse in the 4-6 month range. I would expect her to gain SOME weight though. Not gaining any at all in one month would cause concern. But you did identify tapeworm as a problem. That would cause lack of weight gain. So, I would wait and see how she does now that you have that controlled. Has she been tested and shown free of parasites since the worming? For how long? I would say she should gain within a couple weeks after she has been free of that tapeworm problem. I would also NIX the Caesar -- give her quality food. If you homecook, seek some good input online or from vet to insure you make a well-rounded diet. Just all the changes she has had food-wise could upset a tummy enough to inhibit weight gain. I don't think anyone gave a thumb's down to the bacon grease so I want to do that in CAPITAL LETTERS Bacon grease is not the good kind of fatty acids you want -- salmon oil would be good. They make some commercial omega 3 fatty acids, usually salmon oil, specifically for dogs. Add the VARIED and not always healthy diet to the tape worm and the fact that she has not LOST weight is a very good sign.

You sound like a good, caring owner! Keep loving her, watching over her, keeping her parasite-free and feed her a consistent, premium diet and she should be fine.

WELCOME TO YT!