I need help!! - Page 3 - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Woogie Man · 12-20-2010, 06:33 PM

It may be that I'm still feeling a little raw from losing a tiny girl recently, but I'm getting a picture of babies that will need more care than typical. These babies are being born on day 54 and the one that the OP described has no hair and its features are under-developed. These babies can only get so frail and be treated in the normal way.

That's why I suggested a container for just the pups. They likely will need more heat than snuggling with Mama can provide without getting it too hot for her. She won't be able to nurse them and they sound too weak to nurse anyway. And I can easily imagine her rolling over and smothering a baby if it's too weak to squirm out. The container may not be the best idea, but is something readily available that would keep the babies warm and I'm just not sure these babies are developed enough to be with Mom full time

Though I've never tube fed, I would be concerned about the babies getting too much at once and the food going up and being aspirated. I know that with the little girl I lost, she couldn't take the whole feeding at once so I cut it in half and fed her every hour.

I'm just so concerned that these babies don't suffer any setback.....they can't afford it. I know so much depends on the condition of the babies, but think preparing for the worst case would be good for the OP before she gets them home tomorrow. I think that treating them like glass is the only way to approach it until the babies show they are stronger.

I hope the other pups are well, but the first one she described doesn't sound like one that could be treated as a normal pup in any way for now. I don't want to post links on preemie care as they do vary in advice, but all seem in agreement about keeping the pups very warm and from experience I know that it's easy to overfeed a frail one.

Any thoughts?

Mardelin · 12-20-2010, 06:41 PM

Feeding the Puppy
Lots of times we have one or more of the puppies in a litter that need help during the first week. Right here is where we say, as clearly as possible, if you can't be available to help your bitch and your puppies at this time, you don't deserve to have those puppies.

We breed our bitches for our own satisfaction. Some of us think we'll get rich. Some of us are breeding so our friends and relatives can have a puppy - big surprise if any of them still want one, once they're born. Some want to put their bitch through this so their kids can experience the 'Miracle of Birth'. And some of us are breeding to produce champions and other title holders to the greater glory of ourselves and our kennels.

The one thing we can guarantee is that none of us is breeding our bitch so that she can have the pleasure of seeing her kids grow up, go to college, get married, and have grandchildren. We are using our bitches. We can only justify asking them to go through a pregnancy, whelp the litter, nurse the puppies and then give them up, if we are there to lend our loving support, care and any assistance we can give them in their efforts to do as we wish.

This absolutely and unequivocally means that we must be present 24 hours a day; physically present in the very same room with the bitch and the puppies, sleeping on the floor next to her, for at least the first 4 days after she whelps. Since Every Puppy Is A Best In Show Puppy until proven otherwise, this is in our best interest as well as hers.

Puppies must get colostrum from their mothers to have full immunity to germs and diseases they will encounter in their first weeks. We used to say this had to occur in the first 48 hours. Now we know it is only during, at most, the first 12 hours, and more likely the first 2 hours of their lives that this transfer of immunity is possible. I've heard people say that they are going to let their puppies nurse longer before weaning because they will be protected from infection as long as they are nursing. WRONG. The transfer of colostral antibodies occurs only until the puppy's intestine develops the ability to screen out large molecules . This change in the intestine occurs very quickly, in the first few hours of life.

If a puppy is not nursing strongly, for what ever reason, we must strip some milk from the bitch and feed it to the puppy drop by drop from a syringe or dropper, so they will have the colostral antibodies.

There are many reasons why puppies may not get much to eat in the first 48 hours. A partial list includes:
Weak puppies
Slow developing puppies
Puppies born by C-Section
Poor milk let down in the dam
Poor appetite in the dam
Insufficient drinking by the dam
Fever in the dam

These puppies must have our help. In addition, large litters should be supplemented so that the drain on the bitch is not excessive and does not damage her long term or short term health. Additionally, helping the bitch with a large litter by supplementary feeding of the puppies, helps to prevent eclampsia (hypocalcemia) in the bitch. Eclampsia is always a worry when a bitch has a large litter, anywhere from 2 or 3 weeks before whelping to 2 or 3 weeks after whelping.

Mardelin · 12-20-2010, 06:44 PM

To Tube or Not To Tube
The answer to this depends entirely upon whether you want your puppies to live or not.

What! You say, tubing is the ONLY way to save puppies. And besides, it's fast.

Fast, yes, and deadly. It's one of those things that sounds too good (easy) to be true; and if it sounds too good to be true it is; we know that it is in our most private thoughts. Fast and deadly isn't doing your part by the bitch or the puppies. You may be certain that you are getting the tube in the esophagus (which leads to the stomach) and not the trachea (which leads to the lungs). But, this isn't the problem I'm referring to.

