My bottle-fed puppy won't eat or drink. What should I do now?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bleu Smith. I recommend that he see a veterinarian today. The stress of a new home and environment can cause a low appetite. However, so can illness. Being such a young puppy, it will be easy for his blood sugar to drop too low from not eating. I recommend placing some karo or maple syrup on his gums and seeking care I hope this information helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Mystic. Being such a tiny puppy, she may have difficulty regulating her blood sugar. If very young small puppies go too long between meals, their blood sugar can drop too low. This results in a weak lethargic puppy that will be less interested in eating and drinking. You can try using a supplement known as NutriCal to keep her blood sugar up. If she seems unresponsive, place karo syrup on her gums and seek immediate veterinary care. Otherwise, leave puppy food available at all times so that she does not need to go extended periods between meals. Continue this until she is around 4 months of age. As far as another puppy food option, I would use a small or tiny breed formula from Purina or Hills. These are trustworthy companies with products backed by extensive research. You can add warm water to the dry kibble, mix canned and dry food or just offer canned. You may have to try different combinations to see what she likes. I hope this information helps!

At this point mom has generally begun to wean her puppies. Offer water, regular dry kibble, kibble soaked in warm water and canned food. This does need to be a large breed puppy formula for the food. There’s a brand that makes a food specific for weaning puppies called Royal Canin and I recommend to pick some up at the pet store or online. You may need to smear some of the food on the puppy’s mouth so that it gets the idea. Also allow him to see mom eating so that he has the desire to copy her. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Congrats on your new puppy, Honey is very cute! No, it is not right to feed her milk, especially cow's milk. Dairy productions should never be fed to dogs due to GI upset, and milk alone is not a balanced diet for a puppy. It will not be providing her with the nutrients she needs to grow properly. Puppies need higher amounts of protein, calories, and calcium than adult dogs, and a puppy formulated food will give that to her. It may be that she isn't used to puppy food yet, and I can give you a method to try to get her used to puppy food. To help her get used to puppy food, I would soak a high quality puppy formulated dry food in warm water until soft. Then mix that with puppy formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry puppy food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until she is eating the dry puppy food only.

I recommend to have Taffy examined today by the veterinarian. Young puppies should have big appetites and are highly adaptable. I am concerned Taffy is sick and this is why she is not eating or drinking. I recommend to have her examined today and checked for parasites and maybe even parvo virus. I hope she feels better quickly.

Sometimes puppies can have a slight decrease in appetite when they first come home since it is a big adjustment, however it sounds like you've had her a few days. Given her age and her breed I'd recommend seeing a veterinarian to make sure she doesn't have low blood sugar, parasites, or another medical problem affecting her appetite. If she also seems weak, lethargic or disoriented you should see an emergency veterinarian as soon as possible. She is adorable!

Considering the puppy is losing weight and failing to thrive, I would bring him into your local vet for an exam to check for any physical deformities that may be affecting his ability to nurse properly and eat, and for any potential illnesses or issues that could be causing him to not do as well. If he is able to eat with a bottle, I'd also recommend increasing his feedings if he still seems hungry, to try and keep weight on him and get him back up to speed.