My black bitch had one puppy by C-section. He is 4 weeks old. I seldom hear a peep out of him as he is satisfied all the time. I had his to the vet last week, as when i pick him up, he yells out but rub him all over when he is laying down he shows no signs of anything sore or hurting him. His neck is huge, his whole head is, he is going to be a big boy. The vet didnt find anything wrong with him. No puppy strangles, absesses, nothing. I see nothing on his skin, no soft areas or swollen on his neck, its just like he is big. I cradle him and lay him on his back in my arms he yells out, keeps his front legs stiff and sounds like he has a hard time breathing on his back? I dont know what to think of it, just a big whiney puppy or something wrong. I am taking him back into the vet on Monday.
IF he is toddling normally, for his age and weight, is he just not used to being pushed around, literally, and breathing in a scared manner, which stiff legs show?
Maybe have another breeder over to see him, and maybe he soon needs to have a "littermate" to teach him how to be a puppy IF nothing is wrong otherwise.
If he is eating and getting around it is probably just his age. I just went through that with my litter at the same age. There was one pup that would act like I was killing her when I picked her up. She was the bully of the others. She is fine now, just took a bit more carefully handling her. That said, if he acts hurt or sick in any way, Vet of course.
If what you are saying is what I think, your puppy just needs to be handled more. When you touch him on the side of the mouth, does he yawns? it is anxiety. Singletons need more care. Take him away from mom, so he doesn't get too fat. That's probably why he has a big neck.....all fat.
When I have a pup like this, I give it my 5 yo. After playing with her, riding in the doll stroller, being put on a blanket next to dolls for tea, and following her around, they are much more adaptable and love being held in any position. The downside is they recognize her as she walks past the pen and then cry for her hold them! I too agree that pup probably needs to be held more. I think some pups are like post trauma adoptees, they need extra holding and touch even though initially it seems opposite of what they want.
Once I had something like that. I had this wonderful litter, very quiet, very content all the time. One day out of the blue I kept listening one pup crying like in pain. I checked everyone and the only male in the litter had a very swollen neck right under his right ear and it was in so much pain. I called my vet and told me to start amoxi drops and put him apart from his littermates. He was already in a separate basket with some pillows to make him more comfortable to rest his head and relief some pain. After I started the amoxi It took two days for the neck to come back to normal and the little guy to be back the sweet little boy. The pain went away almost right after a couple hours after the first dose of amoxi. You should ask your vet if he thinks that you could start him on some antibiotics. This is my personal experience.
