HELP!! health and breeder concerns.
 

I had written a post earlier but I'm not sure what happened so I'll repeat.

History:

My Yorkie of 3 years was recently attacked and killed by a sharpei. The poor thing was less than 2 lbs so I couldn't get to her in time. She was a part of the family and everyone was heartbroken over the loss. I saw an advertisement for a dog expo so I wanted to just look at the puppies. Well, I fell in love with one that reminded me of her. I decided to buy two puppies so the one would not be lonely. This was about a week ago. The breeder volunteered that both puppies were healthy and eating well. She did not give me any other information. I got them home and immediately the boy, Jax had yellow diarrhea and was not eating the food the breeder provided. I attributed that to nervousness and separation anxiety so I decided to give him a day. While driving, I noticed he was not acting right and took him immediately to the vet. He was extremely hypoglycemic. I felt irresponsible but I never had experienced a problem like that and had no clue. The vet provided me with nutri cal and told me just try everything. This morning it happened again but I was prepared with nutrical and baby food so it turned out ok. The only thing he will eat is baby food or meat. No canned or dry dog food. So here are my issues:

1. Was the breeder lying? He was only .9 lbs when i bought him and has white on him. His dad was a partiyorkie but he was sold to me as a normal yorkie. Also, in my excitement I didn't look at the papers and just noticed he was registered under The American Purebred Canine Society. Is this a legitimate organization? Finally, his teeth are only slightly above the skin. Could he be younger than 2 months and 3 weeks?

2. Any suggestions as to what I can feed him? The vet said I needed to get him on puppy food to provide the proper nutrients but no such luck. Plus, his high fat diet is making him hard to potty train and makes a huge mess.

3. Finally, will he grow out of this? He is a part of our family already but we have a fairly active lifestyle. As much as I love him I am not always around every 4 hrs or so to feed him and would be heartbroken to have another tragedy.

Thank you for your help. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Hi. Welcome to YT. 9 wks is young to be taken from mom, if the age you were told is accurate. There are more exp ppl on site than I w young puppies. I have only done that once, so I am not sure if you were told the correct age, but I would wonder about that also. Did your vet venture a guess at the age of the pup from the teeth?

He is a little young to potty train with any consistency. I got one at 8 wks many years ago, and she was totally dependent on me for quite some time.

That agency that they are registered to I am not familiar with. AKC does register parti yorkies.

I think this little one is going to be quite dependent on you for a while. If you do not get a lot of replies in this section, you might want to ask the breeders in the breeder section about what the age probably is and what to find such a little one that probably is too young to be away from his mom. They would be very experienced in really young pups. I know you have to be very careful of hypoglycemia. Good luck to you and congrats on your new addition!

Welcome to Yorkietalk, I am sure that others will come along to help you. I do not know alot about food or the process of feeding a puppy that should be with their mother and litter mates. Your puppy should not have left its mom until he was 12 weeks old. I hope a breeder comes along that can give you the proper information as to what to feed a little one.
I do know that if he does not eat its not good. If know one answers this please put this in the breeder section some one should help you !!
Have you tried wetting his food to make it soft as you said he does not have any teeth or they are just sprouting. Maybe try putting it in a blender or food processor to make it small?
What are you feeding him? Did you change the food the breeder gave you ? That can cause diarehea.

I don't know a lot about many of your questions but I do know that I brought home a 7 week old a few months ago and her puppy teeth were fully in. I would suspect the breeder. Have you contacted him about the problems. A good breeder should be happy to help you with your problems and questions.
My girl is a finicky eater and hates dog food. I have been making her food for several months now. Some Yorkies eat well but some have a finicky side.
My other question would be, does your vet have experience with Yorkies? Some vets are not experienced with Yorkie problems or with little dogs in general. If there is someone in your area who has more knowledge about Yorkies I would advise going to them.
As the other post advised try the breeders on YT for their advice as well.

Thanks for the rapid response!

The vet did not mention a varying in age from what was listed but then again, he was almost dead when I brought him in the first time.

The vet and I did try puppy milk and no luck with that.

I contacted the breeder and she basically blamed me for stressing him out. But he does not seem to be stressed. He plays and follows me around when he is feeling well and he has a friend with him.

