[Rivers]

My female Yorkie had her first puppy 7 days ago via cesarean section. The puppy did not initially nurse. We finally got him to nurse a day after birth. I was supplementing him with a bottle. The pup never fully took off and by last Friday he seemed to be fading a bit. I went to the vet, to whom I am not close, and the puppy had gone from his birth weight of 111 grams to 98 grams. I brought him in because I believed him to be dehydrated and in needed of subcutaneous fluids. The vet said he was very weak and strongly encouraged me to allow her staff member to care for him for the day. They called me that evening and said he needed more nursing and would probably never go back on the mother. I do not know the vet well and she used some pretty strong words on my pups condition. I felt pressured into allowing this staff member to nurse him over the weekend but, since I had seen the pup fade so quickly, let them take him, despite the fact that I had only come in to get fluids to inject myself. Now (on Monday) he is back up in weight but the vet says he is not staying hydrated and needs subcutaneous fluids hourly.

The vet said she is worried about his kidneys and was so fragile that they were afraid he would die were I to tend to him. They seemed quite sure that the staff member was the only person who could help him. Then, they actually asked me to sign the puppy over to them and told me if I kept him he would wind up dead and if I bought him back in they would not be able to do anything.

There were many fishy comments made over the course of the last week. For example, when the vet called to say the mom was ready for pick up the next morning after the cesarean she told me that a staff member had offered to foster the puppy. I expressed to her that that was not something I had even considered. It seemed super strange. They kept asking me to let the assistant take the dog permanently. Who ever heard of a vet’s office doing such a thing?

I was also getting a bit wary of the vet's many errors of fact - I knew there was only one puppy by palpation, Yorkies mostly have litters under 4, yet the vet predicted 6 (there was one). When I first brought the pup in, I said he needed fluids, and they insisted that I was wrong, until well after they should have seen what was up (they eventually started fluids). So I was already sensitized when they asked me to sign the dog over. Then came the icing on the cake. They told me that I had to decide what more important: the puppy's life or my needs.

Not really being fond of emotional blackmail from my medical professionals, I left with the pup. My issue for the purposes of this forum is that, having felt for a while something was off with them, I now felt I couldn't trust them to be honest with me. When they gave me the risks, their track record was such that they could have been wrong, lying, or both. So, my puppy needs a second opinion with my soon to be new vet. However in the meantime I am interested in the knowledge of the experts: you guys.

Does puppy have a chance of going back on mom? After being off for 3 days, should I even try? The vet said my girl was licking him raw. How do I stop this? Since I first saw him at the vet’s his belly had been quiet distended. I tried to stop her from licking him too much after his feeding but then the pup pooped. He obviously needed the licking when I was abt to intervene. What is too much licking? His belly has gone down a ton! Evidently they were not pooping him enough as his belly was very round since I brought him home 2.5 hours ago until now. I have never had an overzealous licker. Any advice?

He is literally nursing from her right now. I am not sure after the long weekend how much milk she is still producing. Thoughts?

Does anyone have experience with pups that need 2cc’s of subcutaneous fluids every hour? I know that dehydration can cause renal issues however, which came first?

I am dedicated to this puppy and will bring him to a different vet tomorrow but I am not sure what of their statements to believe. My husband is an MD but also has a degree in Physiology. He is not sure of either as none of it makes sense.

Regardless, the vet made many comments that made me think she was not well educated on the Yorkie breed and their attitude lost them my trust. Any advice?