Consider this: when we eat, the process of eating stimulates waves of contraction throughout our entire GI tract. You know very well that as puppies nurse they defecate. That reaction is due to these waves of contraction, which are called peristalsis.

OK. So, we have a sluggish or weak puppy. We put it on the bitch and it won't nurse. What to do! TUBE. NO! If the puppy does not have a good sucking reflex, it will not have any peristalsis. This means the milk we force in through the tube will just sit there. When the tube is removed, it forces itself back up the esophagus, into the trachea, and ends up in the lungs. It does not travel down through the stomach into the intestine.

Now, how big is the stomach of a newborn puppy in your breed? 1/2 cc? Less? As much as 1cc? Probably not much more. That stomach is just a slightly wide spot on a narrow tube. So; let's stick 2 1/2 cc into it . Fast and Deadly. The stomach and esophagus will stretch a bit, then return to it's original shape and size after the milk runs into the lungs. Not going to raise many puppies that way.

Well then, what do we do? Easy. We give them sub-cutaneous dextrose and saline. Sugar in salt water. The solution which is used for IV therapy. All puppies need 3 things. Warmth. Water. Sugar. That' all they need right away and for an additional few days if necessary.

So, we take the weak puppy out of the whelping box. We drop a few drops of colostrum onto its tongue several times in the first few hours. Got that immunity taken care of. We keep it in a confined box with a heat source - a heating pad or light bulb, and we give subQ dextrose in saline to supply the sugar and water. We gently stimulate it to urinate and defecate. We've met all the puppies needs.

How much fluid do we give? We give enough to satisfy any current dehydration debt and to provide a cushion for an hour or two in the future. How much is that? It is enough so that when we refill the syringe with dextrose and saline, the last 10 cc injection we gave hasn't already disappeared. And it will disappear, just that fast, if the puppy is already dehydrated.

So first, we need to satisfy the back log, and then we put in some more. We want to raise a good sized lump - say the size of a golf ball on a 12-16 oz puppy. We want that golf ball to stay there a while. If it does, we can safely leave the puppy for a couple of hours. As time goes by, the fluids in this reservoir will be absorbed and the lump will disappear. Also, gravity will take a hand in removing the lump, shifting any spare fluids down around the neck.

We can keep this puppy going in this way for 2 to 4 days easily. There no danger here, if the area is clean when and where we inject, and as long as the needle is parallel to the body - not pointed down at the body. We don't want to pith the puppy (look it up). With the needle parallel to the body, the worst we can do is squirt the wall. The wall can take it. Fluids given intravenously, by contrast, would run the risk of drowning the puppy - excess fluids in the veins will force their way out through the lungs. This result is essentially the same as that of tubing. Not good. SubQ fluids are essentially outside the circulatory system - just in a repository under the skin. If a fluid defecit exists, they can be instantly drawn into the blood stream. Until then, they have no other effect on the body.

While we are satisfying the puppy's needs in this way, we will also repeatedly present a nipple to the puppy, several minutes after we have placed a drop of Karo syrup on its tongue. The Karo give the puppy an energy boost, so that when we place it on the bitch, it will make as strong an attempt to nurse as it can muster. We will also present the puppy with a bottle, as it will be easier for it to get milk from the bottle's nipple than from the bitch, most of the time, during the first couple of days.

One of the greatest deterrents to getting puppies started, after tubing, is the 'Pet Nurser' which is widely available. Few if any breeds will nurse off of this thing - maybe a couple of toy breeds I've never encountered. Rather, puppies from 4.5 oz to 2# and up will readily take a Playtex preemie, or Playtex 0-3 months nipple (slow flow), one which has a flat, button-like shape.

Mardelin · 12-20-2010, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woogie Man

It may be that I'm still feeling a little raw from losing a tiny girl recently, but I'm getting a picture of babies that will need more care than typical. These babies are being born on day 54 and the one that the OP described has no hair and its features are under-developed. These babies can only get so frail and be treated in the normal way.

That's why I suggested a container for just the pups. They likely will need more heat than snuggling with Mama can provide without getting it too hot for her. She won't be able to nurse them and they sound too weak to nurse anyway. And I can easily imagine her rolling over and smothering a baby if it's too weak to squirm out. The container may not be the best idea, but is something readily available that would keep the babies warm and I'm just not sure these babies are developed enough to be with Mom full time

Though I've never tube fed, I would be concerned about the babies getting too much at once and the food going up and being aspirated. I know that with the little girl I lost, she couldn't take the whole feeding at once so I cut it in half and fed her every hour.

