Sick Babies :(

[Kustali]

Hi, i have a litter of 11 Mastiff puppies who are just over 2 weeks old. They started feeding from mum but she developed Mastitis and was very ill so i put all the pups onto Divetelact whilst still feeding off mum a bit (everyones opinion on that is different....)....then due to mum not recovering put them all on the formula only. Mum came good after that. They have been on the bottle for about a week now? They had the runs a little and i was a bit concerned (although others said this was normal?) so tried Peptosyl which did nothing. Also had them on Protexin.

Yesterday one was in the corner crying and crying so i took him into the vet, high temp, although he couldn't sit still (obviously in pain) he was very limp when you picked him up. They looked at a fecal sample and couldn't see anything unusal....they took blood and the protein levels were on the lower side, probably due to the runs and the white cells were on the higher side. They couldn't really give me a sure answer of what it could be, except for a bacterial infection of some sort, so they were all put on Clavulox.

By night time another one was sick the same, i kept up the glucose, Nutrigel and rubbing those bellies, i also took the formula back to newborn strength.

This morning the two sick ones were doing better, one more than the other, but by lunch time a different one had gone downhill, high temperature, limp, whining....some of the others started whining aswell but not as bad as this one. I took him in and his temp was also high and he was in pain, he was givin Tramadol.

I was advised to take them right off the formula and just give a mix of Lectade for 24 hours to try to get the diarrhea out of their little tiummies. When you pat them it sounds like a big water bottle? Even with the runs they are all putting on weight....but over these last two days they are just so sick....

I managed to get a fecal sample from the boy who was really sick yesterday and they have sent that off to do a culture....that takes days though and i am worried about what path to take with them now.

I've just fed them the Lectade mix, they are all resting quietly. Should i give them Nutrigel aswell to keep the vitamins up to them? Is it a good idea to give them only this for that amount of time?

Should i put them back on the Divetelact tomorrow...or try another formula?

I've tried all i can think of....

This is my first litter, what a nightmare!!! But all i want is my little babies to survive this and be healthy....

(Have posted in the other forums)

[Guest Ams]

I'm not a breeder but I have raised a few litters in rescue work. I'd just give the Lectade for 24 hours and then try introducing formula again. From reading in the forums and talking to a few people who have been breeding for years, I understand that Wombaroo may be gentler on their tummies and also more palatable for them than DiVetelac.

I've had to use Wombaroo with two puppies and a litter of kittens. The kittens had something similar to protexin added to their formula as a booster for them.

Maybe leave the Nutrigel out for now as it can cause upset tummies and is usually used to stimulate appetite. If they were feeding okay then just formula should be okay.

I'm more than happy for someone who knows more about this to correct me but this has been my very limited experience in hand raising pups and kittens.

Good luck.

[Tripip]

Hi. Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your puppies. I know when my mum had to raise young puppies, she always sterilised the bottles by boiling them just like she would have done for human babies and was very fussy with the formula. We use to have to help her with them, but not night shift. We also use have to toilet them by using warm water on cotton wool to help them do number 1 and 2's. I gather this took the place of their mother licking them to stimulate them to go to the toilet.

Good luck. I hope they improve,