SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR VERY SMALL PUPPIES

Very small puppies need to eat several times a day.  If they will voluntarily eat 1-3 tablespoons of dry food (moistened?) three times a day they will usually do fine. 

However, one of the problems with getting very small (under 2 pounds) puppies is getting them to eat enough food to keep their blood sugar at the right level.  Since it is young AND small, its liver is not mature enough to regulate blood sugar levels if it quits eating.  While it’s here with the other puppies it will usually eat well because the other puppies are eating and they are playing hard and get hungry. 

When it  leaves this environment and goes to your house its whole world changes.  It’s now scared and may not want to eat.  Once it goes 6-8 hours without eating, it doesn’t even feel hungry anymore.  If it doesn’t eat enough its blood sugar level decreases to the point that it can go into a coma and eventually die.  So it’s your job to MAKE it eat at least every 4 hours!

Things to try to get them to eat…

Switch to canned puppy food.  If it doesn’t immediately eat some, try getting some on your finger so it will lick it off.  You may even have to force open it’s mouth and rub some food on the roof of its mouth.  Usually when it tastes the food, it will eat some.  It may not eat very much at a time (its stomach is very small) but if you can get it to eat a teaspoon or two 4-6 times a day that should be enough.  In some extreme cases, you may even have to force feed it several times a day for a few days.  Usually they will also like meat flavored baby food which is easier to force-feed.  Allow free access to the dry puppy food during the day also in case it decides to eat  some of that.

Try some “people food” – cooked chicken is a good choice as long as you remove the skin and wash off any spices.  Or you can boil chicken with rice and carrot – no spices.  Then chop it up and serve with some of the broth.  They also usually like cottage cheese.

If you have a friend with a dog, take the puppy to visit them.  If they get along well, see if your puppy will eat with it’s new friend.  This only works if the other dog is not food aggressive and doesn’t eat all of the puppy’s food itself.

If it will not eat by itself after 3-4 days, please call the store or consult your veterinarian.

How to know when you need help…

The signs that the puppy is in serious trouble start when it quits playing, then it sleeps all the time and becomes difficult to wake up, then it has trouble standing up by itself.  If this happens you must take immediate steps to help it.  The first thing to do is to get sugar into it.  There is a product called Nutri-Cal that is a dietary supplement for puppies (the primary ingredient is corn syrup).  You can also use plain (light or dark) corn syrup, honey or even sugar water.  Even a ½ teaspoon of syrup will perk them up.  If they don’t come more awake within 15 minutes after forcing the syrup into their mouth, get them to a veterinarian immediately. 

If the puppy develops severe diarrhea that lasts for more than a day, this can cause dehydration which in extreme cases could lead to death.  Puppies can be given Pedialyte (like you give babies) to help with the dehydration but if the diarrhea continues, please call the store or consult your veterinarian.