I'm just so concerned that these babies don't suffer any setback.....they can't afford it. I know so much depends on the condition of the babies, but think preparing for the worst case would be good for the OP before she gets them home tomorrow. I think that treating them like glass is the only way to approach it until the babies show they are stronger.

I hope the other pups are well, but the first one she described doesn't sound like one that could be treated as a normal pup in any way for now. I don't want to post links on preemie care as they do vary in advice, but all seem in agreement about keeping the pups very warm and from experience I know that it's easy to overfeed a frail one.

Any thoughts?

I know what you went through and since the memory is fresher in your mind than it is mine, you're input is really needed.

I want to add that the OP will have to diaper these pups. My repro vet recommended to do this every 3 hours....in the first week. And like you stated, do not attempt to over feed. I fed with with a preemie canine nipple attached to a syringe, it gave me better control. I will say by 2 1/2 weeks my pups were taking in more milk and sleeping longer. I was worried and contacted my vet....he calmed my nerves, telling me that this was normal, they would take in more and not to wake them just to feed them. They'd tell me when they were hungry. By the 3rd week they were taking in 56 cc of milk at one shot, that was when I began allowing them to lap up their milk, on week 4 I added rice cereal.

RachelandSadie · 12-20-2010, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mardelin

I know what you went through and since the memory is fresher in your mind than it is mine, you're input is really needed.

I want to add that the OP will have to diaper these pups. My repro vet recommended to do this every 3 hours....in the first week. And like you stated, do not attempt to over feed. I fed with with a preemie canine nipple attached to a syringe, it gave me better control. I will say by 2 1/2 weeks my pups were taking in more milk and sleeping longer. I was worried and contacted my vet....he calmed my nerves, telling me that this was normal, they would take in more and not to wake them just to feed them. They'd tell me when they were hungry. By the 3rd week they were taking in 56 cc of milk at one shot, that was when I began allowing them to lap up their milk, on week 4 I added rice cereal.

oh thank heavens i'm not a breeder and after trying to comprehend even a little bit of this i'm sure that i will never be...i'm leaving this one to the pro's and taking my rescue puppies and running. breeding now scares the hell outta me and i wouldn't attempt it if you paid me millions to. thanks Mary for teaching me that i LOVE puppies and dogs too much to put my bitch through this or to ever think that i would be able to mother a puppy enough to make it live in this type of situation. not that i ever really thought much about breeding, but now i know i never will.

Mardelin · 12-20-2010, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachelandSadie

oh thank heavens i'm not a breeder and after trying to comprehend even a little bit of this i'm sure that i will never be...i'm leaving this one to the pro's and taking my rescue puppies and running. breeding now scares the hell outta me and i wouldn't attempt it if you paid me millions to. thanks Mary for teaching me that i LOVE puppies and dogs too much to put my bitch through this or to ever think that i would be able to mother a puppy enough to make it live in this type of situation. not that i ever really thought much about breeding, but now i know i never will.

It scares the H@## out of me too. Whelping is not my favorite thing to do. I love planning the breeding, going through the pedigrees and evaluating the dogs.....but, when the time gets close I get pretty anxious and nervous.

gardenyorkies · 12-20-2010, 07:30 PM

We use many of the products for caring for newborns that need extra help...

I would recommend the Dogzymes Fading Puppy Support and the Dogzymes Puppy Bac...You can use both products together...The milk replacer is very palatable and mixes easy without any clumping...Both products come with a measuring spoon...We use these products with much success...

Nature's Farmacy - Store - Results

They also sell a colostrum formula which I have never used...but might be worth looking into...The folks that have this business have always been very helpful answering any questions we have about their products...

I think you are going to have to tube feed these babies at least until they gain strength and are able to nurse from a bottle...Even if these babies are able to nurse from a bottle they will probably tire easily and quite eating before they have gotten enough nutrition...

The chart I attached below is a guide we recommend for feeding orphaned puppies or supplemental feeding:

Weight of pup..... amt to feed per feeding.............feed every
--------------------------------------------------------------------

3-7 oz pup.........1cc per oz of wt......................... 3 hours
8 oz pup............12 cc........................................ 4 hours
10 oz pup...........15cc................................ .........4 hours
12oz..................18cc........................ .................5 hours
14 oz.................21cc........................... ..............5hours
16oz..................24cc........................ .................5hours
20oz..................30cc or (1oz).............................5hours
24 oz.................36cc. or (1 1/3oz).......................5hours
28oz...................52cc or (1 3/4oz).......................6hours
32oz...................60cc or (2 oz.)...........................6hours
36oz...................68cc or (2 1/4oz)........................6hours
40 oz..................75cc or (2 1/2oz)........................6hours
48 oz..................90cc or (3 oz)............................6 hours

You must weigh your puppies! Use a good scale that measures ounces like a postal scale or baby scale. I find the digital scales to work nicely...

