Help feeding new baby please!
 

I just brought home my baby last night. The breeder said he was six weeks old and completely weaned (yeah right.) but he just seems too young. Mind you, this is my first time with such a tiny pup so I might not know what I'm talking about.... but I'm pretty sure toy dogs aren't supposed to go to their new homes so soon. He gets really excited over the soft puppy food in the pouch that she recommended, and he laps up the gravy, but doesn't seem to really eat any of it. I have been giving him puppy milk (afraid that he's not getting enough nutrition) and he eats that just fine, but now he has watery diarrhea. He is still nice and tubby, though. I'm not sure if the diarrhea is caused by the stress of new surrounds, a change in diet.... I just don't know. I've never had a puppy so young that they weren't already playing all of the time. All Tobey does is sleep, have diarrhea, and drink his milk.

I would appreciate any help or advice........ can't wait to make some Yorkie-lovin new friends!

Thanks,
Lisa

Oh, dear. You are right. Your puppy is way too young to leave it's mother. Yorkie puppies should not be sold before twelve weeks old.

The milk is probably giving him diarrhea. Diarrhea in a puppy so young can be deadly. Your puppy is also at great risk for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

You need to take that baby to your vet tomorrow.

:thumbup:

I agree withthe others and I am not a pro at this either. Also he should see your own vet asap after you get him in any case.

Took the little one to the vet and he checked out really healthy, though younger than we thought....the vet thinks he is about 5 weeks old. But the vet said he's great and gave me some great tips. Tobey is actually wandering around the room with my son as I type this. My husband thinks I was being too panicky, but..... definitely better safe than sorry, right?

Thanks, guys, for your responses........ bear with me as I embark on this adventure, okay? lol

Lisa

Your breeder is an idiot. they are still infants at that age and still need their mother to teach them how to be a dog, and proper dog ettiquet.

Keep asking questions, no questions is stupid and no problem is minor.

Good Luck to you.

By the way, BabyMom, your bows are incredible! Guess it will be a while before I need them, but now I definitely know where I'm going to get them!

Lisa

JeanieK,
Ya think? lol Well, if I ever get another one it will be differen't. I'm kinda just glad I rescued him from stupid people. I called her and she told me to feed him ham or Meow Mix. We won't even talk about the words that came out of my mouth.

In many states it's illegal to sell puppies that young. I see you are from Tennessee. Is your breeder there, too? Tennessee doesn't have any laws about puppy sales. :(

Yep, the breeder is here..... go figure, another thing TN can get a bad rep for! lol I already have a cousin who asked if we have shopping malls here...

Wow...yeah, I can imagine!
No one has mentioned this yet, but did your vet mention puppy Nutrical? You can find it at Petsmart/petco in the health/supplement aisle.
(Definitely listen to your vet, I am not pretending to know everything) I just think it is a wonderful thing to have around in case of a hypoglycemic emergency (or if he doesn't want to eat). If he starts to act lethargic or can't hold his head up well, you definitely want to put a little in his mouth. (It is very strong, a little goes a LONG way!) When I got Baron he was less than 1.5lbs and I would give him a tiny bit every 6 hours his first few days home.
One other thing to ask your vet about...Pedialyte. I bought the generic (no flavor) and mixed a little in his water to help prevent dehydration with the stress of moving.

Sorry my post is SO long. Congratulations and Good luck with your new baby!!! Keep us all updated on how he's doing :)

Congrats on your addition to your family...the little ones do need extra care....you sound like you are doing fine already! Welcome to YT!

are you feeding him regular milk? i'm not a breeder or anything but i know it can give dogs wet/runny/diarrhea-ish poop. what did the vet recommend you feed him? nutrical is a MUST to have, i got riley when he was 8 weeks old and i was giving it to him at least 5 times a day if not more. i know they sell the milk replacement formulas at petsmart/petco, maybe ask your vet if you can give him that?

Hi there and Welcome to YT ! I am sorry your got your puppy from that breeder... but, now it is your job to keep him healthy .Do not feed your baby meow Mix, that is for cat's. feeding ham is way too salty and fatty . Did the vet suggest anything ?
I would think canned puppy food if he will eat that. Or Chicken and rice, using the white meat only. You could mix tiny bits of vegies .OR mix the chicken with the canned puppy food. Buy a high quality canned puppy food too.
Make sure he is drinking water too. :aimeeyork

BlondeYorkieMom,
The vet gave me Prescription Diet a/d food.... it's got lots of nutrients and the consistency of baby food so it's easy to feed if I'm having trouble. Not sure if it's like the Nutrical, so I'm definitely gonna ask them when I go back and maybe get some to keep for emergencies. I've discovered that Tobey is just like my kids, though...... take them to the doctor and they suddenly act like they feel just fine. He played for quite a while tonight, which tickled me to death!