The breeder provided me with some of the food she was feeding him. Diamond something?!!? and said he was eating well. But he wouldn't eat that at all nor any other canned or dry food. He seems to have no interest. The vet said that was a horrible brand so I switched the other one to Science Diet. I had to force feed Jax A/D (canned food) that the vet gave me at first so I took him back and the vet told me to just try everything, including people food. So I've wetted food, mashed it, put it in vienna sausage juice! lol But he will only eat meat, vienna sausage, ham/turkey/chicken baby food mixed with yogurt and/or applesauce. I've tried forcing dog food but no luck. I don't want to push it due to hypoglycemia.

I would stay away from the Vienna sausage - very high in fat. High fat diet can lead to pancreatitis problems.

I would post in the breeder's section also, just to get their input. I know they have special diets they feed young pups as they are weaning to make sure they get proper nutrition and blood sugar.

I don't think it was your fault. It sounds like this breeder is not registered with a reputable agency (AKC or Canadian CKC) and sold a pup to you that was younger than she claimed and too young to be separated from mother yet.

Congratulations on your new babies!

Please be careful feeding things like ham and vienna sausage. :eek: They're very high in fat and can make these little ones sick fast. Any people meats you feed should be boiled - never fried. Any change in food should be made gradually or that can upset their tummies, too. Was your puppy eating the Diamond food? If so I'd recommend putting him back on that food for now just to get him to eat. You can always make a slow switch to another brand later.

Puppies are suceptable to hypoglycemia when they are young and not eating well. He will outgrow it later on unless he has some underlying health issue. For now you just have to make sure he eats every 3 hrs even if it is just a little bit. When Jewels was tiny she ate baby food so I think what you are doing is fine youve got later on that you can transition over to dog food. You might try little caesars moist food though. It is not the best food out there but alot of picky dogs will eat it and you cant worry about him eating the best food out there right now youve just got to keep him eating

If his teeth are barely in , he's definatly younger than 11 weeks. It's not your fault, but you definatly got a dog from a bad breeder. He was too young to leave him mom. As was said, he does need to eat every few hours for now and will be very dependant on you for a while. I wouldn't even focus on housebreaking too much yet, get some piddle pads for now, he's just not capable of grasping too much of that yet and will have to go very often regardless. I agree that if he'll eat the baby food, feed that for now and try mixing it in with some mushy canned dog food. You can worry about a high quality dog food in a few weeks, for now it's more important that he just eat, and baby food isn't a bad option for a while. No sausages or anything else high in fat. If you have a food processor, you can boil some chicken breast and then grind it up and see how that goes over with him.
That's all I can really tell you other than contacting this breeder and complaining. She obviously lied about his age. I agree too that you should re-post this in the breeders section, you'll get more specific experienced advise there:). Good luck

i too would worry about the fast change in food, but if he isn't eating the 'breeders' one, then what i would sugggest is getting him a bag of royal canin mini starter mother and babydog... that what i am weaning my puppies with now. after soaking it in boiled water until soft, mush it down with a fork and if he wont eat it from a bowl, pop some into his mouth from your finger- little puppies demand their mommas get messy sometimes! it smells very meaty and every one of my dogs adore it- our momma of the pups gets soo picky when pg, but even she gobbles it up, while everyone else tries to get their noses in the bowl! and it is tiny peices anyway, so brilliant for tiny mouths when gettting it non mushed.
i also think you may have been lied to about his age- he should have his teeth through by now, or he is a very slow developer- either way he should still be with his momma and litter, and will be very dependent for a few more weeks at least. when you cannot be with him, can a family member of friend babysit? as you have noticed (and stated) yourself, when things go wrong, its fast and bad.

Thanks for the help everyone!

@BonBon - He wouldn't eat the food the breeder provided even though she claimed he was before so I switched them both off of it to science diet the vet gave me but he didn't like that either.

I think I'll stick with meat baby food for now. Vienna sausage was a last resort because I live in a small town and the stores are only open until 8:30. As soon as I can make it to a city I'll get the royal canin. I've seen the type for dogs but not puppies. Where can I get the specific one you are talking about?

Do you have a Tractor Supply or a feed/ag supply store in your town? If so, try giving them a call to see which foods they carry. Those kinds of stores often carry some better quality foods than Petsmart or Petco. If not, Petsmart and Petco both carry several varieties of Royal Canin, and they're stocking some better foods now too.

