As I try to understand the pregnancy, I wonder if this puppy will ever walk or be (so called) normal?

Question

13 puppies, the 11th was born dead, the last two weren't doing well. The 12th one has passed, I wonder if after the one dead at birth, do those behind him get what they need inside mom? I took the 13th pup, up all hours feeding, loving and she eats and sleeps well...she's still ALIVE! Pups are 4 weeks old and the one I have looks to be only 2 weeks. Her head thrashes around and canfinally stand on her back legs while desperately trying to stand on her front leg. She then topples over. What's exactly going on with this little girl? The mom refuses to feed her, I am MOM to her! This was a litter of an aquaintence, I took the pup knowing I'd be her only chance to live by devoting my whole self to her existence. She whines before and after eating. I put her in a dark room with classical music on, wrap her up warm and she sleeps 3 or 4 hours. Then I feed her again. I just don't know if she'll be alright, I'm pretty sure she'll live. Thank you!

She has both front legs. (I wrote leg)

Answer 1

They should ALL be examined by a vet pronto -- mom as well as the puppies.

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ADD:

While you're there, I would recommend you ask your vet when the earliest the owner can spay mom is. Ask him or her if he knows of a vet who performs pediatric spays and neuters, so you can sterilize the puppies before they are placed. In seven years these ten + puppies (and their offspring) could be easily be responsible for 670,000 more dogs.

Thank you, good luck, and take care. :)

Answer 2

The only affect the birth order would have on the puppy was if it wasn't getting enough oxygen before it was born. It is normal for one or more pups to be smaller at birth than the balance of the litter but they normally catch up to their littermates in size during the first couple of weeks. Since the pups mom rejected her but accepted the others, there is a good chance that she sensed something wrong with this pup. If you haven't taken her to the vet for an exam yet you should do so as soon as possible then they can tell you if she has a serious problem or if she will grow out of it. At this age feeding her every 3-4 hours is okay but when she was first born she would have need fed about every 2 hrs so if you weren't doing that then that could have slowed her growth. Also by this age you should start introducing more solid food because milk alone isn't enough for her to grow properly. Personally when I'm introducing my pups to food I soak a little puppy food in water and then mix in a little cottage cheese and yogurt. Be prepared they will end up wearing as much of it as they eat at first. Once the pups get the hang of it I add less and less water it the mix.

Answer 3

Congratulations Mom!!!!! It sounds like you have your gracious and giving hands full!!!!!!!! What an AWESOME person you are, to take such good care of this baby!!!!!!! It sounds like the pup you have is the runt of the litter!! The runt is usually the one that is more sick than the others!! Not always, but sometimes the mom will push the little one away, when she feels the baby will not make it!! Fortunately, with the continuous care and love you are giving this sweet baby, she will have a wonderful chance!! There could be a number of reasons the pup is not standing on her own, and acting like she does when she stands. One being, her muscles are just not strong enough, cause she might not have gotten all of the nutrients, like the other pups got when in the moms womb! The other thing that may be wrong with the pup, But I highly doubt, because I would think she would show more signs, is she may have been deprived oxygen when being born! I would not assume this, because she would likely have many other problems as well! Just keep up the great work you are doing for this princess, and she will have the best chance of being a normal pup!! Take her to the vet. just to touch base with him/her, in case of an emergency, and to get a once over, and to make sure the baby is getting all the nutrients she needs!! Let me also tell you, if the world had more people in it like you, It would be a much better place!!! KUDOS to you for being such an outstanding person to love that baby like you do!! One last thing you could do for her, Keep her against your skin, so she gets the kind of bonding that she needs, the kind that she would have gotten if she were with her other mom! Good Luck, I would LOVE to know how she does!!!! [e-mail]

Answer 4

It seems that when there is one born dead and it takes longer for the others to come out, that their chances of survival do go down. Especially when there is such a large litter. The colostrum is only produced for 12 hours. If puppies don't get their fair share of that first milk, their odds of survival drop dramatically. I suspect your little puppy went without air for too long, or didn't develop properly due to the size of the litter.
When you breed your female, you have to assume that she is going to have a large litter and make sure that she is fed the best possible food available. That way when the pups are developing, they are getting the best possible chance to develop normally.
It's possible that she is just small and will slowly come around, it's possible that she will just fade away. She might have problems her whole life, she might have liver shunt... I would take her to the vet and talk to him, see what might be the best thing to do. You can always help them along, and sometimes force them to survive.. But they can also be a heartache to the person that ends up with that puppy.. A lifetime of health problems and issues..

