Puppy not latching.
 

I have a friend who has a 36 her puppy who doesn't seem to be latching on to mommy... We are starting to get worried, other than the beef liver & those puppy milk, does anyone else have any advice or suggestions on how to help this baby out?!?

Can you explain a little more. How old is the puppy and was it latching after birth and now is not?

If the pup never latched since birth then the puppy could have a cleft palate. It would be best to have a vet check out the puppy.

She is 2.5 days old... born on the 2nd at 12:31am.... i believe she did latch on at first but hasnt since. We are giving her puppy milk & a liver supplment.

Mom is taking care of her, bathing & keeping her warm, but she just doesnt latch to her mother to eat.

Thanks.

Sometime with a cleft palate you might think they are latched but they are not able to latch hard enough to suck milk. Has she been to the vet? Does she have milk come out of her nose when she drinks from a bottle? I do hope she makes it.

Weve looked & no cleft palate.

Do you know how to look for a cleft palate? If it is just a tiny hole on the back it is very very hard to see. A vet should be able to tell you for sure.
How is the puppy nursing? Bottle? Syringe? Sponge?
Tube feeding would be your best route but please do not attempt it without having proper training on how to do it and make sure you give the pinky finger to be sucked for at least 15 min after each tube feeding to make sure it gets digested .
Blessings
Xoxo

Why do I feel like I'm about to get bashed, like every other person on this forum?!

I've raised 4 litters within the last 8 years, I know what a cleft palate is. We have also looked for any deformity in the nose/ snout as our vet advised, nothing.

She's a normal puppy, that doesn't seem to latch, she's being fed by a dropper, every 1.5-2 hrs along with a liver supplement twice a day.

Vet doesn't know what's going on either, I thought I would try here with getting advice from someone who may have had the same experience.

Thnx

I tube feed any baby I have that is not eating. I have a completely balanced formula, any baby that is a "failure to thrive" is automatically tube fed, weight is monitored twice a day. I do not like dropper feeding babies as this method of feeding a struggling baby is conducive to aspiration of formula which will result in pneumonia and usually death, and you have no control over EXACTLY how much/how many calories baby is getting. I have successfully tube fed a lot of babies....I do not let the baby suckle on my finger following tube feeding, as most are too weak for whatever reason to suckle my finger for 15 minutes following being fed, and they do fine! I do their urination/poo thing with a warm cloth following feeding, and return them to their momma for nurturing.

So sorry that the pup didn't make it. :(

When did this news get shared?

I went to the Facebook page in her signature line and read it there. So sad that this little soul didn't make it.

That's where I read it also.

ETA: I hope they do a post-mortem to find out why the pup didn't thrive. Could be a breeding that shouldn't be repeated.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
I get the impression from her last post, ( "......OMG, another attack.....") I seriously doubt we will get an update. It is almost impossible to salvage a pup dying from a "failure to thrive" circumstance, by feeding with a dropper....(1) you have totally NO control over how much the pup is getting, (2) you have NO control over what is aspirated into the lungs, and (3) you have no control over EXACT caloric intake.....I did not expect this baby to survive, was in fact amazed it lasted as long as it did....which makes me grieve even more because I cant help but imagine if this strong yet struggling baby had been getting intensive, around the clock, measured and metered and monitored care, it did have a chance for survival.....I doubt a post was done, so any breeding/congenital disorders could/would be identified and not duplicated with further breedings of the pair that produced that pup. It could have very well been just a fluke, but when seriously breeding, it is vital to keep up with and abreast of any and all "flukes" so they are not replicated with further breedings of a possible genetic mismatch. Every little soul that is lost, should have a post done, in order to avoid future genetic mismatches.....every tiny sacrifice made by breeders, must be utilized as a teaching tool. This is how we learn from our mistakes.....what mixes and what does not mix in our breeding stock.

Unfortunately, some people will read this post, and rather than soaking up the information given so it can be utilized for future breedings, it will be judged as an attack on some poor soul that has just lost a puppy. As responsible breeders, we must at the very least, learn from misadventures and unfortunate events, or we are hell bent on repeating the same mistakes. Given the sad circumstance, it is better than that baby surviving with some unknown genetic event unfolding inside of it, and then some new owner buying that baby and loosing it to whatever was going on.

"Why do I feel like I'm about to get bashed, like every other person on this forum?!"

That had me puzzled. I read though the few previous responses several times and didn't see anything that looked anything but caring advice. Every other person on this forum has been bashed? I guess I've missed a lot in the last 6 years. I'll just give them the benefit of the doubt and attribute the comment to someone who is in a very difficult and emotional situation and perhaps sleep deprived from tending to a very sick puppy around the clock.