Help!!! My week old puppy is sick!!!
 

I had my litter of puppies last week. 5 puppies, 2 girls and 3 boys. There was two little ones and one died after two days. The other little male (Yoda) has struggled to gain weight this last week. It did gain an oz!!!

In the middle of the night (it is almost 2 am here in Alaska) I woke up like I normally do to check on the puppies and this one is laying there. I picked Yoda up and he did not even squeak like normal. It seemed hungry (which has been normal for him) so I supplimented his food with 1 oz of Esbilac and stuck it on one of Tinkerbells Teets were it feed for a while too.

I just don't understand why Yoda is struggling to gain weight. :confused: Please if you have any suggestions or answers let me know. I would hate to lose this little guy.

The other ones are doing wonderful. Gaining weight daily and sleeping a ton. He is about half their weight and size.

It sounds like this little one needs to be supplimented in between mom feeding him. I find the smaller ones get pushed off the teat by the bigger ones and can't always get enough to eat. Check him for cleft palate also. here's a link with symptoms to look for in him: http://www.shilohgtf.com/Cleft%20Lip_Palate.htm

I was told by the doctor that delievered them that they all were cleftpalate free and all were healthy. This one feed by itself most of the time. I make the mother feed her separtly when I am there just to make sure that he is getting enough. I also suppliment with inbetween. Is there such thing as a really fast matablizim in puppies that they just can't keep up with the demand? He seems to like the suppliments more then milk from his mother. Thank you for all your suggestions. I am going to buy nurtrical on my lunch and try with that. I hope that it works, because he is my favorite out of the group so far. I love him.

My last litter of puppies I had two little ones also ( a litter of 6 ) and it seemed that they were not gaining as quickly as the others, so I would go in every few hours and push some of the bigger puppies out of the way to allow them to nurse. After a few days of this I was able to let them be at night, but continued to help out during the day.
They are both doing well now at 7 weeks.
Good luck and I Hope he improves....

Thank you for showing me there is hope. I love this little guy and I am not ready to let him go with out a fight. He is just too cute and sweet.

So are you puppies about the same size as the other ones at this point? Did you use any suppliments? I am going to go and get some NutriCal during my lunch if I can get over to the store.

Aw, how is your little guy doing? Is he cool to the touch temperature-wize? Feel him; then feel the others and see if it feels the same. If it does, that, atleast is a good sign. If he is cooler than the ohters, it is not a good sign. Please let us know, I'll check back in to see how he is doing.

you should keep supplimenting (since its a larger litter) often times moms cant produce enough to keep them all happy...I would suppliment the larger thriving pups more often and leave the little man latched as often as you can...also I would use Benebac (giving tiny amount once a day) and Nutridrops (one drop twice a day)

Benebac

http://www.revivalanimal.com/store/S...hTerms=benebac

nutridrops

http://www.revivalanimal.com/store/S...hTerms=benebac

hope your little man does better

Thank you. The little guy is doing good. But yes he is cooler then the other puppies. He is eating great, but still not seeming to gain any weight. I am going to pick up Nutrical right after work and I will see if I can find the other stuff. Is it okay to give them all of these suppliments at the same time?

I would not use nutrical on such a young pup, your best to use the nurtidrops...

Are you supplementing the mom as well?

I'm checking in to see how your little guy is doing?
Is he any warmer to the touch?

We had six puppies in that litter and four were on the normal size range and the two were smaller. They continue to be small in size, but are healthy and happy.

When I make the milk suppliment stuff I give her what is left over. She is usually licking it off the puppy anyway. I also giving her calcium every morning and night. The tablets are big so the vet said to give half of one a day. So I give her a 4th in the morning and the other at night. Should I be giving her anything else?

He has been about the same in temp for the last couple days. Not as warm as the others, but is just a bit cooler, that is for sure. He is still active and loves to lick milk off of my hand. He is just so darling.

Well I just called about getting the nuridrops and they said that they don't have that. Is it okay to use Nutrical in a small dosage?

I have never had to use the nutri-cal on the puppies, so I cannot give you a definitive answer to that question. I have heard that many use the Karo syrup also and perhaps this might be a good alternative?

I was just wondering if you were giving calcium supplements...I see that you are.

My advice would be to listen to the suggestions that Kimberly (yorkiepassion) has made. She is very experienced and has helped many a YT member in similar situations.

Good luck!:)

Thank you so much I am going to go down to the pet store right now and see what I can get. I know that they have nutrical, but the other stuff is questionable. Thanks for all your help and I will keep you updated.

Just checking in to see how your little guy is doing today?

The pup has to be warm to be able to digest properly. Warm him up before feeding him. I would stimulate him by rubbing his body then wrap him in a warmed hand towel or something. Please update as soon as possible.

I do the same thing as Kimberly said and supplement the bigger ones so they arent taking all of the milk from momma. I am not sure how much the little one weighs but maybe 1 oz isnt enough. I supplement what ever the pups weighs. Do you have a heating pad or something to keep the little one warm? Keeping them warm is very important. I give me mom lots of Esbilac also to help supplement her.

