Advice & suggestions,prayers for my 6 sheltie pups ?

Question

on sunday, my precious girl, gave birth to 7 gorgeous pups, 1 stillborn, all was fine until, yesterday, her 1 rear breast is full & hard as a rock, took her to the e.r., we now need to help her feed her pups, bought 6 bottles, and formula, need advice on what to put on the nipples of the bottles,as the pups do NOT like the artificial rubber nipple, PLEASE, also pray for these precious pups, thanks so very much.

Answer 1

here is a website with tips on bottle feeding puppies, but as for a replacement for the nipple, i would just suggest poking a couple more holes in it, maybe enough milk is not coming out?  make sure only drops are coming out when held upside down, a flow of milk is unhealthy for the puppy!  good luck! they are in my prayers!

http://leerburg.com/bottlefeeding.htm

Edit: wow, someone is bitter, yes, it is a good idea to spay your dog, for her own health, unspayed females are at a high risk for uteran, and other cancers.  BUT there is no way to tell if the dog you are breeding will have an uneventful pregnancy(unless you have a magic 8 ball), or possibly encounter some birthing problems.  you have done right by your dog and her pups by taking them to the vet. for treatment!  even well experienced breeders have these type of problems, breeding dogs is always risky, but that doesn't mean that a "professional" breeder has more of a right to do it than a "backyard" breeder.

Do not slash an x through the nipple, any size bottle will do, but when the bottle is held upside down the milk should drip out - NOT FLOW OUT in a stream - pups that get milk in their lungs will get pneumonia and more than likely die. And if your vet. did not mention tube feeding, and the pups are eating, I wouldn't go there!

Answer 2

Can your vet school you in how to tube feed the litter safely? I find that this is much easier and a better method to control the amount and timing of feeding but it requires someone who knows exactly how to do this procedure safely. If it is not done correctly, you can get liquid into the lungs instead of the stomach, causing pneumonia.

One of the biggest issues with using the "pet" nipples is their size. Puppies want a larger nipple and many people have success using premie baby bottles and nipples as an alternative.

Answer 3

I"m so sorry the experience went bad for you.   Does she have mastitis?  No formula is going to taste just like Mom, but the better ones (Just Born, etc) will be very nutritious.  I hope they were able to nurse off Mom initially?  That's how they get the needed colostrum.

As for technique, did the vet indicate tube feeding would be necessary, or just supplemental feeding with a bottle?  What I"ve done when raising orphaned pups and kittens is to take a razor blade and gently enlarge the hole in the nipple so that milk gently seeps out.  That way they don't have to exhaust themselves working too hard to get it.  I smear some milk on the nipple itself, and maybe just a drop on the pup's tongue.  If they're hungry, they'll latch on pretty quickly.  If they don't, back to the vet!  Newborns need bottles every 4 hours or so around the clock.  Is your momma able to stimulate them to potty, or did the vet show you how to do that with a warm washcloth?  

You and your Shelties are definitely in my prayers.  God gave us these wonderful companions to bond with us, and He knows how important they are to us.

Answer 4

These are question you should have asked your vet. Get back on the phone with them and If they suggest tube feeding instead for awhile go in and have them show you how to properly do this.

you also should have been prepared before hand on the possibility of having to hand rear the pups.

Good luck with your pups

Answer 5

Will do I hope all works out for all of you. In my thoughts and prayers.

Answer 6

Sorry, no. This is a common thing for BYB's. Please spay your dog so it wont happen again!

Answer 7

Sorry you didn't know any better and these pups and your female are paying the price.   If you haven't already, Do NOT dry her up -- she should have been started on antibiotics and while she is on them, you will need to feed the pups and also express and dispose of milk in each teet of the female to keep her milk going - she can still help clean and care for the pups so that when she is done with the antibiotics, she is still lactating and you can put the pups back on.  If you have already dried her up, well, then you have several weeks of no sleep.  You have to feed each pup individually and try to figure out how each best eats.  Slash an X across the nipple of the bottles - those tilted bottles work well.  Formula should be canned goats milk, some Karo syrup and some raw egg yolks (dispose of the white as it has an enzyme that is a problem to dogs).  You will need to feed each pup every two hours - you can sort of squirt the formula from the nipple into their mouths to encourage them to start suckling but just keep at it and eventually they will suckle and you will figure out what technique works best for what puppy.  At some point in about a week or two, you can add a small amount of baby mix cereal as it gives some 'substance' to the formula that will fill the pups a bit more - hopefully by then the mother will be able to nurse but if not, then keep it going until they are about three and a half weeks old and you can start grinding up kibble in a blender and add it to the formula too so they can start getting used to it and eventually you can wean them off the bottles and onto the formula mixed with ground kibble and then start soaking pieces of kibble and then onto soften kibble and formula several times a day.

btw, you don't need six bottles and the commercial formula sucks and most vets don't do this stuff so they don't have much of a clue.  Don't use those small bottles - use regular baby bottles and nipples.

Add:  I have tube fed puppies before and it can be useful but it is NOT something I would recommend to the layperson who has no clue how to auscultate the location of the tubes.  It works well for supplementing a large litter with members that need 'extra' but it is not terribly good for an entire litter and not for the inexperienced at all.