7 week old puppy - hypoglycemia? dehydration? HELP!
 

If you have any advice, please help!

We have a 7 week old little boy (the smallest of the litter). Weaned for about 4 days, all of a sudden today he was listless and weak. it was about 7:30 pm central time that I first noticed he was acting weird. I immediately assumed hypoglycemia (since he was fine about 3 hours earlier).

I warmed him up and gave him Nurtical and water through and eye dropper (which he licked, so I took that as a positive). he seemed to respond a little. Still, not much movement, but his eyes were focusing, etc. he threw up at about 9:15

At about 9:30 we gave him 15 mL of room temp Lactated Ringers sub Q...

He's responding a little, moving his head a little and taking a few steps occasionally.

I am letting him rest now, but what could it be? I'm sure I could spend hours looking on here for similar situations, but I don't know if I have that kind of time.

He's about 1 1/2 pounds.

Any recommended next steps for tonight? obviously, vet in the morning if he makes it that far.

I have no advice but will bump this up for you. Maybe you should also post in the breeders section. Maybe there is someone there that will see your post. I hope your little one improves! What a worry. I'll say a prayer. Do you have any ER vets in your area? Might be a good idea to take him in!

Sounds like it is hypoglycemia. It can easily happen once the pups are being weaned. You may not notice a particular pup not eating due to them being in a litter environment and it seems to come on quick. It may take a few days for him to really recover though he may respond well fairly soon. Don't assume he's better for several days. I would try to get some food in him along with the other steps you're taking. He must be kept warm, too. He really needs to eat, whether it's the best food or not, just something that he will eat. If you can't get him to eat, syringe a little canned food into him. You may have to water it down some to get it to work. Also, feed him separately for a few days to make sure he really gets his share. I lost a tiny 11 week old girl some time ago and her symptoms came on suddenly. I treated her much in the same way you are, also feeding her some meat. She bounced back through the night and wanted to run around. I put her in her pen around daylight and took a 3 hour nap. I woke up to find her gone. That's why I say to not assume they're better even when they appear to be. If you can get past the crisis, he needs to be fed often and separately from the litter until he's really over it.

Thanks so much for the advice.

He made it through the night. I gave him some more fluids (sub q) this morning and a bit of formula through an eye dropper. He seems better, just not good by any means. He's holding his head up, licking at the eye dropper a little, and his gums are getting a pink color back (they were greyish / white last night). The vet opens in an hour, so if I can keep him stable that long, he may have a chance (praying).

I did have a hard time finding any information about how much fluids I could give him - does anyone have any suggestions? Best I could come up with was about 10 cc's per pound, and another thing I found said 10 cc's every 2 hours.... I'll ask our vet and post what I find out, but does anyone have a good amount and frequency for administering subcutaneous fluids to suggest for a Yorkie puppy?

Glad to hear he made it through the night. Did the vet give you any advice on the sub-q amount? I've never sub-q'ed anything other than a very young one. Generally, with a pup old enough to be weaned, it's more a matter of getting food in them rather than treating them for dehydration, unless they're showing obvious signs of it. If your litter has 4 or more pups, you may want to separate them into 2 x-pens. You could put the more aggressive eaters in one pen and the slower eaters in the other. This will help ensure that all the pups have a chance to get their fill. Also, doing it this way, it's easier to keep an eye on each individual pup. I would still feed the one that had the episode separately (and supplement with Nutri-Cal) for a few days and keep a close eye on him until he has well recovered. Best of luck. This can be a vulnerable time for pups.

Sarah, what did the vet say about your baby. I hope he is Ok....Let us know...Lissette

Hoping and praying this little one will be alright...

Update!
 

It has been a CRAZY day so far.

Okay, so the little man made it to the vet, who said I was doing everything I could, but there was no way to really tell what's going on with him until we get him stabilized. She sent me home with some injectible anti-naisea medicine and some antibiotics (just in case). She told me to keep doign what I could to keep him fed and hydrated.

As far as the fluids go, she said about 2 cc's in one place at a time, and keep pumping them in as long as they are absorbed. Basically, if the "lump" of fluids goes away, then give him some more.

He wasn't really moving or anything, and I kept giving him fluids, then I mixed up some beef liver broth and milk replacer and fed him with an eyedropper. He started coming around, and is now walking at eating the "soup" on his own from the bowl.

It's a pretty drastic difference.

Sorry it took so long to get an update - we have a female whelping - it's been bad - 3 were born outside apparently overnight while I was trying to revive our little 7 week old guy. Those 3 didn't make it, and she has been slowly having more all day - 9 living ones right now - biggest litter I have ever seen (largest I've seen is 7).