Thanks Everybody!

I live in KY and my baby came from TN. Not all breeders there are idiots!! :)

The Nutrical is to treat a hypoglcemic eposoide. It will bring up the pupy blood sugar. You can use Kayro Syurp, just rub it on his gums especailly if he has not eaten in a while. :aimeeyork

The vet recommended that I feed him dry puppy food moistened with the replacement milk.... and maybe topped off with a bit of milk if I can't get him to eat much. He WANTS to eat, he is just having problems figuring out how, love his heart. He finally discovered how to drink water tonight, though, so that took a load off of my mind!:)

Wow this is so sad! A breeder that sells a pup at 5 weeks is NOT looking out for their puppies at all. Ours are just starting to eat around 4 weeks and at 5 they still don't know what it's for and are still nursing on Mommy. For SURE get nutrical or Nutristat for him. If he gets low on blood sugar you are in trouble and it's best to prevent that from happening. Keep an eye on gums...they should be a nice pink color if they turn grey that isn't good and rush to give him nutrical, nutristat or kyro syrup on his gums and then to the vet. A pup at this age must be watched very close.

youll have to keep us updated on him! at least he wants to eat :) do you know if the breeder had any more puppies or if shes had other littlers in the past? 5-6 weeks is so young, i'm still in shock.. & i thought riley @ 8 weeks was young. hopefully the other puppies new mommys & daddys are being careful.

Thats great, Prescription Diet a/d food is wonderful for the young puppies that don't want to eat. Like everyone else mentioned, he's like an infant right now and needs to be watched very carefully. I'm glad he has an appetite, thats very good :)
Can't wait to see more pictures of the little guy!

I got mine at 14 weeks. I could not bring her home before that. I cant believe you got her at six weeks. All of them are "t cups" at that age. May be that is why she gave it to you at six weeks, before it gained a little weight, and it could no longer be called that. Yorkies, are hard enough to feed when they are in a new home. I put some nutri star on my finger, and let him lick it, or smear it around his mouth, till he starts weating on his on. Just a couple of watter drops will be enough at his age, about 5 times a day. You can try that. Olso, petco have good solutions for mother's milk replacement, that you can order on line

Thanks so much guys! Tobey just ate really well and is "exploring", which I think is a good sign. I will run out on lunch break tomorrow and pick up the nutrical.... I'm lucky right now that my son doesn't go back to school until next week, so he is taking over midday feedings for me. I'm trying to catch up on work and figure out a better plan for any errands that I usually do on my lunch break so that I can come home every day until Tobey gets down to two feedings a day. I feel very fortunate that I have a job that enables me to do that and a very responsible son! (of course, without these, I don't guess I would have gotten a puppy right now.:(

I just really want to do everything right with this baby.... you don't know how important it is to me. I used to have a chihuahua/terrier mix that I had to find a new home for because I think I broke every rule that there is! I didn't socialize her enough, I wasn't diligent enough about training her, I babied her all of the time and didn't let my family get enough time with her...
I ended up with a very jealous, stubborn dog that would poop in my husband's shoes if he got into bed with me! I was very fortunate to find a great "one-woman" home for her with somebody who wanted a dog who is insanely passionate about her owner (if she were human, she would be a stalker!) But it broke my heart to make the decision to give her away. I know the road ahead isn't going to be easy, and Tobey isn't going to be perfect..... that's okay, neither are my kids but I love them anyway!:p I just want to give him every advantage.... every opportunity to be an awesome doggy, know what I mean?

I'm so glad I found this message board!:)

Tobey's doing great today! He has been so much more active than he was even yesterday.... I got the Nutracal that was recommended (thanks everyone!) and started it today. It is so cute.... he already has taken up with my daughter. If he hears her talking he will whine until he can get to her, even if he's on someone else's lap. Needless to say, she's tickled!:D

I am so glad he is doing well, but you will still have to be careful with this baby for the next couple of months.

It doesn't sound like you got a lot of information about hypoglycemia, so here is a great article for you:

Toy Breed Hypoglycemia