I gave the puppy about 2 oz of Esbilac and a couple little licks of the puppy NutriCal this morning and then he was not having anymore. Then he ate some more on Tinkerbell. It seems that Yoda will not eat off of her until he gets the Esbilac. He seems to perfer it. But at least he is eating. The puppy Nutrical is really thick and he can only take a little bit of it.

I will start supplimenting the bigger ones when Tinkerbell is feeding the little one. She just keeps standing up and trying to see what I am doing to her babies.

I will work with the heating pad tonight and see what I can do. That is a great idea and I wonder why I did not think of that. I will also give Tinkerbell more of the Esbilac, I just was giving her what was left over after the puppy ate it. I thought she might get sick off of it. Thank you for the information.

Thank you for the ideas. Great!!!

Yoda is doing great. He looks like he is gaining some weight. I am going to be getting a different scale today that I feel more comfortable with being reliable. He was crying a little bit in the middle of the night, so I supplimented him and let him eat from Tinkerbell too. He slept well after that and was ready to eat again this morning. I love this little guy. I am hoping tonight I can post more pictures of them all. Thank you for caring.

Thanks for the update. I pray your little one survives and thrives to live a long, healthy, happy life. I'll be checking back in....wishing you the very best.
What you don't want to see is "bloating"....the belly getting huge while the legs still look tiny and skinny. Is the mother stimulating him to go to the bathroom? Does she tend to leave him in a different area than the others?

Is this puppy chart accurate? If it is my biggest puppies are only going to be 3.5 lbs at 18 months and that does not sound right.

Toy Breed Puppy Growth Chart

convert your yorkie puppy weight to ounces 16oz equals 1 pound
NOTE: an example; 10 week old puppy current weighs 2.2 lbs
conversion 16 X 2 + 2 = 34 ounces
next find puppy's current age to the left then follow along until you find 34;
next follow to the bottom of that column estimated adult weight is 5lbs.
when in doubt use 3 x weight at 8 weeks or 2 x weight at 12 weeks

Birth 2.5 oz. 2.75 oz. 3 oz. 3.5 oz. 4 oz. 4.25 oz. 4.5 oz. 5 oz. 5.5 oz.
1 week 4.50 5 5.5 6 7 7.5 8 9 9.5
2 weeks 6 6.5 7 8.5 10 11 12 13 13.5
3 weeks 7 8 8.5 10.5 13 14 15 16 17.5
4 weeks 8 9.5 10 12 14.5 16 18 20 21
5 weeks 9 11 11.5 13.5 16 18 20 22 24
6 weeks 10 12.5 13 15 17.5 20 23 24 27
7 weeks 11 12 14.5 17 19 22 25 27 30
8 weeks 12 13.5 16 19 21.5 24 27 29 32
9 weeks 13 15 18 22 23 26 30 33 35
10 weeks14 16 20 24 25 28 33 36 38
11 weeks15 17 21 26 28 31 36 39 42
12 weeks 16 18 22 28 32 35 40 43 45
13 weeks 17 20 24 30 34 36 42 45 48
14 weeks 18 22 26 32 36 39 44 47 51
15 weeks 19 23 28 34 38 42 46 51 55
16 weeks 20 25 30 36 40 44 49 54 59
17 weeks 21 26 31 38 42 46 51 57 62
18 weeks 22 28 33 39 44 48 54 60 65
19 weeks 23 29 34 40 45 50 56 62 67
20 weeks 24 30 35 41 46 52 58 64 70
21 weeks 25 31 36 42 48 54 60 66 72
22 weeks 25 32 37 43 48 56 62 68 74
23 weeks 26 33 38 44 50 57 64 70 76
24 weeks 26 33 39 45 51 58 65 71 78
25 weeks 27 34 40 46 52 59 66 72 79
26 weeks 27 34 40 47 53 60 67 73 80
18 Month 2 lbs 2.5 lbs 3 lbs 3.5 lbs 4 lbs 4.5 lbs 5 lbs 5.5 lbs 6 lbs

I hope that it survives also.

I will watch out for the bloating. The mother is doing great with keeping them all stimulated and clean. All the puppies usully stay together. The mother is constantly moving them, but always together unless I catch her.

It is just a "guesstimate"

It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job and you certainly have received some very good advice from some of the more knowledgable breeders here. Thank goodness for them all. :)
I hope your little one continues to do well and that you will keep us updated on his progress.
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how's your little boy doing today?

He stopped eating in the middle of the night. Usually I can get him to feed with putting a bit of Esbilac on her nipple. So I have been feeding him every two hours as much as he can take. Does anyone know if this is enough or not enough? He is still fighting.:confused:

When you feed him, does it come out of his nose?
Also, listen to his chest with your ear for any raspy sound....

when you try to put him up to his mamma, does his head just fall down after you move your hand away?

one more thing to check....pinch the skin between his shoulder blades...if it "tents" and stays there he is dehydrated and you will need to call a vet.