Anyway, thanks for all the advice - I'll be keeping a close eye on him over the next few days and I have also given his littermates some of the liver "soup" I made, just in case. : )

I'll keep everyone posted on what happens in the next few hours - but he is 100 times better than he was last night! If you EVER have a problem, the beef liver broth and sub q fluids are a life saver!

Your doing wonderfully so far. Finger's crossed you saved this little one's
life. Glad to read he's moving around at this time.

Did I read that right? Your other pup had 12 babies so far? Three passed
and 9 are living. Is that female a YORKIE! OMG

Wow, thats alot of puppies....Good Luck and let us know how that baby is doing....Lissette

Yes, that's right, a Yorkie that gave birth to 12 puppies, 9 still living.

One is extremely small and is not doing well. I am hand feeding her - she is full, just not moving around much. Hillary is taking care of her, but it's touch and go right now.

There are 2 males and 7 females still living, the three that passed were also females.

Her last litter was 7, and they all survived and are now in their new pet homes. That was the largest litter I'd ever seen a Yorkie have.

Wow what a litter! Sorry about the 2 that passed but congrats on the 9 which is still a huge litter

I'm confused, you said she had 3 outside overnight that didn't make it. Was mom outside of the house?

She has a doggy door and can go in and out - I am guessing she was outside thinking she had to go potty when she started having the first pup. She cleaned all three of the first ones up, but I guess she didn't know to bring them back inside? I'm not exactly sure. But, When I checked on her at 5:30 this morning she had 5 puppies, and I assumed that was it... by the time we found the other 3, it was too late. I tried to revive them (thinking about them possibly having a "diver's response" or something) but they were gone.

Ahhhh, I'm so sorry about the 3 she lost...but wow...what a litter!!! Keeping my fingers crossed that the rest all thrive...and the one you've been feeding too.

Update!
 

Our little man is doing great! He seems back to "normal" though I am keeping him seperated from his littermates and still giving him the liver soup every now and then.

Hillary is doing very well considering - the little female passed this morning. I don't know if I can handle the heart break of losing another one.

Anyway, I started another thread about Hillary and her babies (I think the title is: 12 puppies -Largest Yorkie Litter?)

But, I think I did good with the 7 week old man!!!! Here is a pic of him, he's the one on the right (dark face) - I took these on Monday before he got sick. He needs a bath now (all the stuff on his face from the hand feeding - but I am afraid to get him chilled at this point).

Does this little guy have a name? I favor the darker yorkies...love his little face. I think you've done a great job with him.
On another note, sorry you lost the little girl...I don't think I could ever breed, my heart couldn't take the losses.

name?
 

He doesn't have a "real" name yet - I have been trying to think of something better than "lucky" or "chance" for him... Any ideas?

Sarah

I am so glad your little baby boy made it :) i'd choose the name Chanse for sure ! what a fighter he is . Your a great Skin mom to all these babies ! And certainly have your hands full!
Congradulations to all these new arrivals of yorkie babies :D

Let me think on this awhile...we need a wonderful name for a brave little man.

Sorry about the loss of another girl. I'm glad your boy is doing well. This is definitely the biggest litter I've heard of and I've been here a little while. I'll have to check out your thread, how big is mom?

I like the name BARON. A given name for a warrier...

Baron seems to fit him - that's what I'll call him. : )

he is a trooper, he is still not doing very well, but way better than a few days ago.

The vet thinks it may be his liver, but she wants to wait until he is a little stronger to draw any blood (doesn't want to weaken him too much since he's so little and so sick).

He is getting up and walking around (playing a little bit but not much). He eats a little on his own, but I am still having to feed him and occasionally give him fluids.

I am so freaked out about him - I haven't slept much in days! I wish there was something I could do to help him get better, but I guess until I know what it is, I'm doing all that I can do.

Had anyone had a puppy with liver issues this young? I've never seen it before.

I would contact WoogieMan. He seems very willing to help all night if possible...

How is your puppy today......

How is your puppy today...

Update
 

Sorry I didn't get on the computer until now today. : )

Well, Baron is doing better - he is walking around, playing a little, eating canned food on his own, and even making it all the way to the puppy pad to go potty. : ) He is still not bounding around or anything, but I haven't had to hand-feed him anything today. : )

Here is a picture I took last night (he looks huge, but he's really tiny, also, he has a lot of hair, haha).

Love the name Baron, great choice!!! Just look at that tiny little face...I think I'm in love!!! Yippee, he's eating on his own...well for one day at least...gosh, I sure do hope it lasts. Thanks for sharing your little guy with us...

I hope little Baron gets well. What did your vet say. Please keep us updated, we all want him to be 100% better. Lissette

Baron sure is a cutie...as for baths, I wouldn't. I just get a warm wet wash cloth, & wipe. Congrats on your new little ones & so sorry for the loss of 4. Hope Baron doesn't have any serious illnesses...