My 3-week-old runt puppy looks small. Is this normal or vet visit?

Hello. There always seems to be one puppy that just seems to struggle, but this does not mean anything is wrong. As long as you see the mother dog nursing her, cleaning her, & not ignoring or pushing this puppy to the side, then she will be fine. Often these slow starters will easily catch up to their littermates in time. Just keep a close eye on everyone. Buying a small digital kitchen scale & taking weights 2 times a week will make sure everyone is growing. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

So cute! If he seems healthy and is not having any problems then he could wait until he is 8 weeks old for a vet visit. I probably would not vaccinate him at his age and weight. You should limit his exposure to other dogs and do not take him to any public places until he is vaccinated. You could take a stool sample to your vet and have him/her test it for parasites and/or get a broad spectrum dewormer from your vet and give him a dose, especially if he hasn't already been dewormed by the breeder. Good luck!

Bear does look quite small in the picture, and I'm concerned about the shape of his head. It doesn't look normal. I can't say for certain from a picture, but he doesn't look ok to me. I think he needs to get checked out by a vet immediately. Best of luck.

Runts of the litter are definitely common and often have a hereditary problem, or illness causing them to not grow as well as the others. However, they can simply be outcompeted by the others, so making sure it gets mom's milk (the best option), or formula may be helpful. It's also good to have a vet check her to see if anything is causing her to remain smaller than the other pups. I hope that helps and all is well with the pups.

I would recommend taking him away from the others for feeding and hand feed a calorie rich food such as royal canin recovery or hills a/d through a syringe if he won't eat voluntarily. Try to get an earlier appointment for full health check if possible

I would recommend to continue to supplemental feeding. Its possible that there is a congenital problem that is causing her to be so small compared to her littermates. I would recommend a vet visit to see if anything can be determined on physical exam. I would also recommend deworming the whole litter and mom to make sure parasites aren't a problem. The doctor may recommend bloodwork to check for any signs of liver problems. I hope this helps!

If you baught the puppy then your first visit to a veterinarian should be now to make sure the puppy is healthy. Your veterinarian will then tell you when to brin Luna back for her first, second, third and fourth course of vaccinations and for deworming.