Answer 5

Sometimes it is best to let nature take its course. It's noble to want to help something so tiny and helpless,,,,but sometimes forcing life on a puppy when nature, and even the puppies mother knows something is wrong with it, is not the best thing for the puppy. I would advise having it checked by the vet to see if there is a problem with its developement,,and if there is a problem,do the kind thing and let it go.

Answer 6

In this case, though not in ALL cases, I suspect the first pup that was born dead delayed the progress of the other pups, whose placentas were most likely detached from the uterus too soon before actual birth. There would have been a lack of oxygen supply to the pup, and that means there is most likely neurological damage. I would get a vet to examine the pup, as this is just a guess based on your words, which can be misinterpreted. No REAL diagnosis can be made without a physical examination. I admire you for taking the problem of somone else who apparently wasn't a responsible breeder. A responsible breeder would have done what you are doing themselves.

Answer 7

Wait, you took this puppy away from mom at WHAT age? That could well be the problem, most formulas for dogs can help them to survive but they are in no way as good as moms milk. I strongly recommend that you wait until the mother dog is sleeping and help the pup to nurse, soothe the mother dog and distract her(hold her down if you have to, but be nice about it!) if needed at LEAST twice a day in addition to feeding her yourself. It's vital that this pup grow up with mother dogs influence and her siblings as much as possible because she will need to learn some very vital social lessons that will make her a well adjusted happy dog. In a few weeks when your pup is doing better it would be really great if you could visit one or two of her siblings and allow them to play min. several times a week, that's the best compromise between hand raising her/making sure she's well socialized. The more the better so long as the other pups don't gang up on her too much.

Other than possible neurological defects this pup could well be suffering from malnutrition. You should have been keeping a twice daily weight chart on this pup since it was born, puppies are supposed to double their birth weight in the first 5-8 days and continue growing very rapidly. even the runt pup has a certain healthy growth pattern, it just starts at a lower weight, if it falls short of that growth pattern then it's a strong indication something is very wrong.

There are many, many possiblities of what could be wrong with the pup, first things first get her to a vet, then make sure she starts getting some of moms milk as soon as possible - the 4 week old pups can stand to be away from her an hour or so, so maybe, if it isn't too distressing(for the mother dog) you can have the mother dog put in another room from her pups for a short time so her milk builds up a bit and then give her the one puppy to nurse all it likes, then put her back with the rest of the kids so it doesn't have competition.

4 weeks old the pup should be learning to walk by now! Actually, 4 weeks was when we introduced wet puppy chow to our pups, so she should be looking at solid food! Please get her to a vet and good luck with your puppy, it sounds like you're trying to help... sometimes outside help from a vet is needed tho.

Answer 8

She needs to be checked by the vet. While it is quite possible for "runts" to grow up to be the biggest and strongest of the adults (I've had it happen), it's also possible that there is something medically wrong with her that's preventing her from thriving (ie cleft palate, liver shunt).

Answer 9

She is the runt. there is almost always a runt in the litter. in this case, the runt is just staying smallest. i have a runt in my dog's litter who was born just after a puppy that was born dead. i feed her with a bottle (use puppy formula, NEVER COWS MILK!!! COWS MILK WILL GIVE HER DIARRHEA AND SHE WILL DIE OF DEHYDRATION!!! ) she is doing just fine. just keep caring for her like you are! you are doing great! if she made it past the first few days, she should be fine! but take just her to the vet just to be sure!

Answer 10

I agree, a vet needs to check this little baby out.