In the first 24 hours your pups should either gain a little or stay close to body weight. Each day your pups should show a slow weight gain of 1/2 to 1 oz. If a pup is not gaining within these guidelines then you need to decide to supplement, say morning and evening feedings for a day or two until it gains according to schedule. If they are still lagging behind then step it up to with a third feeding...

The goal is for the puppy to feed from its mother to stimulate milk production ,then be able to eliminate the supplemental feedings. However a smaller or weak puppy or a larger than average litter will likely require supplementing to catch up. Occasionally you may need to step in and feed full time. Mothers milk should be checked to make sure there are no infections causing the problems.

Caution: DON'T FEED A CHILLED PUPPY!!!!!!
You must warm a puppy back to normal, I stick them down in my shirt so they warm gradually...You can also put warmed towels from your dryer in the whelping box to help keep them warm and prehaps give it some warmed fluids (pedialyte or water with a tiny bit of karo syrup) by mouth. A chilled puppy will not feed well or digest well.

I use the Playtex nursers with a slow flow nipple or a premie nipple. I have found these to work perfectly. It looks rather large for a puppies mouth but remember they have to wrap their tongues around that nipple to get the milk...It takes a little coaxing but it will work! Don't forget to potty puppies before and after each feeding and to burp them half way through feeding!

Hope this helps a few of you!

Breny · 12-20-2010, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karak333

Hi everyone,
thank you so much for your prayers and advice. I did take her to the vet and they only found that her calcium levels were a little low. it is hard to think that the way she was acting was caused by her calcium levels being only a LITTLE below normal. she did get calcium and is doing a little bit better. she tries to get up, but still has trouble. hopefully she will be better in the morning. thank you all again for your support and prayers. I will keep you updated on what happens tomorrow.
thanks

Just seeing this and I have not read the rest of the posts since this but I had this happen within this year. Pre-Eclampsia. I knew the signs and got her right in and she still stayed 4 days at the Reproduction Specialist with Calcium monitoring, blood draws every 6 hours. They wanted to go ahead and take the babies because they said most females arent able to whelp do to the calcium drop but I didn't want them to go ahead with the section till she went into labor, so she ended up going in labor and actually surprised them and whelped 5 healthy babies on her own while there.

I was able to bring her home but their advise was not to have them nurse. They nursed for the first 24 hours under their care and then I raised the litter. Mom wore a onsie and stayed with the babies while I fed them. They said I could try and let the pups nurse but it would be possible for mom to have another drop so I didn't want to risk it. It was a long haul but I'd do anything for them.

I hope your mommy is doing well now. I will read the rest of your thread.

Mardelin · 12-20-2010, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gardenyorkies

We use many of the products for caring for newborns that need extra help...

I would recommend the Dogzymes Fading Puppy Support and the Dogzymes Puppy Bac...You can use both products together...The milk replacer is very palatable and mixes easy without any clumping...Both products come with a measuring spoon...We use these products with much success...

Nature's Farmacy - Store - Results

They also sell a colostrum formula which I have never used...but might be worth looking into...The folks that have this business have always been very helpful answering any questions we have about their products...

I think you are going to have to tube feed these babies at least until they gain strength and are able to nurse from a bottle...Even if these babies are able to nurse from a bottle they will probably tire easily and quite eating before they have gotten enough nutrition...

The chart I attached below is a guide we recommend for feeding orphaned puppies or supplemental feeding:

Weight of pup..... amt to feed per feeding.............feed every
--------------------------------------------------------------------

3-7 oz pup.........1cc per oz of wt......................... 3 hours
8 oz pup............12 cc........................................ 4 hours
10 oz pup...........15cc................................ .........4 hours
12oz..................18cc........................ .................5 hours
14 oz.................21cc........................... ..............5hours
16oz..................24cc........................ .................5hours
20oz..................30cc or (1oz).............................5hours
24 oz.................36cc. or (1 1/3oz).......................5hours
28oz...................52cc or (1 3/4oz).......................6hours
32oz...................60cc or (2 oz.)...........................6hours
36oz...................68cc or (2 1/4oz)........................6hours
40 oz..................75cc or (2 1/2oz)........................6hours
48 oz..................90cc or (3 oz)............................6 hours

You must weigh your puppies! Use a good scale that measures ounces like a postal scale or baby scale. I find the digital scales to work nicely...

