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Handraising A Puppy


bel
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Miss ebony gave birth to 3 puppies on Saturday night.

Sadly we lost 2 last night. The remaining puppy doesn't have much of a suck reflex so we have to hand raise him.

He's currently getting between 3 and 5 mls of milk mix every 1-2 hours.

Mum is being great and doing all his cleaning.

Any hints or tips to help him survive ?

Edited by bel
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Sorry to hear of your loss.

How is the remaining pup doing this morning?

What method of feeding are you using and is there any chance of him getting some of his mums milk into him?

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  On 02/07/2012 at 10:26 PM, bel said:

Miss ebony gave birth to 3 puppies on Saturday night.

Sadly we lost 2 last night. The remaining puppy doesn't have much of a suck reflex so we have to hand raise him.

He's currently getting between 3 and 5 mls of milk mix every 1-2 hours.

Mum is being great and doing all his cleaning.

Any hints or tips to help him survive ?

Tube feed him rather than trying to bottle him. Sucking uses energy, energy is needed for growth.

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He is quite active this morning. Currently laying with mum on a hot water bottle

He's currently being fed by syringe every hour or so.

I put him on mum but he can't suckle.

I've tube fed kittens so will try and get a feeding tube for him.

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I bottle raised 3 puppies and had alot of trouble with tummy aches after feeding. Not being a mother myself I didn't know what was wrong with them, neither did the vet. It was only after I cuddled one to comfort it, did it do a big burp and immediately relax afterwards, so my advice would be dont forget to burp it after feeding, and when you handle it dont place your thumb flat across the soft little chest, I did that and started turning them into swimmers, as soon as I realised what was causing it I changed the way I held them and they came right in about 2 days.

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  On 03/07/2012 at 12:05 AM, oakway said:

Did you check the to see that it does not have a cleft palate, because it will not be able to suckle correctly if it has.

Hope all goes well for you and the puppy.

There can also be a cleft in the soft palate and most vets don't know to look for it because it is so hard to see in a live puppy. Hopefully it is just a very weak puppy but lack of sucking reflex is not a good sign. Did you have the other two puppies autopsied to find out why you lost them?

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If a puppy seems lethargic sometimes subcutaneous fluids can rehydrate them and give them enough of an energy boost to allow them to be fed. I'd agree that you need to rule out cleft palate etc to make sure your puppy has the best chance.

Good luck!

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Thanks everyone.

No cleft he's feeding really well from the syringe.

He's getting stronger and has tried to feed from mum a couple of times.

He's off to the vets for a check up tomorrow morning.

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  On 02/07/2012 at 10:39 PM, ellz said:
  On 02/07/2012 at 10:26 PM, bel said:

Miss ebony gave birth to 3 puppies on Saturday night.

Sadly we lost 2 last night. The remaining puppy doesn't have much of a suck reflex so we have to hand raise him.

He's currently getting between 3 and 5 mls of milk mix every 1-2 hours.

Mum is being great and doing all his cleaning.

Any hints or tips to help him survive ?

Tube feed him rather than trying to bottle him. Sucking uses energy, energy is needed for growth.

Was hoping tube feeding, especially if his sucking reflex is not strong. Is there any chance of expressing a bit of mums milk for the anitbodies?

I'd say keep doing what your doing, make sure he stays warm and with mum. A few rice bags near him will substitute his siblings, and if he gets strong enough to try to suckle on mum she will be there for him.

Fingers crossed for the little one.

Also I found with my pup that had a cleft palate it wasn't that his sucking reflex wasn't strong..he tried..he just couldn't get a suction seal happening. :(

Edited by LizT
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Thanks everyone for you help and advise.

He managed to suckle from a bottle this afternoon and took about 5mls.

He is currently sleeping snuggled up with his mum.

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  On 03/07/2012 at 7:08 AM, bel said:

Thanks everyone for you help and advise.

He managed to suckle from a bottle this afternoon and took about 5mls.

He is currently sleeping snuggled up with his mum.

:) Was it a natural delivery or a C-section? Thinking in terms of mums milk coming in. Hopefully he will get strong enough to have a drink from her soon.

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If she has lots of milk and he hasn't been feeding, then her teats may well be too large for him and too hard for him to successfully drain. I'd keep holding him on her for periods through the day, despite his weak sucking reflex and tube him the rest of the time.

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  On 03/07/2012 at 10:13 AM, ellz said:

If she has lots of milk and he hasn't been feeding, then her teats may well be too large for him and too hard for him to successfully drain. I'd keep holding him on her for periods through the day, despite his weak sucking reflex and tube him the rest of the time.

Agree. Any amount of her milk he gets is going to benefit him greatly. Try one of the middle teats.

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  On 04/07/2012 at 12:30 AM, bel said:

Thanks everyone for you help and advise.

We had a great night last night. He has gained 20gms over night and this morning he has a a good feed from mum.

:)

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  On 04/07/2012 at 6:08 AM, LizT said:
  On 04/07/2012 at 12:30 AM, bel said:

Thanks everyone for you help and advise.

We had a great night last night. He has gained 20gms over night and this morning he has a a good feed from mum.

:)

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

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Here is a pix of Logan taken this morning snuggling up on his dry bed with a fresh hot water bottle under it.

He's had a couple of good feeds from the bottle as well as from mum today.

only a small weight gain tonight but he is getting stronger all the time.

post-5801-0-71390500-1341399976_thumb.jpg

Edited by bel
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