My Dazzle had her litter last night and this morning, and shocked me by having 12 puppies. In the first 24 hours (or less for some of the wee ones) five of the pups have lost weight, and only 3 have gained. I am starting to supplement the puppies, but have some questions as I've never done this before.

I am using a bottle to feed them. My procedure has been to go from pup to pup, get the nipple in their mouth, and give them a chance to nurse. If they spit it out I don't force them, but if they nurse I let them do so until they spit the nipple out. Not all the pups will drink from the bottle, but several have. They have unlimited access to their Mom as well, and she is nursing them.

A couple of the puppies upchucked some/all of what they drank from the bottle. Should I give them a specific amount rather than letting them drink til full, and if so, how much.

Obviously, this formula is different from what they are getting from their Mom. I don't want them to get diarrea - some of them are pretty tiny as it is. Should I give them Benebac as a precaution?

Any other tips/suggestions/guidance would be welcomed. I really don't want to lose any of these precious little chocolate drops due to something preventable on my part.

Thanks,
~Karlene & Dazzle

Let mom take over nursing duties. Her milk is better. If you supplement unnecessarily, her milk supply will lessen due to lack of demand and then you'll really have a problem on your hands.

If you end up having to supplement, tube them with goat's milk. Your vet can show you how.

I use goat's milk. If I have little ones that need an extra push physically, I bottle feed them SMALL, but frequent bottle feedings (rather than twice, sometimes I give them four small bottle feedings/day). I dip the tip of the nipple in goat's milk. Goat's milk is sweet, and the puppies usually love it once they get a taste, they usually start to go for the nipple. Before they're very full, I give them back to mom, and let them finish nursing from her. With so many puppies, it is unlikely your girl won't make enough milk. It's a supply and demand system, and I'm willing to bet there is a good deal of demand going on.

Beware...once they get the hang of it, they can suckle very fast, and can take in too much before you have time to react:
Click here for example --GRIN--

Don't forget to burp the bottle fed babies. An air bubble behind the milk can bring it up with the bubble.


Dian Welle

I would weigh them twice a day....if any of them are losing...make sure to put them on your girl...pulling the stronger ones off......I would not supplement this early....let her milk supply build...the pups will gain a little slower because of the large number....but that is okay. Have your goats milk ready...just in case you do have to intervene.....watch carefully..be ready in case you have to help....but let your girl try her best.

Linda, I agree with you. Always pull the stronger or larger ones off and let the smaller ones nurse first.

You can also try dividing the litter in half. Let 6 nurse at a time then switch over to the other 6 going back and forth every 2 hours or less. Still supervise each group and be sure the less assertive or smaller ones are at the milk bar first. This way you know everyone has a chance there if half are on at a time for the first week or so.

I wouldn't be so fast to supplement but if you have to you're better off supplementing the ones that get to Dazzle the fastest. I hope all goes well. You have your work cut out for you with 12, did you expect that large of a litter?

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

I would weigh them twice a day....if any of them are losing...make sure to put them on your girl...pulling the stronger ones off......I would not supplement this early....let her milk supply build...the pups will gain a little slower because of the large number....but that is okay. Have your goats milk ready...just in case you do have to intervene.....watch carefully..be ready in case you have to help....but let your girl try her best.

LOL! Loved the picture, Dian...I call that look "milk drunk"

Goats milk and canned formula doesn't always attract the pups. One sure bet is a formula I use: Blend onr cup canned milk, one cup Plain yogurt, 1/2 cup water, 1 egg yolk only no white, and 2 TBLS. Hellman's mayonnaise. Make sure its a little warm and then watch those sluggish pups gobble it down.....It always works and you will know all are getting enough nourishment. Let them bottle feed until its enough for them, they always let you know? Mom won't be able to feed them all and some won't be strong enough to fight for the nipples if you don't. Good Luck, Leeda

Goats milk mixed half and a half with water is the closest to the mothers milk and don't add anything to it. As for how much you would feed do not let them go until they spit it out, at this point a half ounce twice a day should suffice as they need to get the moms milk first and I would have them nurse first before trying to supplement. I am not a fan of tube feeding either, it may be faster but it's more natural for them to nurse from a bottle.
Aloha,
Jackie

Karlene,
I had a litter of 11 in the past and I did as some have suggested. I weighed all twice a day and rotated the puppies as to who needed extra. Those puppies went first on the next feeding. We did this every 2-3 hours, and got all to grow at a consistent rate. We never had to supplement any of them. It is a lot of work, but it was well worth it. Good Luck!!

"Always pull the stronger or larger ones off and let the smaller ones nurse first.

You can also try dividing the litter in half. Let 6 nurse at a time then switch over to the other 6 going back and forth every 2 hours or less. Still supervise each group and be sure the less assertive or smaller ones are at the milk bar first. This way you know everyone has a chance there if half are on at a time for the first week or so. "

This is exactly what I do when I have 10 or morein a litter. I never supplement unless the dam can't feed the pups.

no one mentioned that a loss of a couple ounces the first few days is NORMAL. I'd stop supplmenting as someone else mentioned, your bitches milk will dry up....supply and demand.

All the previous post are excellent guidelines and you shouldn't have any trouble getting all these babies to survive. I've had many litters with 12,14 and even 16 puppies and mom handles them all. Just keep your eyes open, keep all the above post in you mind and you'll do fine. Often puppies weighing less than 12 ounces have poor sucking ability, so just watch them closely. If you have to supplement/tube feed a good rule of thumb is 1 cc of formula to 1 ounce of body weight. Sometimes just doing this once or twice the first day or so is enough to jump start them on their own. Good luck

Remamber too that for the first day all they are getting is colostrum which they need more than any formula!!! losing a little wieght in the first day or so is normal, but also mom's milk has more calories and is easier to digest than the formula. I would put the smaller ones on to nurse first then when they are full the bigger ones can go on. Also if you put the smaller ones on more often they can get a leg up so to say! Good luck!!

My pups love that recipe that Leeda posted.. I don't have to use it often but it works. I use the newborn baby bottles. they like the nipple better than the pet bottle.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have not bottle fed any of the pups today, but am making sure the smaler ones get to nurse.

Leeda, when I did feed them, I used the recipe you posted. It was given to me by Marian at Dewberries when a friend of mine had problems, and my repro vet at the U was very impressed with it.

I can't seperate the litter by taking some of the pups away, because Dazzle can apparantly count. If I remove pups, even 1, she fits and fusses and won't settle down - so I'm just moving them about the box.

Glad you liked the recipe, I gave it to Marian at Dewberries a while back since she coowned a female with me......Its got a lot of good elements to it and was given to me by Gladys Rogers ages ago......

Thanks for all who wrote in with their suggestions and insight. After talking with my repro vet, I have held off supplementing anyone, and the pups are gaining weight. Poor Daz has lost weight already providing milk for all these kids - I keep upping her food but don't know when I'll get it balanced out.