In the first 24 hours your pups should either gain a little or stay close to body weight. Each day your pups should show a slow weight gain of 1/2 to 1 oz. If a pup is not gaining within these guidelines then you need to decide to supplement, say morning and evening feedings for a day or two until it gains according to schedule. If they are still lagging behind then step it up to with a third feeding...

The goal is for the puppy to feed from its mother to stimulate milk production ,then be able to eliminate the supplemental feedings. However a smaller or weak puppy or a larger than average litter will likely require supplementing to catch up. Occasionally you may need to step in and feed full time. Mothers milk should be checked to make sure there are no infections causing the problems.

Caution: DON'T FEED A CHILLED PUPPY!!!!!!
You must warm a puppy back to normal, I stick them down in my shirt so they warm gradually...You can also put warmed towels from your dryer in the whelping box to help keep them warm and prehaps give it some warmed fluids (pedialyte or water with a tiny bit of karo syrup) by mouth. A chilled puppy will not feed well or digest well.

I use the Playtex nursers with a slow flow nipple or a premie nipple. I have found these to work perfectly. It looks rather large for a puppies mouth but remember they have to wrap their tongues around that nipple to get the milk...It takes a little coaxing but it will work! Don't forget to potty puppies before and after each feeding and to burp them half way through feeding!

Hope this helps a few of you!

The mother is preeclampsic and will not be nursing these pups.

Breny · 12-20-2010, 07:40 PM

One thing I did was I did keep mom and babies together. I kept her in a human babies onsie and she diapered the babies. I would feed, she did the rest and it worked out perfect.

Mom did start to develop a bit of Mastitis which every night I soaked her underside in a warm bath and massaged them. She was so full of milk and so so sore.

gardenyorkies · 12-20-2010, 07:43 PM

I also have a Warming box that I keep puppies in for Intensive Care...I took a clear plastic box roughly 14 X 16 X 6....I drilled 1/2" holes...on all 4 sides...about 4-6 inches apart...about an inch or so from the top edge.. One of the holes drilled is drilled using a 1inch drill bit...

I put a heating pad in the bottom of the box threading the cord through the 1 inch hole....A white large clean bath towel folded on top of the heating pad...I put a room thermometer...plastic one purchased from WalMart...on top of the towel...Put the lid on and turn on the heating pad...Monitor the temperature to see what the temp is holding so you know what you will have to keep the heating pad set on...I also recommend that you purchase a car adapter to plug into you cig. lighter and this way you can plug your warming box in when you transport puppies for any reason...Puppies stay warm and do not get chilled which can be deadly to newborns...

This is an inexpensive way to provide a clean warm environment for your puppies while caring for them....

gardenyorkies · 12-20-2010, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mardelin

The mother is preeclampsic and will not be nursing these pups.

I understand that Mary and I agree that it will not be in her best interest to do so....There are many others that are reading this also and hopefully it will help them too...I just copied and pasted it from my info that I keep to share...

gardenyorkies · 12-20-2010, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breny

One thing I did was I did keep mom and babies together. I kept her in a human babies onsie and she diapered the babies. I would feed, she did the rest and it worked out perfect.

Mom did start to develop a bit of Mastitis which every night I soaked her underside in a warm bath and massaged them. She was so full of milk and so so sore.

I actually tried the Onesie once because my Mom had eclampsia and she was so upset that I put a Onesie on her so she could be with her babies...Dang baby climbed right up the leg hole up to the milk bar....Stinker...It didn't work for me....Have to keep an eye on them!

Breny · 12-20-2010, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gardenyorkies

I actually tried the Onesie once because my Mom had eclampsia and she was so upset that I put a Onesie on her so she could be with her babies...Dang baby climbed right up the leg hole up to the milk bar....Stinker...It didn't work for me....Have to keep an eye on them!

Me too

Once the babies got a little older I had just one of the 5 that would sneak. I would put a diaper on her too and it helped to cover those rear teats that the little love would get too.
Since I raised the litter I slept with them till they were about weaned. (I'm anal LOL) It was funny, they refused to wean early and wanted me and the bottle. I enjoyed the time with them though.

Mardelin · 12-20-2010, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breny

One thing I did was I did keep mom and babies together. I kept her in a human babies onsie and she diapered the babies. I would feed, she did the rest and it worked out perfect.

Mom did start to develop a bit of Mastitis which every night I soaked her underside in a warm bath and massaged them. She was so full of milk and so so sore.

