Help with tiny puppy 3 Attachment(s) Hi guys, I have a problem and someone suggested that some of you may be able to help me. Lily is a ten week old puppy who only weighs 0.8 oz. She came to me two weeks ago having been in a situation where she was taken from her mother too early and wasn't being given enough to eat and was extremely malnourished. She also has a large open fontanel which will never completely close. At this time she is not showing signs of hydrocephalus but it is a possibility with her small size. She is the pickiest eater I've ever dealt with and often has to be fed with a syringe. We feed her 2 cc's every two hours and give her nutri-cal ever hour. I have tried every type of dog food there is and even tried the recipe posted on here with the half and half, rice cereal, Karo, and baby food. She just isn't interested in food. I have alot of experience with raising Yorkies but never one this small. My goal is to get her to at least 2lbs. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to put some weight on her? Does anyone have any experience with a puppy this small? I'm grateful for any suggestions. (The first two pictures are Lily at 8 weeks and the last one is Lily at 10 weeks with her little teddy bear) |
Welcome to YT. I have a daughter that lives in Murfreesboro. Good luck with your Tiny one. |
Hi...I'm not a breeder so this may not make any sense but here goes. She is awful tiny and you are feeding her something every hour...are you sure she's being picky or is she just full all the time? I think I've read where others have said their babies don't eat as much when they're giving them Nutrical. We had a friend that got a malnurished Golden Retriver and they gave him Ensure...you might ask your vet if it would be o.k. for such a tiny one. Good luck with her...she's a doll! Riley has a sister that was either 8 or 11 ounces at 16 weeks...she was soooo tiny but a little firecracker! |
I forgot to mention that we also give her 1.0 - 2.0 oz of a liquid supplement the vet gave us. Hi again, JeanieK! Is your daughter on the board? I just love Murfreesboro. It use to be a small college town but is growing by leaps and bounds. It also seems to be a popular place for Yorkie lovers. You can't go out on a Saturday without seeing little yorkie faces in the cars that pass you on the street. |
No my daughter is a cat person. She doesn't have dogs. |
Have you tried anything other than dog food? Yogurt that has live cultures is very good for them - just make sure it doesn't have any artificial sweeteners and with a tiny pup, I'd also make sure it is full fat. Have you tried any boiled chicken diced into small pieces, or steamed sweet potato, rice, veggies, bananas? As she is so tiny, I would try everything and use whatever works. Human foods that are high quality can be very healthy for them. Good luck with your pup. She is really adorable!! |
Hi My2boyz, nice name:D I refer to my 2 males as My Boys. You make a great point but it doesn't seem to have been a problem so far. I have taken her to three different vets and they all recommended the same thing. She is surprisingly active and is always running around and barking at you for attention not to mention her obsession with wrestling her teddy bear. I think that with her activity level, she burns up calories pretty quickly. I keep hoping to see a little round belly on her but have had no such luck. Her back and sides are just so bony. I had her tested for intestinal parasites but none were found. I suppose I shouldn't worry as much since she is so active, but these little ones are just so fragile. I'm really worried about what will happen if she doesn't get some weight on her. |
Thanks LuvMySissy. You give great advice. You said exactly what the vet said! We have tried the yogurt, baby food, cottage cheese, gerber meat sticks, boiled chicken, green beans, and rice. I will have to try the sweet potato and banana. The problem is that she will eat something one time with excitement and gusto and then will never eat it again. This seems like a dumb question, but do you cook the sweet potato? Boiled or Baked? |
i don't know what your syringe feeding her but i noticed that my pup put on weight when i started feeding her innova evo, she used to be as skinny as a rail and didnt gain much weight from 5months to 8 months until i put her on this food.. perhaps get a sample bag from a pet store and then put it in a blender with water so you can syringe that into her or however your feeding her. good luck with your tiny girl |
I tend to agree about every hour being too much. She is very tiny, and she just can't eat that often. Perhaps you should only try the nutrical a few times a day... |
Breeder in your town.. There is a Yorkie Show breeder in your town.....if I am not mistaken.... Quote:
|
I got both my girls from a lady who shows these dogs that lives in Murfreesboro. Your little girl is totally adorable. Just keep offering her all kinds of real food, and not so much of the Nutri-cal. Could be she's just getting too spoiled with it. |
Thanks so much for everyone's suggestions. I have not tried the Innova but will add it my list of things to try. Right now she only gets fed with a syringe when all else fails. She needs to learn how to eat and a syringe will not teach her that. I may try and cut back on the nutri-cal if her vet thinks it is safe. Right now she gets a pea sized amount every hour. I really worry about hypoglycemia. I've dealt with that before and it can be a very scary thing. I tried to cut back the nutri-cal to every four hours but she became lethargic so I went back to every hour. I may try every two hours and see how she does. |
Could anyone give me the name of the breeder in Murfreesboro? While I'm not looking to add any more Yorkies to the pack right now, I'm always interested in getting to know a reputable breeder nearby. Especially since both my mother and I take in rescues and I've found that breeders can be a great networking source when it comes to finding families for the poor guys. |
Quote:
LuvMySissy went offline so I'll help out for a second :) She recommended steaming the sweet potato. When you steam veggies all of the nutrients stay in it...boiling tends to boil the good stuff out...that's why the water turns green when you boil green veggies. My boyz love bananas, apples and baby carrots but they're small so I cut them into small pieces for them. Also, the Innova EVO has a very high percentage of protein...almost double the amount that's recommended for Yorkies so please be careful with that food. I know some people don't agree with feeding a raw diet but that's what I have my boyz on (Nature's Variety) and Jo is putting on some weight. Maybe that's an option for your little girl? |
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:32 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2003 - 2018 YorkieTalk.com
Privacy Policy - Terms of Use