Help

My orphaned puppies of 2 and a half weeks is getting sick and die one by one. It happens 1 every 3 days. They start by being very healthy and suddenly after a feeding one would get kramps (it looks) and make sounds to let you know they have pain. They stop eating and becomes very weak. I took them to the vet when the first one started and they all got de wormed. I thought it was constipation and gave a ennama of 3-5 ml luke warm water but pain doesn't go away. I force feed them when week with one part glucose silution, one part rehiderate and one part formula with a syringe but they die. I keep them warm enough and feed them puppy formula. What's wrong with them and what can I do to help them when they get sick.

Ingrid, I don't think force feeding them was a good idea when they were so ill. What did the vet say aside from deworming them, did you tell the vet all symptoms. Two week old puppies need a lot more then just feeding, they need to be stimulated to eliminate by rubbing their tummies. You would have to similate what the mother does for them and they most definitely should have been fed with just formula. I raised my orphan pup younger then that on Similac suggested by the vet.

How many puppies do you have ? How many have died ? Under what conditions were they orphaned ?

Tick

Thanks for your reply

I started with 3 pups. My jack russel have taken on the role of playing mother but she would not get milk. She does all the licking of pee and poo. They have been with there original mother for 5 days before she died. I have them in the house on a sleeping bag and hot water bottel. No draft on them. Last week the first one died, and this morning the second one got sick. The 3rd one is very playfull and healthy but so were all of them before the got sick. The vet could not give me a answer to what's wrong. He said it could be many things. He gave me the glucose silution to give the first one.

Can you run through EXACTLY how you are caring for them with me?

Are you making them defacate (via anus stimulation) or just giving them enemas?

Have they been checked thoroughly by a vet?
What tests did the vet do to determine what the problem was?

How often are you feeding them?

What temperature is the whelping box at?
Saying you "keep them warm enough" is not good enough.

As I have said prevoiusly my jack russel is sleeping with them in the basket on top of a sleeping bag and a hot water bottel in the side of the basket. I have and way of testing the temprature but I make sure at akk times that they are warm. My jack russel is likking them so they get plenty stimulation and we do a bit extra when I have just fed them. I feed them formula every 2 hrs and they make sure I wake up at night every 2 hrs, I sleep very light with them next to my bed and if they peep I wake up. They have been checked by a vet as I perviously said but he didn't know what the prpblem was and he dewormed them.

The vet should have run some tests to determin why they were getting sick.

The are conditions like "fading puppy syndrome" where the pups literlly just die, but the vet should have at very least done a fecal examination.

Sorry, I actually read your post wrong the first time, I read it as 3 DAY old puppies, my apologies, temperature is not as crucial at 3 weeks (although it is still important)

I absolutely love this website by Chelsea Collies, it covers pretty much everything to do with newborn puppies... just scroll down the page a bit (over half way) until you get to the information that applies to you...
Newborn Puppies....Care of the Newborn puppy (http://www.chelsea-collies.com/newborn.html)

Shaz,

Wouldn't it be important to know what the mother died of? If there was any sort of infection it could have been passed to the pups.

Shaz,

Wouldn't it be important to know what the mother died of? If there was any sort of infection it could have been passed to the pups.

Possibly... good thought J_9!
Although a lot of dogs die due to complications during birth there may have been an underlying problem with the mother.

What a lousy vet ! I understand why he gave the glucose though. Blood sugar had to be brought up. I question his judgment on deworming such young pups without a fecal sample. Unless he looked at their rectums and saw the eggs.

Its good you are keeping them out of drafts and the Jack Russell is mothering although can't give milk. Too b ad. What kind of formula are you giving them and is by a nipple bottle ?

It sounds like you are doing a good job ingrid. Let us know what happens. I would take them to a different vet can you get a better one by asking friends who they use ?

Tick