Hi everyone, I am a Maltese Breeder in need of some advise. I had two babies that were born on the 31st. Mom did not open the bag to one of them and she died. The second baby I am thinking opened the bag himself with his little toenails. Anyway mom is not a good mom at all and has not been taking care of him. I have had to resort in hand raising him myself. On Saturday morning I weighted him he was 3.4 oz at 2 days. .6 of a oz. less than when he was born. Then just a few minutes ago (Monday) I weighed him and he was still at only 3.4oz. He has not lost anymore weight, but has not gained any either. I am very concerned about this little guy. He is very strong unlike any other that I have seen for his age and size. He is sucking well on the syringe, and hardly ever fusses. I know that he should be gaining some weight at this point. Is there anything that I can do to help him to start gaining? He seems fine other than his size. I am so worried that I am going to loose him. Any help is greatly appreciated.

If he gains everyday, he should be fine. If he stays the same for two days or if he loses, supplement him several times a day. And, make sure you help him pee and poop, if mom is not doing that. Then, after he is on his way to good health, I would never breed another litter again until I learned how to whelp one. Why did you not help the pups out of the sacks if mom did not do it?

If mom is still capable of nursing him MAKE HER, you will probably have to supervise the process but it has to have colostrum to survive and mom's antibodies. It's not very often one that small survives without mom. Maybe others have had better luck at it than I though. How are her other pups doing? Also listen to his lungs, if you don't have a stethescope press him against your ear...do you hear "clicking"?

Sounds to me like she wasn't home when they were born, she said she *thought* that the little guy opened the sac with his toenails. Don't make her feel any worse than she already does. Be kind and be helpful. You know with breeding, whelping and raising puppies, it's always something.

I do help whelp my babies! This mom did not take until the third breeding and I had expected the babies to arrive a few days earlier. I stayed awake and only had 3-4 hours of sleep for about 4 days. Then I finally was so exhausted that when I went to sleep it was a deep sleep. I had mom right beside me in a crate with news paper down so that would here her if he dug or whined or anything. Which she did not. I did not come to you never having the knowledge of breeding. I assist with the whole process. I open the bag cut the cord suck the nose and mouth everything. I just needed so sleep and could not function. Sorry that I have given you the wrong impression of me.

I think I am being helpful.

I do have a stethoscope and I listened and only heard a very strong heart beat. No clicking, no congestion just the heart beat and maybe a little swallowing but that is all. I listen to the heartbeats of the babies while they are still in mom's womb that is the reason I know it was a heartbeat. As for the other babies she only had the two. I have been putting him with mom every couple of hours for the colostrum, plus I am substituting with just born supplement with colostrum. I am trying my best to save this we one. And he is acting fine. Just not gaining any weight.

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If mom is still capable of nursing him MAKE HER, you will probably have to supervise the process but it has to have colostrum to survive and mom's antibodies. It's not very often one that small survives without mom. Maybe others have had better luck at it than I though. How are her other pups doing? Also listen to his lungs, if you don't have a stethescope press him against your ear...do you hear "clicking"?

He should be fine then if mom is nursing him too..just do like breeder said and suplement a few times a day if no weight gain is seen. There is a transitional stage from womb to air and suckeling. I would worry more if he *looses* any more weight. Kiss him on the nose for me. AAAHHH puppy breath.

I will be sure to give him some sweet kisses from you. He is very strong and active. While sleeping he is moving his little legs just like he should. I just got off the phone with one of my many mentors and she said the same thing that you did. I guess I just panicked. But that is a good thing. It shows the love that I have for the weeee ones. Thank you for the help and support. It has really helped to ease my mind this morning.

We gotta stick together. GOOD LUCK!

I think you are doing all you can do for this little one. It is possible the mom will take over the care of the puppy. Having him nurse as often as possible is the best thing you can do for him. I've had puppies that I needed to supplement. They did just fine. Hopefully your little one will stay strong and healthy. Good Luck.

Sometimes directness on this forum really comes off as being rude. I wish people would speak to others as they like to be spoken to.

I can imagine how tired you must be with so little sleep. Have you checked that this puppy does not have a clef pallet? I have had clefs that were so thin you would have thought they were drawn by a needle tip. Even a clef that fine would still prevent a puppy from gaining weight. Often times they may loose an ouce or so from their birth weight but if they do not gain after a day or so that is not normal and I would be concerned.
Please keep up posted and good luck to you and your puppy.

Mom is nursing him now. Just as soon as he is done I will check the Cleft Pallet. I have placed her in a smaller confined area where she can not get away from him and she is lying there letting him nurse. I am exhausted, but it is well worth it. I am responsible for the babies that I bring into this world and it is my duty to do everything that I possible can to help them in any way.

Thank you for all of the support that I am receiving. It really helps.

I just checked the clef pallet and as far as I can tell he does not have one. He is snuggling next to mom now that he has finished nursing. Hopefully he will be fine. I will be sure to keep you all updated on his growing and so forth.

I think the baby is doing better. As I posted this morning he was only 3.4oz. Well I just got brave and put him back on the scales and he is up to 3.7oz. His belly is finally starting to look full and boy that there tells me something. He has been potting good, peeing anyway. He has not pooped yet this afternoon. I will continue to use the warm cotton ball on his bottom to stimulate him. Thank you again for all of the support this morning.

As a fellow Maltese owner I wish you good luck with him.
I know of a Maltese yahoo group that can be very helpful and they are very non-judgemental if your interested.

Thank you I am a member there. I just hardly ever post, just like this is my first post here. Thank you for the well wishes.

Are you a Labrador breeder too? I'll be breeding my Havanese in the future and it would be interesting to hear some of the differences in breeding large vs toy dogs.

No I only breed the Maltese. I am very dedicated to them, and can not even imagine breeding another breed. I would not be able to keep up with everything, lol. Best of luck to you if you do decide to breed the Havanese.

I'm confused... How did you end up posting on the Labrador forum? Just curious.

Yes I know that this is a labrador forum. But I had researched all of the Maltese sites yesterday and decided that maybe there may be a little something that I was missing in my search. So I posted. I hope that is OK. I was in a state of panic and trying to find something that maybe I was not doing right. And I did, I had not checked for Cleft Pallet which a very nice person mentioned to me. That is why we are all breeders although yours are quite a bit larger than mine. Are we not suppose to watch out for each other? No matter what breed. Although I do own a yellow lab. Does that help? LOL

A quick update. I weighed the baby this morning and he is up to 4.1 form 3.4 yesterday. He is use peeing and pooping very good. Thanks again for the help.

Great news on the pup. Breeders helping breeders is always a good thing. Glad you found help.

I'm glad to hear your boy is doing better today. I hope things continue to improve. Please post again if you need help.