Breny,

These pups are preemies and underdeveloped, and the possibility exists that she could very well crush the pups and there is a chance here canine instincts will set in and sense the pups are not healthy and could attempt to push the pups away, causing them to chill and die. This happened to a friend of mine just last week with the tiniest of the litter 2oz. She has been watching the pup and it was progressing, so, she decided to put the pup in with mom and all was well. She left the room for about 1/2 hour and went back in and the pup was dead.

12-20-2010, 06:33 PM	#31
Woogie Man Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mississippi Posts: 2,564	It may be that I'm still feeling a little raw from losing a tiny girl recently, but I'm getting a picture of babies that will need more care than typical. These babies are being born on day 54 and the one that the OP described has no hair and its features are under-developed. These babies can only get so frail and be treated in the normal way. That's why I suggested a container for just the pups. They likely will need more heat than snuggling with Mama can provide without getting it too hot for her. She won't be able to nurse them and they sound too weak to nurse anyway. And I can easily imagine her rolling over and smothering a baby if it's too weak to squirm out. The container may not be the best idea, but is something readily available that would keep the babies warm and I'm just not sure these babies are developed enough to be with Mom full time Though I've never tube fed, I would be concerned about the babies getting too much at once and the food going up and being aspirated. I know that with the little girl I lost, she couldn't take the whole feeding at once so I cut it in half and fed her every hour. I'm just so concerned that these babies don't suffer any setback.....they can't afford it. I know so much depends on the condition of the babies, but think preparing for the worst case would be good for the OP before she gets them home tomorrow. I think that treating them like glass is the only way to approach it until the babies show they are stronger. I hope the other pups are well, but the first one she described doesn't sound like one that could be treated as a normal pup in any way for now. I don't want to post links on preemie care as they do vary in advice, but all seem in agreement about keeping the pups very warm and from experience I know that it's easy to overfeed a frail one. Any thoughts? __________________ ORANGUTANS ARE DYING FOR THE SAKE OF CHEAP PALM OIL....AND YOU USE IT!!! http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/ani...m-oil-you.html

12-20-2010, 06:41 PM	#32
Mardelin Mardelin Yorkshire Terriers Donating Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: California Posts: 14,776	Feeding the Puppy Lots of times we have one or more of the puppies in a litter that need help during the first week. Right here is where we say, as clearly as possible, if you can't be available to help your bitch and your puppies at this time, you don't deserve to have those puppies. We breed our bitches for our own satisfaction. Some of us think we'll get rich. Some of us are breeding so our friends and relatives can have a puppy - big surprise if any of them still want one, once they're born. Some want to put their bitch through this so their kids can experience the 'Miracle of Birth'. And some of us are breeding to produce champions and other title holders to the greater glory of ourselves and our kennels. The one thing we can guarantee is that none of us is breeding our bitch so that she can have the pleasure of seeing her kids grow up, go to college, get married, and have grandchildren. We are using our bitches. We can only justify asking them to go through a pregnancy, whelp the litter, nurse the puppies and then give them up, if we are there to lend our loving support, care and any assistance we can give them in their efforts to do as we wish. This absolutely and unequivocally means that we must be present 24 hours a day; physically present in the very same room with the bitch and the puppies, sleeping on the floor next to her, for at least the first 4 days after she whelps. Since Every Puppy Is A Best In Show Puppy until proven otherwise, this is in our best interest as well as hers. Puppies must get colostrum from their mothers to have full immunity to germs and diseases they will encounter in their first weeks. We used to say this had to occur in the first 48 hours. Now we know it is only during, at most, the first 12 hours, and more likely the first 2 hours of their lives that this transfer of immunity is possible. I've heard people say that they are going to let their puppies nurse longer before weaning because they will be protected from infection as long as they are nursing. WRONG. The transfer of colostral antibodies occurs only until the puppy's intestine develops the ability to screen out large molecules . This change in the intestine occurs very quickly, in the first few hours of life. If a puppy is not nursing strongly, for what ever reason, we must strip some milk from the bitch and feed it to the puppy drop by drop from a syringe or dropper, so they will have the colostral antibodies. There are many reasons why puppies may not get much to eat in the first 48 hours. A partial list includes: Weak puppies Slow developing puppies Puppies born by C-Section Poor milk let down in the dam Poor appetite in the dam Insufficient drinking by the dam Fever in the dam These puppies must have our help. In addition, large litters should be supplemented so that the drain on the bitch is not excessive and does not damage her long term or short term health. Additionally, helping the bitch with a large litter by supplementary feeding of the puppies, helps to prevent eclampsia (hypocalcemia) in the bitch. Eclampsia is always a worry when a bitch has a large litter, anywhere from 2 or 3 weeks before whelping to 2 or 3 weeks after whelping. __________________ Mardelin *Yorkshire* *Terriers*

