Hello, all! I'm new to the site, and I have a long story, which I will try to shorten. We took in a stray that some butthead left tied in the backyard of their foreclosed home; as it turns out, she was pregnant with 13 puppies and heartworm positive. Due to the volume of pups, strain on her heart, etc. a c-section was necessary. Mom wouldn't nurse the pups, so we bottle-fed for almost two weeks, before an angel was sent to us. A friend and vet tech had a dog with a false pregnancy who thinks the pups are hers and is nursing them. We have lost 8 of the 12 who came home from sepsis. The 4 remaining pups are eating well and seemingly healthy, though they require ampicillin shots 3 x daily. My question is, today I have noticed that there is a clear discharge from their little noses, and could this be due to temp change in the room? Or, are they getting sick with something else? Also, some sites indicate that you should allow the pup to eat all they want when bottle-feeding. However, one of them is MISERABLE right now, because he wolfed down about 3.5 ounces in less than 10 minutes. I am supplementing them with the formula, because we aren't sure how much milk foster mom has. Any help is greatly appreciated. I cannot bare to lose any more of these angels. Thanks again! God bless!:confused:

First let me say thank you for taking on the mom and her pups and caring for them.

The runny noses could be nothing at all, It has been a while since we have had pups but from memory ours were the same, they were just dripping wet!
Even my boy I have now gets a runny nose when it's hot, he will sit next to me and drip all over me... not nice at all lol

As long as the discharge does not appear to be a funny color or appears to be very thick then I wouldn't worry too much.

Unfortunately it's too early to test the pups for heartworm but you can put them on preventative medication now.

As for feeding, I personally wouldn't let them free feed, the recommended amount is 15-20ml per 100 grams of body weight, about 6 times a day.
When they are 3 weeks old decrease to 4 times a day but slightly more milk.

At 4 weeks they are ready to have their first bit of solid food, just some canned puppy food mushed up with a bit of milk is good.
Only a very very small amount at first so you don't upset their stomachs.

Good luck, let me know if you need any more info ;)

This post put tears in my eyes.

Bless you for taking in this mom and her pups. I'm sorry for the loss of so many, but thankful that 4 remain, all because of you are your kindness.

I don't have any advice to add, Shazzy said it all, and she knows her stuff.

I hope you keep us posted, let us know how mom and her babies are doing.

Also, we need pictures, we can't live without them. They are a requirement. I think it should be a rule of this site that pet pictures should be posted. ;)

Please? :)

Please keep us posted and the best of luck to you.

Thank you, Shazzy & Altenweg. I'm new to this site and cannot for the life of me figure out how to add pictures. HELP! :) I lost my son three years ago, due to a physician hospital error; he would have been three this past October. I wonder sometimes if these little pups weren't purposely placed in my life by God. It sounds crazy, I guess, but all of that maternal instinct and love that had nowhere to go for the past three years has been poured into these dogs... as well as more money than I have readily available. But, they have been such a blessing, despite the heartache of losing so many. The first one almost killed me; she had a congenital heart condition. The others, being sepsis, and having no way of knowing, were going one a day for about 5 days straight. I thought I was going to lose my mind. Thankfully, these four seem to be tough guys, and they are rotten already. I think we may be keeping two--just what we need with the wild kingdom already here! LOL They are gifts, though.

I can't imagine going through a loss like yours. To lose a child is a nightmare, hell on earth. The very thought of it unnerves me. I don't think I'd survive, and anyone that not only survives, but continues to do good, be good, strive to live, well, you have my respect and admiration. I can't find words that describe my thoughts better then that. Know that I have tears in my eyes, for you loss, for your compassion, both sad tears, and happy ones. You are a remarkable human being.

Every life is a precious gift. You were meant to find this dog, to be there for her in her time of need, to care for these pups. With a guardian Angel like you they will survive. The only hard thing I see in your future is picking the ones you'll keep. I have a feeling you're going to end up with 4 pups. ;)

As for pictures, I think you have to be a member for 48 hours and have a minimum of 5 posts before you can post pictures. When that time comes I'll be more then happy to guide you through it, after all, I'm the one (but not the only one) dying to see the pictures of these precious little babies.

Please don't post and run. Keep us updated on their progress. Once we read a story like this we can't help but become involved. It's so hard when people don't update, leave us wondering what happened.

I'll continue to pray that all goes well with the remaining 4 and the mom, and of course, their guardian Angel. :)