Runt Puppy

[aimzbritz]

Hi Guys,

New to this forum.

After some help. I have a bulldog litter at (3.5 weeks old) litter of 9.

Litter had the runs and were put on a course of scourban, and dropped 1/2 birth weight.

However all bar one of them has picked up. She was in at the vets with dehydration yesterday and stayed with my vet on IV fluids over night. She has picked up but is very small in size. (half the size of the others).

All pups have started solids. Just wondering what you all can suggest I do from here on in to keep her going & obviously to gain weight + growth?

Thanks.

[persephone]

hi - what does your mentor/breeder/vet suggest?They would be the ones who know your dogs best .

I, for one have no idea what to suggest , as I do not know what caused the diarrhoea in these pups - or what problems the small one may have causing it to not thrive...sorry .

Hope it all gets sorted - must be a worry with tiny babies .

[Airedaler]

Assuming there is no underlying issues with this puppy I would simply make sure it is getting plenty of food and fluid. Was the puppy smaller than the others before the problem? I would take the pup aside and hand feed it as well as letting it feed with the others. Obviously you don't want to overfeed it of course so little bits often. I would try feeding raw mince (beef, chicken or pork), goat milk with beaten egg and a bit of honey and yoghurt.

I think that as long as it is eating well and doing everything else you would expect then it may just be a matter of time. In my experience the smallest puppy in a litter does not always end up being a small adult.

If on the other hand there is an underlying problem with this puppy then I think that is another issue all together and I would take a totally different path.

[Stitch]

You can supplement feed with Di-Vetelac between mum feeds.

You can do this for the whole litter if you want.

Use boiled water and a syringe it in their mouth very slowly, drop by drop ensuring it doesn't go down the windpipe.

It isn't difficult and it does make a big difference.

[Sandra777]

You can supplement feed with Di-Vetelac between mum feeds.

You can do this for the whole litter if you want.

Use boiled water and a syringe it in their mouth very slowly, drop by drop ensuring it doesn't go down the windpipe.

It isn't difficult and it does make a big difference.

Personally I wouldn't be syringe feeding a three and a half week old pup!

As airedaler has asked - was the pup small before being sick? Small doesn't automatically make it a runt either - a runt is a pup that fails to thrive, little pups can be perfectly normal for THEM. At this age I would tend to be giving the smallest pups best access to mum and concentrating on weaning the bigger ones,

[tdierikx]

Feed her separately if she's on solids and has an appetite... and make sure she gets her share of boobie time on mum for the good stuff...

T.

T.

[Stitch]

I have drip/syringe fed many young puppies over the years with absolutely no problems.

It has to be done slowly.

If you have a pup that needs supplementing and you don't want to tube feed it, and it won't suck a bottle or eat solids and you can't or won't put it on mum more frequently then it is the only way to go.

I find it the most expedient way of achieving an adequately nourished puppy.

It goes without saying that if there are underlying medical issues they have to be addressed.