Question:my dog rejected her litter im handrearing them but the smallest is unable to suck longer than a minute i let her suck then supplement with a syringe can anyone advise how i can get her to suck like her littermates
Answers:
Cleft palate is serious is the main reason pups and kittens can not nurse. Take pup to vet and make mom nurse them.
Please speak to a vet, i dont know maybe it is too weak to suck ? ill? premature?
you need professional advise with this it will go down hill fast!
Have you tried putting them back with the mother? What do you mean she 'rejected' them? If it is her first litter she might just have been confused. Is she young? Did she show aggression towards them? That can be caused by a calcium drop called 'eclampsia'. She might be over it now.
As for the one not suckling.. have you checked it for a cleft pallet? Have you taken t to he vet? The pup might have internal deformity and unable to eat and thrive. Maybe it is not meant to live. Mothers will reject pups with defects.
Maybe she knows something about these pups that you don't.
A minute at a time might be enough for the smallest one, but she might need feeding more often.
If she cant digest more than a minute's worth of feeding at a time, syringing more wont be doing her any favors.
She does know how to suck and she is trying so that is a good sign.
Bless you for taking on such a big job. Hope everything goes okay. Just do your best and know that if things happen it wasnt because you didnt give it your best shot in a close to impossible situation.
I really like using and eyedropper better than a bottle. It just works better. I drip one drop at a time in the back of her throat.
You should make your dog lie and nurse these pups whether she wants to or not. Some will die if you don't. They need the antibodies that mom gives them. Just hold mom down. If you are afraid to leave her alone with them, then just let her be with them when you supervise. But the best supplement in the world cannot give the puppies antibodies from mom. You could still supplement them with extra milk if that is what you want to do. But you just aren't Mom.
If she's not getting enough, she may be too weak to nurse.
You should probably talk to the vet about tubing with a french catheter.
IF i have to bottle feed to supplement, i use a baby bottle, and not the stupid puppy bottles with hard rubber nipples they sell at the pet supply stores. The nipple isn't large enough for the tougue/mouth to make a firm seal. She may be sucking air and feeling full that way?
Good luck.
I had a foster pup who had similar problems, but she would not suck at all. I tube fed her. It's not something you can just do though. You need help and advice either from a breeder with experience in tube feeding or a vet. You can read more on tube feeding here: http://www.geocities.com/heartland/bluff...
You also need advice as to how much you should be feeding and set up a chart for each pup as to what they need and how much they take and monitor their weight gain.
I have got many puppies and kittens through by tube feeding when bottle feeding, syringe feeding and dropper feeding failed. Once you get the hang of doing it, it's much quicker than the other processes and needs no effort at all from a weak or sick animal.
I take it the mother and the whole litter were vet checked with 48 hours of birth? If not they all should be checked for possible problems.
You need to keep putting all the pups to their mother. Even when she won;t feed right away she will often accept them after a few days. This usually happens when the mother is very young or sick herself, but sometimes dogs are just not meant to be mothers and never neurture their pups.
Good luck. I know what hard work this is. I slept in a chair for over 3 weeks and never got to bed once. It's so worth it when you pull them through though.
It may come, but as long as she's getting nourishment then it will be OK, just let her take her time. You may have to wean her before the others. In the meantime have a word with your vet, and keep trying to make the mum feed the pups.
contact an experienced breeder, they will advise you
I have heard of this before and know they have manage to pull the puppy though
i have bred quite a few litters and have had this problem unfortunately it started with my first litter so i don,t know any other way of feeding pups after letting them get some colostrum from their mother the very first time, use a 5 mil syringe initially but learn to do it first because if you get it wrong it ends up in their lungs and not their bellys one you have mastered it its very easy i have fed litters of ten dobermans when i first started every two hours as i put the last puppy down i had to pick the first pup up again that was many years ago now i can feed a litter of ten pups in ten to fifteen minutes, good luck
offer your small finger with cool/tepid boiled water this has worked for a friends friend pups
Good Luck.
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