12-20-2010, 06:44 PM	#33
Mardelin Mardelin Yorkshire Terriers Donating Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: California Posts: 14,776	To Tube or Not To Tube The answer to this depends entirely upon whether you want your puppies to live or not. What! You say, tubing is the ONLY way to save puppies. And besides, it's fast. Fast, yes, and deadly. It's one of those things that sounds too good (easy) to be true; and if it sounds too good to be true it is; we know that it is in our most private thoughts. Fast and deadly isn't doing your part by the bitch or the puppies. You may be certain that you are getting the tube in the esophagus (which leads to the stomach) and not the trachea (which leads to the lungs). But, this isn't the problem I'm referring to. Consider this: when we eat, the process of eating stimulates waves of contraction throughout our entire GI tract. You know very well that as puppies nurse they defecate. That reaction is due to these waves of contraction, which are called peristalsis. OK. So, we have a sluggish or weak puppy. We put it on the bitch and it won't nurse. What to do! TUBE. NO! If the puppy does not have a good sucking reflex, it will not have any peristalsis. This means the milk we force in through the tube will just sit there. When the tube is removed, it forces itself back up the esophagus, into the trachea, and ends up in the lungs. It does not travel down through the stomach into the intestine. Now, how big is the stomach of a newborn puppy in your breed? 1/2 cc? Less? As much as 1cc? Probably not much more. That stomach is just a slightly wide spot on a narrow tube. So; let's stick 2 1/2 cc into it . Fast and Deadly. The stomach and esophagus will stretch a bit, then return to it's original shape and size after the milk runs into the lungs. Not going to raise many puppies that way. Well then, what do we do? Easy. We give them sub-cutaneous dextrose and saline. Sugar in salt water. The solution which is used for IV therapy. All puppies need 3 things. Warmth. Water. Sugar. That' all they need right away and for an additional few days if necessary. So, we take the weak puppy out of the whelping box. We drop a few drops of colostrum onto its tongue several times in the first few hours. Got that immunity taken care of. We keep it in a confined box with a heat source - a heating pad or light bulb, and we give subQ dextrose in saline to supply the sugar and water. We gently stimulate it to urinate and defecate. We've met all the puppies needs. How much fluid do we give? We give enough to satisfy any current dehydration debt and to provide a cushion for an hour or two in the future. How much is that? It is enough so that when we refill the syringe with dextrose and saline, the last 10 cc injection we gave hasn't already disappeared. And it will disappear, just that fast, if the puppy is already dehydrated. So first, we need to satisfy the back log, and then we put in some more. We want to raise a good sized lump - say the size of a golf ball on a 12-16 oz puppy. We want that golf ball to stay there a while. If it does, we can safely leave the puppy for a couple of hours. As time goes by, the fluids in this reservoir will be absorbed and the lump will disappear. Also, gravity will take a hand in removing the lump, shifting any spare fluids down around the neck. We can keep this puppy going in this way for 2 to 4 days easily. There no danger here, if the area is clean when and where we inject, and as long as the needle is parallel to the body - not pointed down at the body. We don't want to pith the puppy (look it up). With the needle parallel to the body, the worst we can do is squirt the wall. The wall can take it. Fluids given intravenously, by contrast, would run the risk of drowning the puppy - excess fluids in the veins will force their way out through the lungs. This result is essentially the same as that of tubing. Not good. SubQ fluids are essentially outside the circulatory system - just in a repository under the skin. If a fluid defecit exists, they can be instantly drawn into the blood stream. Until then, they have no other effect on the body. While we are satisfying the puppy's needs in this way, we will also repeatedly present a nipple to the puppy, several minutes after we have placed a drop of Karo syrup on its tongue. The Karo give the puppy an energy boost, so that when we place it on the bitch, it will make as strong an attempt to nurse as it can muster. We will also present the puppy with a bottle, as it will be easier for it to get milk from the bottle's nipple than from the bitch, most of the time, during the first couple of days. One of the greatest deterrents to getting puppies started, after tubing, is the 'Pet Nurser' which is widely available. Few if any breeds will nurse off of this thing - maybe a couple of toy breeds I've never encountered. Rather, puppies from 4.5 oz to 2# and up will readily take a Playtex preemie, or Playtex 0-3 months nipple (slow flow), one which has a flat, button-like shape. __________________ Mardelin *Yorkshire* *Terriers*

