Advise on small pup

[Sharon]

Ok, this is definitely not an ad, as I have a list as long as my arm for my latest litter, but really am looking for some advise.  Yesterday we had a litter born, all the pups weighed in at 11oz plus, then the last one was a tiny weeny 5.2oz......is there anything special I need to do, ie. top him up etc.  He's very fiesty, full of energy, just really diddy compared to his siblings.

I've never had a pup this size so I'm not sure what to do if anything special.

Thanks.

[Sharon]

He was born at 11.50pm yesterday and weighed 5.2oz this morning he weighs 5.5oz so I guess he's feeding ok, will just have to make sure I keep an even closer eye on him than usual, if that's possible 

[lisalh]

Awwww bless he sounds  Please keep us posted on how he is doing, will be thinking of him and wishing him well

[6thSense]

I am not sure but probably best to keep an eye on him to make sure he is putting on weight, I'm sure he will be fine 

I'm not an expert, but I would agree with this. We had a runt in Morganas litter and she nearly didn't make it and I had to feed her every couple of hours. Your pup sounds stronger than she was though and Avs wasn't feeding well on her own, but she is now over a year old and a little Character.  Here is a picture just to show the differnece in size. 


And her now. Still small, but perfectly healthy. 

[Jane S]

We've had several 5oz pups over the years - if they're feeding ok and gaining weight, you generally need to do nothing but keep an eye on them. Small pups can sometimes get "thrown off" the best teats by bigger, heavier pups so I would then make sure they still get their turn regularly, holding them in place if necessary (might not be needed though if your little one is the feisty type )

[Sharon]

Thanks for all the replies, when he arrived I was really shocked to see the size of him    having never had a pup that size before.

[Jane S]

The smallest we have had is 3.5oz who survived with a bit of extra attention and lived a long, happy life (he was 13 when he died)

[LinzB]

Awwww! I've been watching Jasmine's progress on your website (I want another when OH lets me, but love catching up on puppy plans!) and had seen she'd given birth. I hope he continues to do well, dinky little fella!!  

[Sharon]

The smallest we have had is 3.5oz who survived with a bit of extra attention and lived a long, happy life (he was 13 when he died)

Wow!  Gosh he must have been soooo tiny, it certainly gives you hope when you hear stories like that, thanks Jane and everybody else that have given me hope.

[Ninasmum]

Aah bless him, he must be so dinky.  Our smallest was 7oz's and this seemed very tiny, so i can only imagine how tiny he looks.

IME i would keep a very close eye on him and at least every 2 hours make sure he is feeding from one of the back teats (i believe the milk is more nutritious from the back).  Also when all the puppies are feeding make sure he doesn't get pushed off the teat.  What i used to do is move the biggest puppies to the furthest point of the whelping box while you get the smallest one's feeding first.  The other thing i would suggest (and i know the weather is hot for us humans) but make sure he stays very warm and on a heat pad when he is not feeding, as it is so easy for them to lose their strength.  Do you have any Life Aid? It is very useful liquid to have, if any of the pups weaken.  Good Luck and i will keep fingers crossed he grows into a big strapping cocker pup. 

[Jane S]

IME i would keep a very close eye on him and at least every 2 hours make sure he is feeding from one of the back teats (i believe the milk is more nutritious from the back). 

Not more nutritious but the back teats generally are easiest for pups to feed from & milk can be more plentiful from them.

PS 7oz isn't that small - it's fairly normal for a lot of our litters, some bigger of course but definitely not out of the ordinary (some lines do produce bigger pups than others so that's probably the case for you )

[Sharon]

Funnily enough he was latched onto her back teat last night, it was huge and he looked so tiny hanging on, but seemed to be enjoying himself   

[Jeanette]

Aww what a tiny one, Indie was 4.6 when she was born so was a tiny one, still quite small now compared to others but gorgeous    

[Ninasmum]

PS 7oz isn't that small - it's fairly normal for a lot of our litters, some bigger of course but definitely not out of the ordinary (some lines do produce bigger pups than others so that's probably the case for you )

When my girl Jo Jo had her 1st litter she had 9 puppies, most of them were 9 - 10 oz's and we had 3 a little smaller at 7 - 8 oz's.  We were all in total shock and considering she is quite petite were completely amazed she carried such big puppies.   

[Sharon]

My Inca did the same last summer, we call her Dinky Inky because she is tiny, but she also went on to have 9 babies, all ranging from 8 -10oz

Managed to get my diddy man latched on for 1/2 hour this afternoon, put the other pups in a separate box because they seem to be pushing him off, I sat in the whelping box and held him in position, but he had a good feed, even if it killed my back.....lol.  Even Jasmine was looking at me as if to say 'Oi, get out my bed'