# Please help my 11 day old puppy is not gaining any weight looks new born still?



## deewatty (Jul 18, 2014)

my dog has had 6 puppies one is the runt and now 11 days old and looks new born and not put any weight on despite hand rearing him every hour, i have had him to the vets they mentioned that their maybe a problem with his liver? please can someone tell me if theres anything i can do to help the pup hes willing to drink his milk and also we are giving him water with a little sugar in the water which he takes no problem.... please can anyone help i really 
want to save this lil fella


----------



## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

Hello and welcome.

Even the runt of any litter should gain weight, although more slowly than his littermates.

If this baby is feeding but not gaining any weight, then he clearly has a real problem and, unfortunately, as the pup gets older, this can become more obvious, sometimes acutely.

Any of us who have bred pups, I'm sure, really want them all to live and do well but, sadly, nature will always prevail.

I would be advised by your vet. If he thinks this pup is unlikely to survive, you do have to think about letting him go peacefully.

I know it's hard but really, it is out of your hands.

What are you feeding him on? Will he feed from Mum, given the chance, and how does she react to him?


----------



## broxi3781 (Jul 5, 2014)

I can'toffer much help. I would simply follow the vets advice. Has the vet advised the sugar water? I am assuming you are feeding a special formula from the vet. I don'tmean to be an idiot here but my own pup was getting cows milk and wheatbix before I got him so iIaand to ask. Again probably going to sound foolish but you are doing the wee thing where younrub hisntummy to help him toilet unless his mother is still doing that? And is the hourly feeding continuing on through the night?

Can the vet check the liver? If it is a liver shunt they may be able to operate. I wish there was some way to really help but as the other poster mentioned sometimes we do have to let go. I know having hand fed the pup though such a loss would be doubly heartbreaking. All you can really do now is give him the best care you can, wait and hope. If the worst happens just remind yourself that he was loved if only forma short while, many animals never are and you obviously have done everything you could. I have seen animals pull back from the brink enough times to believe there can still be hope in desperate times but if it reaches the point that the vet tells you all hope is lost you have to prevent suffering.I so hope he pulls tthrough for you,burnishing you comfort whatever happens.


----------



## broxi3781 (Jul 5, 2014)

PS - I should have thought of this last night - could you ask about your vet about changing formulas? I am afraid I don't know if there are many types available for dogs but I know it can help with humans. Also if the vet can test for liver shunts the sooner the better, although I expect you will still have to wait for the pup to be older for anaesthetic to be used, but at least if you knew it would make things easier. I understand it is fairly common in some breeds at the prognosis is quite good after surgery.


----------



## LaceWing (Mar 18, 2014)

Sugar water is not milk, stop giving it to him. Put him on mama&#8217;s teat, and keep putting him on it. If there is too much competition, then remove the biggest puppy to give the runt a chance. It would be better to give formula to the biggest one, or make the five puppies take turns on the bottle and keep the runt on mother&#8217;s milk.


----------



## deewatty (Jul 18, 2014)

Sweety said:


> Hello and welcome.
> 
> Even the runt of any litter should gain weight, although more slowly than his littermates.
> 
> ...


hi i am feeding him on whelpi which was given by the vets he tries to feed of his mum and she does clean him ect and makes him go toilet as well as me


----------



## deewatty (Jul 18, 2014)

LaceWing said:


> Sugar water is not milk, stop giving it to him. Put him on mamas teat, and keep putting him on it. If there is too much competition, then remove the biggest puppy to give the runt a chance. It would be better to give formula to the biggest one, or make the five puppies take turns on the bottle and keep the runt on mothers milk.


hi i am feeding him on whelpi a powered milk which was given by the vets he tries to feed of his mum and she does clean him ect and makes him go toilet as well as me. water was also a recommendation by the vets inbetween milk feeds i am not just giving him water


----------



## deewatty (Jul 18, 2014)

hi i am feeding him on whelpi a powered milk which was given by the vets he tries to feed of his mum and she does clean him ect and makes him go toilet as well as me. water was also a recommendation by the vets inbetween milk feeds i am not just giving him water


----------



## deewatty (Jul 18, 2014)

LaceWing said:


> Sugar water is not milk, stop giving it to him. Put him on mama's teat, and keep putting him on it. If there is too much competition, then remove the biggest puppy to give the runt a chance. It would be better to give formula to the biggest one, or make the five puppies take turns on the bottle and keep the runt on mother's milk.


hi i am feeding him on whelpi a powered milk which was given by the vets he tries to feed of his mum and she does clean him ect and makes him go toilet as well as me. water was also a recommendation by the vets inbetween milk feeds i am not just giving him water


----------



## MerlinsMum (Aug 2, 2009)

deewatty said:


> hi i am feeding him on whelpi a powered milk which was given by the vets he tries to feed of his mum and she does clean him ect and makes him go toilet as well as me. water was also a recommendation by the vets inbetween milk feeds i am not just giving him water


Ok that's fine - has he improved since your first post?
Has he seen a vet?

I'm afraid that many animals are born that are not meant to live - there is not "automatically" *a* runt in any litter - but where there *is* a runt, there is often a small baby that doesn't have all the necessary equipment to survive to adulthood.

That is the way nature works sometimes.... and sadly, no matter what we do to help, if they aren't born right, then even the best nurture and care can correct it.

This is one of the reasons why animals have litters - many babies - at a time. Not all are expected to live.... and in the case of smaller animals such as rabbits, rats, mice, etc - the extra babies are _meant_ to be food for predators (who also need to eat) such as foxes, badgers, birds of prey etc.

I know that doesn't apply to to our pet dogs and cats, but it still means that some babies are born that aren't properly fitted for a long life.


----------



## broxi3781 (Jul 5, 2014)

If he is still getting some breast milk that really is best. you might try making sure he gets a feed before the rest of the crew. The next couple of weeks are crucial. If he is active and otherwise appears healthy you have a better chance, and of course they will be starting some puppy weaning foods soon I think ( I don't remember the exact age), but I am guessing about 3 weeks.
True some pups just don't make it - and to be honest some human babies don't either. While I wouldn't go as far to save a pup as a human baby, if it does turn out to be a liver shunt he may be just fine after an op. If it is something else wrong with the liver, it may not be so simple. You will have to weigh up all of the options. Are you planning to keep this pup yourself? If not is it an option? If the pup requires surgery you are going to have to keep it for some time at least. I do hope it all works out.

PS this is no brainer - but I assume the vet has checked the palate for abnormalities?


----------

