Tail docking age
 

When should the puppies tail be docked if they are small (.29 lb)? I am presently tube-feeding the pups as my female is not caring for them properly and they won't eat on their own. They are 2 days old. Someone said 3 days is the norm, but I'm wondering if anyone has done it later when puppies are small.

If I had a litter that had issues of any kind, and they were being hand fed, I put docking off ....they are so tiny and have enough stress on their little bodies....tail docking is something that isnt mandatory......I did a litter of tinys at 17 days old one time....they did just fine and yours will too....do you regularly breed your dogs and whelp litters? Are these show dogs? Are you keeping these babies until they are 12-15 weeks old? Do you dock your own tails? They will do fine docking at 14-17 days old....if you just keep your babies until they are 6-8 weeks old, I would leave their tails intact!

what is a typical yorkie weight at birth? .29 lb is small? Did you contact your vet to ask about the tails?

Tail docking is not an absolutely necessary procedure, unless you are showing in the US.....I had asked some questions that would indicate where you are in your breeding program.....I try to avoid unnecessary procedures on enfants that are struggling in any way....tail docking is certainly not necessary, unless you have a litter of potential show dogs......

I believe you should be directing this to the poster, not to me. I do not have a breeding program. I own a spayed yorkie.

Sorry...was not directing the answer to you....just utilized your answer to her post in my response....you had brought up an excellent question about the weight....and then I wanted to address asking the vet...most vets get paid big bucks to do tail docking...and will dock a tail on anything, at any time, regardless of what is happening with the puppy in other areas.....answer was not meant for you since you did not pose the question initially....just utilized your response in addition to what I had to say to her.....unfortunately, seems I complicated/created confusion in what was a simple issue......hopefully the initial poster got my message and meaning...

Ahh... I see.
Hopefully !

That's too bad to hear about the profit part :(

tail docking
 

Thanks for all your responses. The puppies weigh .29 and .31 now, but I'm still tubefeeding them. I also thought that they didn't need the added stress with their other problems. I will wait. I don't sell my puppies till they are 12 weeks old and, after all this, I may be too attached to sell them. I have an older yorkie that had 2 litters and is now just my pet. No more breeding for her, and this one will probably become a pet as well. She doesn't seem to like the puppy deal too much.

Depending on momma and how adverse she is to her litter....is this her first litter/.....how old is she?.....those and a couple of other factors that affect how mommas take to babies, need close review and you are correct....if she is not taking to her babies and she is not a maiden, drop her from the program.....she could easily just kill/eat the next litter if she is not thrilled with this momma dog stuff.....

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: I would never rebreed a female who fails to nurse and care for the pups - unless there was a C section. Not all females make good Mamas'; kind of like human females.

tail docking
 

Just lost another one of the puppies. One of the six was stillborn and partially decomposed. Has anyone ever heard of this and could that have infected the entire litter?
I really don't think I will breed her again.
she is such a good pet. That's enough for me.

Are you using the formula that I have posted on this site for several years? It will pull thopse babies thru if there are no other issues...you need to be feeding them every two hours....how often are you feeding them? How much are you giving them...what is the amount of the formula you are giving them, and what is the caloric count per cc of that formula? You will loose all this enfants if you are not meeting nutritional requirements with the tube feedings....

tail docking
 

I took them to an emergency vet and I am following their recommendations. 2cc every 2-4 hours. I've been doing it every 2 except sometimes during the night, then I go to 3. Should I do it every 2 hours during the night?

Thanks for your help.

I am *so* glad to hear you will not breed her again. It's such a big thing - way bigger than people ever, ever realize...it's something I could never do/risk bc I would be way too afraid of what could happen. Spay your kiddo and let her just be a precious, beloved pet :love:.

And - thanks to YorkieMom1 for helping other breeders, as she is always willing to do no matter the circumstance. :)

It has been my personal experience that emergency vets are not really experts on what to feed newborns.....PLEASE, mix up the formula I have given many, many times on this site, for people to feed these struggling enfants....you have a MAJOR issue I deal with, already under control!!! TUBE FEEDING!!! EXCELLENT!!! Now, you must weigh these babies, a little postal scale will do just fine, and give 1cc/oz of the formula I am going to repeat, delivering 14-16 calories per cc...this formula will meet all the enfants needs and turn them around almost overnight...you also need to be weighing these babies at least two times a day....once morning and once @ night....record their weights, that tells you if you are meeting their caloric requirements. I am going to give you the life saving formula I have used on my babies that require additional intervention.....this formula is like a miracle and will pull those babies thru if there is nothing else wrong with them.
Formula:

8oz JUST BORN PUPPY FORMULA WITH COLOSTRUM
4 oz Pedialyte
1 raw egg yolk
1/2 cup live culture yogurt...may use Kefir, it is even better!
3 tbsp Dr.Miller's Nutra Drops

This keeps for a week in the fridge...I mix mine up in an Alfredo sauce jar....you feed new borns warm formula every two hours around the clock....then remember to "pee and poop" the baby, by wiping behind with warm cloth which stimulates them to pee and poop. You must weigh them at least twice a day to monitor their weight...they should turn aroud and start gaining weight rapidly...you are going to feed every 2 hours for at least a week, day and night....depending on how well they are doing then, you MAY be able to go up to every 3 hours for another week, then every 3 hours during the day and twice over night (gives you a little well deserved break!)....then every 4 hours when they hit 4-5 weeks old....I am soooooo proud of you, tube feeding!!! THAT alone increases your success in this labor of love by 80%!!!!
Let me know if you need any questions answered!

PLEASE, listen to yorkiemom as she IS an excellent breeder & knows what she's talking about. As a vet tech I can tell you that vets know pregnancies & C-Sections but not so much about the after care of the puppies & their nutritional needs. This is deff left to the experts & that would be the breeders.

Thank you for the vote of confidence....vets can not possibly know everything about every aspect of animal care....this is knowledge breeders share between themselves and with others that need the information....

Thanks so much Yorkie mom. Puppy is gaining wt nicely. She weighs 5.5 oz now. mother is still not producing milk and I'm thinking she probably won't. I just wish that I could get the baby to drink out of bottle. I'm afraid that tube feeding her for so long could injure her throat. Have you had any experience with that?
Again, thanks for all your help.

Keep tube feeding....I have tube feed until some were almost a month old....how old is your baby you are tube feeding? How much does your baby gain in/every 24 hours?

She is 11 days old. She started at 1.9oz and now weighs 6oz. Is that enough gain?
Also, yesterday her left eye was really swollen. Last night, when I was sleeping, my husband said it drained some pus. This morning the eye looks normal again. I figured there's not much sense in taking her to the vet as her eyes aren't open yet. What could they see with the eyes closed. I guess I'll just wait and see how it looks when it opens this weekend. Otherwise, she seems perfectly healthy. What do you think caused that? Have you ever heard of it?