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Originally Posted by Yorkiesrtoocute  I was using the bottle when I first got home and my mentor came over and showed me how to tube feed she says it's safer as the puppy's has less chances of swallowing too fast and it going into the lungs and sometimes out the nose. You can also feed, burp, and clean a puppy in less than 5 minutes. It's really convenient and easy especially in the am hours. I use the tube #5 f. She gave it to me I think it can be ordered plus a syringe. The vet can show you how to do it meanwhile look for a video online so you can see how it's done.  You measure the tube from the last rib to the tip of the mouth you mark it. Keep puppy's head strait. Put the tube in the middle of the tongue when the puppy starts swallowing put the tube to the mark, and feed the amount slowly once done pull the tube out. It also keeps less gas from entering the pup you must drip some formula first to make sure no air in the tube. Your vet can show you how to do it. It will save you time. Puppy's will probably start gaining weight faster as to sometimes they fall asleep on the bottle. Just an idea |
Thanks for your reply. My mentor is not involved at the moment, so I'm pretty much going at it on my own and have relied heavily on any and all advice I've received here.
I'll look into it, maybe ramp up supplementing again. I had already transitioned the pups to feed mostly from mom and only feed them once or maybe twice a day. Since they began to gain more than the initial tenth or two of an ounce, now closer to half an ounce per day, I thought we were doing well. It wasn't until you posted your weight gain in only a few days that I began to wonder. I had not found yet anywhere whether there is an 'appropriate' amount of weight gain, everything says 'as long as they're not losing'. Given the initial drastic drop in weight, I just thought we had some ground to make up and as long as they weren't losing we were ok.
Thanks again