I just had my litter the morning of June 6th and all the pups were over a pound except one girl, she was 11 ounces. I checked fro clef pallet and she is fine. She was fine with nursing and moving around the box most of yesterday and part of today. Last night she weighed 12 ounces and today she weighs 11.6 (both at morning and afternoon readings) I was told to try using a boiled beef liver and I was wondering if anyone has the recipe for it. Thanks in advance!
That's not too small, really. I've had them smaller. I think we are so used to behemoth lab puppies that we fret when they are under a pound. I would make sure I was diligently putting the little one on mom for some one on one time where the big bruisers weren't knocking him/her off. Some folks use Nutrical supplement too. I would make sure the pup had some good milk bar time and if he didn't gain the next day, do the water and/or the supplement.
A few drops of karo syrup (light corn syrup) about 5 min before nursing can give the pup the spurt of energy to nurse more. Maybe he/she had a little harder road on the way out and needs a bit more strength. It worked like a charm for me.
Another thing is to get one of the bigger puppies on a teat and do all the work to get the milk to let down,pull it off(sounds awful but it's not,those big puppies will nurse in their sleep ;) ) and then put the smaller puppy on by herself so she doesn't get knocked off and she's getting the milk easily without having to work so hard at it. Her milk has more calories in it and is easier to digest than formula, so for the smaller ones I will put them on first and put them on more often. I've yet had to formula feed for a smaller puppy doing this.
A dab of Karo syrup on her tongue will give her a sugar jolt of energy just before you put her on a teat as well.
I wouldn't worry too much, newborns often lose a little weight the first 24 hours. Just make sure she is warm before you supplement with the liver juice, or karo syrup. Congratulations on your new litter. Let us know how the puppy is doing.
