my new puppy won't eat
 

My new puppy won't eat I have had her since Monday and she hasn't eaten a thing on her own, I have been force feeding her with a syrnge Nuta cal. She is hypoglacemic and has coccidia. She is being treated with meds for that. I am so worried, Does anyone have any suggestions on getting her to eat? I have tried everything it seems. When will this stop I am worried sick about her. She is so small, 17 ozs. 8 weeks old.

Have you contacted the breeder? Sounds to me like the breeder sold you a very sick puppy. Is there a contract between you? I would definitely contact the vet. You don't want your puppy to get dehydrated and worsen on you. I know that when my runt was sick, I had to force feed her every 6 hours with Science Diet A&D mixed with water and Nutrical. Then every 4 hours, I had to force feed her Pedialyte. Dehydration is very bad with such a young pup.

Good luck and keep us updated!

Is your puppy active and playful?

I was in the same exact situation and it is sooo scary, I know!! I am sooo sorry. You might try giving some cottage cheese or bits of chicken. I would also sit there holding my pup for half an hour or so, offering kibble and eventually he would eat it out of my hand or off the floor. Also, canned puppy food seemed to work - he would at least eat a little of that. He wouldn't drink water but vet said canned food is 70% water so that was ok.

after a few days of meds pup should start to feel better and start eating.

I hope everything gets better for you.

What are you feeding in the syringe? I used a mixture of human baby rice cereal mixed with pedialyte, karo syrup or corn starch. You make a liquidy consistency that will go up the syringe easliy.

I also fed the puppy milk you get at the pet store for puppies whose mother's won't feed them. They will usually eat that.

They need to eat 2 or three syringe fulls every four hours.

You are doing the right thing. I know it is hard now but she will be so bonded to you after this and you will love all the more for having gone through this time. Hang in there.

I would definitely get some clear Pedialyte and feed that to her through a syringe because if she is dehydrated that could kill her fast. Try some chicken or lamb baby food for some protein.

I agree on the Pedialite as we had to do this with my Chanel when she was a baby - but if your puppy hasn't eaten since Monday on her own - I really really think you need to take her to the vet asap...

there could be something else going on - that's 5 days without eating and she should be feeling better if she's being treated for Coccidia....Have you been talking with your vet ? If you're not getting help from the vet - I would call another one ....that's a tiny little baby and they can go down fast if sick - GOOD luck with your puppy - you sound like you're doing really good feeding her ...but I'd still go in for medical help if it were me

A 17 ouncers never eat very much . Don't giver her too much Nutrical .

Mag's breeder will not let the puppies leave her home until they weighs 2 lbs. Maggie was and still is a picky eater. When we brought her home, she would not eat. The breeder gave me a sheet of paper that is titled, "When They Won't Eat". On there was a list of foods to try. Scrambled egg, boiled chicken, rice. It also said too much Nutrical will ruin their appetite. I hope your baby gets better. Keep us posted.

That would be a GREAT FAQ post for new puppy owners

I would try everything including force feeding if necessary to get her to eat. My girl was 12 ounces at 8 weeks so I understand what a small baby you have. At 12 ou she won't eat much but its important that she eat. Good luck

That's what Chanel weighed when she was sick - it's really scary when they won't eat -

the one trick I used to do ...with all 3 of my girls... is throw a little food on the floor near their dish - if your puppy is feeling good enough - she might go for that and eat a little....I don't know why they like that, but it really works - I do it for my cocker cause she has an underbite and had a hard time grasping food ... plus doesn't like her face in a dish ...

Maybe it's worth a try ? or put the food on a flat plate ?

You know Villette, that is true, about the dishes. Too bad we can't speak Yorkie, when we are buying Yorkie supplies. Maggie would rather eat off her blankie or a flat dish than anything. Her stainless steel bowls are something pretty to look at. She will drink out of a bowl though :rolleyes: Good thing for that.

My puppy was also hypoglycemic and had coccidia when he was a pup. He almost died on us, and one vet told us he wouldn't make it through the night, but we were not about to give up on him!
We made some boiled chicken and he actually ate some of it...After a couple of days, he decided he didn't like that anymore, so we were force feeding veterinary science diet a/d...then I found a website about someone who's pup almost died from coccidia and said they fed their pup human baby food (pureed chicken), and that worked...He actually ate this stuff for quite awhile, and he wouldn't touch anything else. I was just happy to see him eating.
We made sure he had small, but very frequent meals, and all the while, we were giving him pedialyte to make sure he didn't dehydrate. If he didn't drink it on his own, we gave it to him through syringe. Also, nutrical for whenever he needed it. The important thing is to not let his blood sugar drop. Once it drops, it's harder to get him back to normal. Just prevent it by keeping him fed.
Also, we were giving him albon, but it didn't seem to even be touching the problem after only 7 days, so we continued the albon for almost 1 month, and the coccidia finally went away!
His first couple of months with us were very hard, and it almost seemed like there was no hope, but always have faith! Continue to do what you're doing. Make sure he's drinking pedialyte, and try the pureed chicken baby food...You'll be surprised, he might eat that on his own. Good luck, and keep us posted! :)

WOW! That is so scary! I hope everything turns out well! You have had good advice from the people here, It's so nice to be able to go and ask questions and almost always someone here has gone through it!
This is probably a dumb question, but what is coccidia? Sorry, but I never heard of it! Is it just a puppy thing, or what?
Pat