Because of the teeth, I think the puppy is much younger than what you were told, perhaps as young as 5 weeks. At that age, it is like a pup that has lost it's mother and needs to be hand raised. The breeders in the breeding section can give you a lot of advice.

Regarding food, at this point you should be less concerned about what brand you are feeding and more concerned that he is eating, period. Find some dog food that he likes and will readily eat, and you can gradually switch to something better. Just getting him to eat something, anything (as long as it isn't crappy people food) is what is important. It doesn't sound like he has enough teeth yet for kibble. The breeders can give you some good advice and even some recipes on what would be good for him at this point. You could even try some jarred baby food, just look at the ingredients and be sure it doesn't contain onion powder.

I just called tractor supply closest to me and they sale royal canin so I'll try there. My husband works in pipeline/gas business so we are located in Cotulla, TX. 80 miles south of San Antonio and there is only a dollar store and small grocery store here but there is a tractor supply 40 miles north so I'll try that!

I've tried canned science diet and this other brand the vet gave me. Dry - science diet, puppy chow, diamond wtv from breeder.. We have a stray dog outside we feed and he sniffed around the dog chow so i bought puppy chow and wetted it but no luck. He just seems to have no interest in dog food but i'll try the royal canin and go from there.

I am sorry about the loss of your other baby. When I got Cali from a questionable breeder she was sick and had hypoglycemic episodes. The one food I was able to get her to eat was cesar's that comes i those little tins in the grocery store. It is junk food but at least she was eating. I also had to feed her evert 3-4 hours even during the night to help prevent another attack. I hope he gets better soon.

I've seen that at the dollar store and someone else had mentioned that as well so I'll try it too!

Maybe he would benefit from some goat's milk.... good to feed pups taken from their Moms too early... I copied this from another thread about a 6 week old puppy:

ok, this pup needs to eat every 4 hours, a mix of grinded kibble mixed with goat's milk, if you buy the concentrated can you need to mix one can of goat's milk to one can of distilled water, grind the puppy kibble in the food processor to a very fine powder and mix it and put it in a saucer and check to see if he knows how to eat it, this process needs to be reapeated 4 or 5 times a day, with the last feeding right before he goes to bed. he is going to be lonely and Cry and cry if left alone for too long, I know I took in one of my neighbors babies because her bitch died of eclamsia and she had to work, I am a stay at home wife so I had the time to help her raise the little one, go to the pet store and buy an x pen and put his crate and pee pee pad in oposite sides, with his food and water close to the crate, that is all the space he needs for now and he will be safe and secure. and please talk to family and friends and try to have him check every 4 hours at least.
hugs,
Carmen in nj


A little bit of BeneBac would help too (Petco or Petsmart)

Amazon.com sells quite a few of the better foods on line and there are several other online places that sell great food for dogs. There is a great deal of information under "Yorkie health and diet" section on this forum. Grinding the dry food in a food processor is a really good idea because it makes it so fine that the pup hardly knows it is there. Just smashing it with a fork probably won't work. If you mix the powdered kibble with the puppy milk that is just a tiny bit warm and then feed it with a syringe like thing that you give kids liquid meds with you will have better success. I have weaned tons of kittens this way and also supplement fed them when the mom did not have enough milk. (I care for feral and homeless cats in the area) Thank God I haven't had to do it for my Gracie!
If you don't have a good blender or food processor try wrapping some puppy food in an old T shirt and pounding it with a hammer until it is a powder. Oh, the things we go through for our little fur babies!

Where is the white? Many pups have a white blaze on their chest that eventually is replaced by a lighter tan. Some sources say the white chest mark is a sign they will have a thick coat.

Registry- no, that is not a reputable registry, IMO. Someone here earlier said that AKC would not register parti's. That is incorrect. Parti's can be registered, just not shown.

Age, he could definitely be younger than 11 weeks, although some yorkies are late bloomers when they do finally cut their teeth.

Forego the vienna sausages and other stuff. Too high in fat. There are a lot of high quality wet foods out there that he might be interested in. I went through several before settling on Wellness Puppy. If you absolutely MUST give him people food, bits of shredded boiled chicken (skinless, of course) are a better choice while you are helping him transition to a high quality food. My Scarlett had no teeth when we first brought her home. A mix of the goats milk formula (1 can goats milk- available at Walmart in the baking aisle- 1 can distilled water- plus a small amount of karo syrup) along with baby rice cereal, helped with the transition.