12-20-2010, 07:30 PM	#37
gardenyorkies Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2007 Location: Northeast Ohio Posts: 429	We use many of the products for caring for newborns that need extra help... I would recommend the Dogzymes Fading Puppy Support and the Dogzymes Puppy Bac...You can use both products together...The milk replacer is very palatable and mixes easy without any clumping...Both products come with a measuring spoon...We use these products with much success... Nature's Farmacy - Store - Results They also sell a colostrum formula which I have never used...but might be worth looking into...The folks that have this business have always been very helpful answering any questions we have about their products... I think you are going to have to tube feed these babies at least until they gain strength and are able to nurse from a bottle...Even if these babies are able to nurse from a bottle they will probably tire easily and quite eating before they have gotten enough nutrition... The chart I attached below is a guide we recommend for feeding orphaned puppies or supplemental feeding: Weight of pup..... amt to feed per feeding.............feed every -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3-7 oz pup.........1cc per oz of wt......................... 3 hours 8 oz pup............12 cc........................................ 4 hours 10 oz pup...........15cc................................ .........4 hours 12oz..................18cc........................ .................5 hours 14 oz.................21cc........................... ..............5hours 16oz..................24cc........................ .................5hours 20oz..................30cc or (1oz).............................5hours 24 oz.................36cc. or (1 1/3oz).......................5hours 28oz...................52cc or (1 3/4oz).......................6hours 32oz...................60cc or (2 oz.)...........................6hours 36oz...................68cc or (2 1/4oz)........................6hours 40 oz..................75cc or (2 1/2oz)........................6hours 48 oz..................90cc or (3 oz)............................6 hours You must weigh your puppies! Use a good scale that measures ounces like a postal scale or baby scale. I find the digital scales to work nicely... In the first 24 hours your pups should either gain a little or stay close to body weight. Each day your pups should show a slow weight gain of 1/2 to 1 oz. If a pup is not gaining within these guidelines then you need to decide to supplement, say morning and evening feedings for a day or two until it gains according to schedule. If they are still lagging behind then step it up to with a third feeding... The goal is for the puppy to feed from its mother to stimulate milk production ,then be able to eliminate the supplemental feedings. However a smaller or weak puppy or a larger than average litter will likely require supplementing to catch up. Occasionally you may need to step in and feed full time. Mothers milk should be checked to make sure there are no infections causing the problems. Caution: DON'T FEED A CHILLED PUPPY!!!!!! You must warm a puppy back to normal, I stick them down in my shirt so they warm gradually...You can also put warmed towels from your dryer in the whelping box to help keep them warm and prehaps give it some warmed fluids (pedialyte or water with a tiny bit of karo syrup) by mouth. A chilled puppy will not feed well or digest well. I use the Playtex nursers with a slow flow nipple or a premie nipple. I have found these to work perfectly. It looks rather large for a puppies mouth but remember they have to wrap their tongues around that nipple to get the milk...It takes a little coaxing but it will work! Don't forget to potty puppies before and after each feeding and to burp them half way through feeding! Hope this helps a few of you! __________________ Laura ~ JaLa Yorkshire Terriers ~ Visit www.PoochiePetite.com "Wrapping Jackets, Satin Beds, Tablecovers, Bows N' More!"

12-20-2010, 07:40 PM	#40
Breny My Tiny Treasures Donating Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: . Posts: 11,790 Blog Entries: 3	One thing I did was I did keep mom and babies together. I kept her in a human babies onsie and she diapered the babies. I would feed, she did the rest and it worked out perfect. Mom did start to develop a bit of Mastitis which every night I soaked her underside in a warm bath and massaged them. She was so full of milk and so so sore. __________________ http://Brenysbabies.com

12-20-2010, 07:43 PM	#41
gardenyorkies Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2007 Location: Northeast Ohio Posts: 429	I also have a Warming box that I keep puppies in for Intensive Care...I took a clear plastic box roughly 14 X 16 X 6....I drilled 1/2" holes...on all 4 sides...about 4-6 inches apart...about an inch or so from the top edge.. One of the holes drilled is drilled using a 1inch drill bit... I put a heating pad in the bottom of the box threading the cord through the 1 inch hole....A white large clean bath towel folded on top of the heating pad...I put a room thermometer...plastic one purchased from WalMart...on top of the towel...Put the lid on and turn on the heating pad...Monitor the temperature to see what the temp is holding so you know what you will have to keep the heating pad set on...I also recommend that you purchase a car adapter to plug into you cig. lighter and this way you can plug your warming box in when you transport puppies for any reason...Puppies stay warm and do not get chilled which can be deadly to newborns... This is an inexpensive way to provide a clean warm environment for your puppies while caring for them.... __________________ Laura ~ JaLa Yorkshire Terriers ~ Visit www.PoochiePetite.com "Wrapping Jackets, Satin Beds, Tablecovers, Bows N' More!"