under weight puppy....help
 

my baby is under weight she is 3.5 months old and she only weights 1lb 4oz
when she was born she was 1of 5 puppy and the runt 5oz she had a hard time nursing i had to help her she at 6weeks she was only up to 1lb she seem to be very slow at growing her ears were not open at 2months so we did a blood test it was fine my vet has never seen a pup so slow at crowning
any one out there have any ideas to what is wrong with her she is eating but not gaining weight her noise is running she has never had puppy barth it smalls very bad any one out there help
cindy :confused:and her baby runt:aimeeyork

Oh Cindy, what a shame you are having a problem with your baby.

What are you feeding her? If she has bad breath, something must not be agreeing with her tummy. How are her stools (poop)? Loose or solid?

Does your vet have her on any supplements?

If you can give a little more information about her diet we may be able to help you.

runt puppy
 

her poop is just fine she is not taking any thing she is eating iams puppy food i mix it with water for a few mins. to soften it up any help i would love
cindy and runt

I'm not an expert on commercial dog food, but I don't think Iams is a very good one, especially not for a puppy. There are several brands that make a tiny kibble for puppies, and that have extra calories and nutrients for puppies. I use Royal Canin, and it is really good for my dogs. There are others, and I'm sure someone will tell you about what else they are using.

Start feeding her several times a day, 3 or 4 times a day. Offer her boiled or grilled chicken (no skin or extra fat), mixed with plain white rice. You can moisten this up with a touch of chicken broth too. Also, offer her gerber's chicken meat baby food. Just the meat, not the mixed meat and vegetables. This can be mixed with a little white rice and chicken broth too. You can also add a spoonful of cottage cheese to the dry kibble or a little plain (not flavored) yogurt.

Add a little Karo syrup to her water to make sure she is drinking plenty of liquids. If you have Nutra-Cal - give some of this (about the size of a pea) to her just before bed to keep her blood sugar up and get her through the night. It also stimulates their appetite.

Are you with her during the day so you can follow this feeding schedule?

Oh, and by the way, I originally came from Vancouver Washington, so I'm familiar with Salem.

There is an excellent Yorkie breeder in the Portland area who posts on here and has helped me in the past. She is very gracious with her time and knows as much or more than anyone on here. You could PM her directly. Her name on YT is Femvstr.

Start this change in food as soon as you can. Keep posting with questions and for help and support. Good luck.

hello! I am sorry to intrude on your post but your question scares me.I have a 16 week old girl that weighs 1.90z.I was not too worried because she doesn't actually look that small but at 7 weeks she weighed 1.4oz also.I feed her chicken soup.should I be worried also????:(:(

If she is steadily gaining I would not worry too much. It is my understanding that this little girl was not really gaining weight. Chicken Soup is one of the better commercial dog foods. However, when they are that small I would still supplement with a little extra chicken and maybe cottage cheese just to be sure she is getting enough food.

"Her name on YT is Femvstr"


Okay, I got her name wrong. Sorry. It is Feminvstr.

Best wishes.

thank for all your help i have tryed the chicken baby food she loves it but my vet said we want to get her on dog food so i am putting the iambs in water for a few min to make it soft she is eating it i also have the nutria-gal but i was afraid to use it because the vet said it does nothing for her but i am going to start giving it to her we are gaining a little we hit 1lb 5oz last night i am gone at work in the day so i leave it down for her we did a stool test today
see how that goes another thing is that she seizes all the time clear water the vet don't know why it all most like water coming out or she is clearing her noise dont use cleaner any more to see if that would help but has not
i just try any thing i can to help her be a puppy keep it coming guy it helps
cindy:thumbs up runt:aimeeyork

You really should switch to a premium puppy food rather than the Iams. It is so much better for her. Also, mix some of the chicken baby food with the kibble to make it more interesting to her. The Nutra-Cal just gives them enough energy to get through the night without any food. Since you are gone all day, put a saucer down with a couple teaspoons of cottage cheese on it in her pen during the day while you are gone, along with her normal food. You really need her to eat while you are gone.

Best wishes

This baby is making me very nervous. I normally don't post with advice but here goes. . . .

Is this girl up to date on her immunizations? Is she active and playful or is she listless and sleeping a lot?

The runny watery nose may imply Allergies because you say it is clear liquid (if it were yellow or greenish, I'd think infection). She may have food allergy. I would take her off the Iams and put her on a holistic kibble with natural steamed ground chicken added to it. I looked at the IAMS puppy kibble and here are the ingredients:

Chicken, Corn Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Flavor,

The ingredients in red may be causing the runny nose and malabsorption of her food. There should be no grains in dog food, beet pulp can cause allergies, by products are bad (junk left over from processing for other products that they don't throw away). Iams may have cute commercials, but I don't approve of their food...ok now they will probably sue me. lol

Do you have someone who can take her during the day while you are working who can make sure she is eating? She should be fed small amounts at 3 hr intervals through out the day until she reaches a normal weight.

If you want to pm me I can give you a list of good holistic foods and links about food, etc.

Also, if your vet can't help her, I'd find another vet.

BTW, my sister and Mom live in Salem, and I visit there often.

Wishing you the best with your baby.

I started giving my Bernie baby food after a hypoglocemic attack when he was about 10 weeks old. He loved it and it really did help him get on track. But after about a month I started weining him off the baby food. I used the nutri-cal in that baby food time period also.

Read and study dog foods on the internet. You will soon learn how to tell which ones are the best. I think you need to get some more protein in your baby to help build some muscle. Take Caralyn's offer to let her tell you about some of the grain free kibbles. She's definitely right about the Iams. It's empty calories. You get those grains and by products out of your baby and you will see an improvement soon.

I've ended up feeding Natures Variety raw 2x daily, with. They love it. A small amount of grain free kibble is down when I'm gone in case they get hungry between meals.

I sure would love to be pampering that baby. Good luck to you both. Keep us posted.

i am willing to do any thing to help her we weight last night 1lb5oz
not much but any thing will help you guys are so great
going to change her dog food thanks
mccindy:cheer::mademyday and runt::aimeeyork

Just wanted to add my best wishes for you and your little girl. Frequent, small premium meals should help her with the weight and the allergies. Getting another vets opinion would be another good idea.

I also would go to a better quality food for her.. I cannot believe you vet telling u not to give the baby food.. who friggin cares when your baby is so small and she needs to put weight on.. I would also say.. find some one who can make sure she is eating more often.. I think every 3-4 hours at minimum..
I hope she keeps gaining.. anne