Will he out grow this...depends. If he truly is 11 weeks and less than a pound, then he will always be extremely small (rule of thumb is to double the weight at 12 weeks to get an estimate of the adult weight) and prone to developing hypoglycemia. Since you have taken him in to your house, then it will now be your responsibility to adjust that life style to care for him. Free feeding may be beneficial when he is older. You may also want to consider having a pet sitter come in to your house during the time you are gone to make sure he is doing well.

Good luck.

Just realised I never clarified- and did sound a little like a lunatic! by mush it with a fork, I meant keep on going (after it is 100% softened in the water, then a little extra water if you think it's needed) until it is like a paste- with no lumps... Since he has already been on solids and isnt just being weaned now, that food has everything he should need- of course some puppy milk in the water wouldn't hurt and though I have never had the opportunity to use canned goats milk ( can't for the life of me find it!) I do think it is better than formulas, from what I've heard.
My 7 1/2 wk olds are now getting it only moistened, but I don't think hes that old either- so completely mushy- like a smooth pate incase his little gums get sore!
It is very tiny bits already, a blender would be great for it, but don't panic if you don't have one, believe me, hand mushing after it's softened does work... I had to make up enough for 7 puppies (and before that 3) being weaned and didn't pre grind- I blunted the blender when my friends dog had large breed pups and would have been impaled with said fork if I ruined another! :D

Come to think of it though, they do a mini starter can of pate as well- so save time and effort! It's a fair amount dearer than the dry, but it's still an option! I do think its pretty much the same as the dry, only wet, but not overly sure!

At least you have loads of things you can try your little guy on now! And you'll have to let us know when you have any kind of updates!

I tried chicken mixed with finely ground food and no joke he still set there and tried to pick out the tiny pieces of chicken. I am going to go to the store today and buy what they have for options. I'm 80 miles away from a wal mart :( but i'll see what the dollar store and the grocery store has here and go from there.

Most grocery stores carry canned goats milk, too. It's on the baking aisle next to the canned milk.

How is the little guy doing today? I guess everyone is concerned about such a sweet little one that seems to have been given a bad start on life by the breeder. I'm sure that he was not ready to be away from his mom and it may have set him back a bit but with some extra special care I'm pretty sure he will come back strong. You just need to make sure he gets the nutrition he needs day by day.
The idea of powdering puppy food and putting it in puppy milk and in a syringe is not to wean him but to make sure he is getting all that he needs from the puppy food. Putting it in puppy milk makes it easier and he gets more out of it. Doing this will help get him wanting to eat again. Poor little guy just needs some extra TLC to get him back up to where he should be. Because he has regressed it makes since meet him where he is and help him to move forward again.

He has been doing well. No blood sugar issues today and is playful but as far as food goes, still difficult. I bought a couple different types of food today and no interest. He only kind of liked that Caesars horrible looking food but would only put it in his mouth then spit it out. He does love boiled chicken and baby food mixed with yogurt and will eat those on his own. I'll probably start syringing as you said today just so he gets the nutrients he needs.

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice and support!

SAD that there are so many BAD BREEDERS out there. I just got a new little one almost a month ago and he has been sick sick sick. I had to hand feed my little one every hour or so too, but he had teeth but sick from many infections and so on. Take care of your baby and feed him well. You are doing everything you can and that is all you can do. Know that he is in GOOD hands now with you!!! Bless your heart for taking good care of him...

Im sorry the little caesars didnt work. I would try puppy kibble soaked in goats milk. I definitely think this pup is younger than you were told and thats part of the reason hes not wanting to eat. Who knows maybe he was still nursing

If i grind food and put it in Goat's milk, any idea on how much I should feed him in a day?

Oh my goodness, young babies. Poor things probably hungry and just confused. Don't worry, it will get better.
But for now you're his only support system. With regards to amount of food, I would try for now trying to get a bout of table spoons full down him. However, I would contact the vet and see how much they would recommend.

Good luck! Keep us posted!

No doubt...those Pet Expos are awful. I cannot believe they are allowed to do what they do...they set up all over TX and other states from what I understand. A room full of people with puppies in play pens, selling to just anyone. I was horrified to see this at one in a town not far from me. When I started asking questions, out popped a police officer. Interesting.