Originally Posted by Meggie (Post 901565)

I don't suppose you have a bitch of your own do you?
Often I used to find with mine that even a quite elderly bitch who was maternally minded would begin to produce milk when there were puppies around & every bit helps, plus they would take over the very important chore of ensuring the puppy was warm & cleaned.

The most important thing is warmth, an infra red lamp if you can get hold of one is best, but a frequently changed, covered hot water bottle will do.
Try to gethim to suck if you can as one of the biggest dangers of dropping milk into their mouths is getting liquid into the lungs. which can lead to pneumonia.
You also need to make sure he's weeing & pooing, as puppies can't do this by themselves until 3 weeks old.The mum does this by stimulating the tummy & you can replicate this using a bit of cotton wool wrung out in warm water. Gently massage the tummy with this after mealtimes, with a male puppy draw it forward too along the penis, backwards for a girl. Otherwise they are liable to suffer diarrhoea & constipation alternately.

What sort of milk are you feeding? Cow's milk isn't strong enough for puppies. If you can get it over there, Lactol is specially made for puppies. If you can't get hold of a specific puppy formula milk, a good substitute is a beaten up yolk of an egg mixed into a pint of full fat milk. Or mix a heaped tablespoon of full fat dried milk into a half pint of full fat cow's milk. Try to feed it at 102 degrees, the puppy's body temperature.

At two weeks you're past the most danderous stage, so don't worry too much. At two & a half weeks with luck you should be able to get him to start lapping.So start weaning him soon if you can. It's easier for puppies to learn to lap something a bit more solid than milk, so mix a bit of a baby's first cereal with it, Farex or some such, a bit of sugar helps too. You'll have to gently dip his nose in the saucer at first to give him the idea, & perhaps dab a little on his nose so he starts to lick it off, but with a bit of encouragement it's amazing how quickly they pick it up. then life gets a whole lot easier honest :)

Hope this helps a bit. I've raised a few litters of orphans, even some from birth, so it isn't impossible honestly. It's a brilliant feeling once they're well on the way & you have a bond with them like no other :)

Originally Posted by bonmur (Post 907599)

Sorry it has taken so long to update,,,
Feels like I had a newborn in the house,
First 2 days were touch and go. He wouldnt feed well from a dropper would not suck any sort of nipple.
I had been weighing him daily and he was not gaining at all.
He seemed more alert and active. He was having great bowel movements and not crying as much but he was SO little. he was teeny compared to the puppies I have had.
Last night he went completely off of his food, he was limp and lifeless.
I made sure all of his needs were met .
This morning I put him back in his basket with the heat pad and I looked over and he just gasped one time and died:(
It was so surreal.
So sad, I fell in love with him already
Bon