carries332000 avatar image

18 day old male, not nursing from mom like he used to

Hi , I am new to the BDW and absolutely find this place amazing and very informative. I rescued my first Bulldog about 8  years ago and absolutely fell in love with the breed. did a lot of research and wanted to add to my family and purchased a bulldog from a reputible breeder. Angel is her name and after she had her 3rd heat we had planned on breeding her. I wanted to get the experience and better her line as I did for sure, no doubt about it. I want to start showing in the near future. Angel had her C-Section on the 23rd of Aug. so the puppies are now 18 days old. this is my first litter and I have a few questions if anyone has any advice or knowledge would be greatly appreciated. My breeder has been wonderful but want to get other advice as well. Angel had 4 pups, 2 males, 2 females. We lost the runt of the litter 5 days after they were born. :( How heartbreaking that was. We tried everything and my vet told me that ususally when they are born that small ususally something is not developed and could have tried everything to save him and most likely would not have been able to. I did try everything and again was not able to save him. I now have 2 females and 1 male. the male was born with hernia which has closed up very nicely and does not seem to be a problem. they are all gaining weight and are still nursing off of mom which has been a wonderful mom. I am curious though because the male now does not seem to nurse as much like he used to. he was the biggest of the litter and still is but the last two days he just doesn't seem as interested. He will nurse for about 10 - 15 minutes, poo & pee and then try to walk, is so cute, looks drunk but then he goes and lays down and to sleep, I have been also supplementing them all with a syringe with UNI Milk as I don't think that mom is producing enough milk at times she seems not to have alot and then other times she does?  I tried the bottle and scared the daylights out of me when the first try the one choked, I said to myself I will stick with what I am doing and dropping the milk from a syringe on thier tongue and seems to work, no choking, or asperation, might take me a little longer but I feel safer doing it this way. he is still gaining weight but my concern is that he used to be the one that would nurse the most and the longest and here recently he is not, I guess he seems to be getting enough milk from mom because he has the little round belly when finished but he wants nothing to do with supplementing with the syringe anymore or not as hyper active to get on to mom like the two females. could he be teething or something and just not himself? The two females will both take about 15CC of the unimilk with syringe and then also nurse off of mom for 15 - 20 minutes, male is 2 lbs.5oz and females are just at 2lbs. Is this normal to not nurse as much all of the sudden? I did notice that he was constipated a few days ago so I gave the Karo syrup from my tip of finger but then he got diareah, today his poo seems fine, not runny but not formed either, doesn't sound conjested , just not really as active for that milk anymore. does anyone know what this could mean? When do they start getting their teeth? This is what I am thinking it might be. Maybe his little gums hurt because he is teething, not sure. Also I moved them to the whelping box today for a while but mom freaked because she couldn't see them or be next to them and started panting and panting, I think they are getting to big for the plastic bin thing I have them in and she lays right next to it all night and looks in on them, the whelping box , I am afrraid to let mom in their alone with them still as I think they are still too small and she might accidently lay on one. If anyone has any advice would be great. Sorry so long, I have scanned and read alot of postings on here but have found nothing for how my 18 day old male is acting?

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Carrie

Bulldog Lover

 

 

Try not to worry yet.....

...the good thing is he is eating, pooping, walking and sleeping (and not crying, right?).....so I woldn't be too concerned unless unless any of those activities changes.  As long as he continues to gain--that's good, even the slightest amount--I've had puppies go 3 days without a gain, but I haven't had a need to supplement.  The Karo is good in case of constipation, but he may have just been absorbing all the nutrients and so didn't need to poop.  Teeth come around 3 weeks and usually are more of a discomfort for the momma when nursing and the puppies start to bite.  I never noticed a puppy having teething issues, but why not they get mostly everything else humans get, and perhaps that's why some puppies sometimes have days without a weight gain.  Good luck!

carries332000's picture

he does cry

Thanks for your reply, well he does cry and I think it is because he is not getting enough milk from mom. but he refuses to take any from a bottle or syringe? he is also the longest to try and pee even though he finally does he takes forever trying to get it out. Is this because of his hurnia maybe?

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Carrie

Bulldog Lover

 

 

I don't know.....

......about the crying then, but I don't think difficulty peeing is from the hernia.  We've had a puppy with hernia that didn't affect anything.   If you think it's hunger causing him to cry,  I supposed you've tried putting him on mom more often--on an unused full nipple?   Do you think he has gas?   Sometimes they do, and Mylecon baby gas drops are good for that.  A gas bubble might cause pain and crying, but now that he's walking and moving about, I think that's less likely.  Sorry, but I think a call to the vet might be in order.  Crying is a sign of pain, heat, cold, hunger--not comfortable or content.     Good luck!

RobinandLeo's picture

a suggestion or 2

Your male pup may have an upset tummy, since he is crying and you say his tummy looks big, he probably has some gas and is uncomfortable. Get some Simethicone drops for human babies (Mylacon or equivalent) and give him a few drops, then hold him upright and gently massage his belly. You may need to try him on momma for short, more frequent nursing sessions.

Start all the pups on Bene-bac gel. I use this from the minute I bring pups home, it puts the beneficial bacteria into their stomachs and really gives pups a boost.

Since they are bigger, move them out of the plastic tub and into a small kids wading pool. The pools are great for raising pups.

Agree with Robin....n/m

.....

carries332000's picture

Bene-bac gel?

What is Bene-bac? where can I get it? is it for diareah? He is the only one with diareah for the last two days. Thanks for all the responses you all are awesome. I am bringing them all to the vet,  since they were born I feel like I live there at the vet LOL.  I would rather be safe than sorry. Being the first litter, everything is so new and scary to me as I have nothing to compare it to and feel unsure that they are ok because you read all these postings and see what can happen so suddenly. Last vet visit was on tuesday when they were 2wks old, my vet is awesome and she is very well known for Bulldogs, people come from all over to go to her so I am very fortunate that she is only an hours drive away. I do plan on taking them in on Tuesday just for peace of mind. Thanks again and please let me know what the Bene-bac gel is and if it will help with the diareah the male has.

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Carrie

Bulldog Lover

 

 

It's a probiotic.....

....beneficial bacteria---helpful for the one with diarrhea, but for all with their digestion.  I have purchased on-line, but believe Petsmart and Petco have it.  If you live near feed store, you can try Probios instead.    Be careful taking them to the vet--I suggest they stay in the car until time for vet to see them.

carries332000's picture

ProBios

Absolutely they stay in the car until it is their turn to see the vet :) Believe me I am soooo over protective over my children and any of my animals as well. I did go to the feed store, PetSmart, Petland. PetCo is too far from me, but neither had Bene Bac, I did get the ProBios and mixed 1/4 tsp. in their formula. The male today does not seem to have runny poo anymore, now it is one of the females LOL. They just all nursed off the bottle and all pooed and pee'd when mom cleaned them. I am feeling a little better now. None of them seem to have any congestion and I don't think I have had any asperate except for once in the very beginning when I took one off the mom's nipple and will never do that again. They are all resting peacefully. I thank you soo much for your help. Yesterday I began with rice ceral in their formula, just a little so that they can get used to it. On Tuesday they will be 3 weeks old. :) Thank you so much again for all your advice I so much appreciate it! Have a great rest of the weekend, whats left of it.  GO GIANTS!!

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Carrie

Bulldog Lover

 

 

Diarrhea

Sometimes they can get runny stool from overeating, too.  I would stop the bottle as they're getting ready for mush any way once they're on their feet.  Mix the formula with the rice cereal and some baby chicken and put in a little saucer to offer before nursing--a little messy for a couple of days, but they catch on fast.  Good luck and keep us posted on vet visit.