My 4-week-old Pomeranian puppy is constipated. How to help her poop?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I wouldn’t worry yet at just 36 hours. Some dogs are particular about their pooping habits. As long as she is eating, playful and not straining give her more time. If she can urinate in her own she can poop on her own. You can also call the person you got her from to double check what she did with them. Since you are seeing your vet tomorrow she should be fine. Have a good day!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Constipation can be a huge issue with bottle fed puppies and kittens. I recommend mixing 2 different types of puppy formulas together and adding extra water. Hopefully that will help. She will need to be seen by Friday by a Vet if she still hasn't pooped. Constipation can be a huge issue in puppies this young. I would also recommend early weaning, starting around 4 weeks. Good luck!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I wouldn't worry about the decreased pooping. As long as she is eating, not vomiting and is active it could just be a fluke and she'll go just fine the following day. The weight and size of a dog depends on genetics and breed. Not all dogs weigh the same, so not all puppies weigh 16 kg at 4 months old. I hope this helps!

You can wipe her perianal area with hypoallergenic baby wipes every 2 hours to help stimulate her to poop. Mother dogs generally lick their puppies perianal regions throughout the day to simulate them to pee and poop. A 6 week old puppy generally should still be given puppy milk replacer via a bottle every few hours. Increasing drinking will improve hydration and help facilitate pooping as well. Cake is not recommended for puppies or dogs, and boiled rice and chicken is very easily absorbed compared to puppy chow. Many dogs on just boiled rice and chicken will not poop for 2 days at a time. I recommend adding puppy milk replacer (you can get this from most pet stores) to Gyspy’s daily diet and slowly adding a high quality puppy food (canned and dry) such as Royal Canin medium dog breed puppy chow. Good luck!

No, I wouldn't worry just yet, Karma is going through diet changes and that can affect her poop. I would keep giving her the formula with the crushed puppy food instead of formula as she needs to be weaned. Pooping five times a day is fine! I hope this helps!

It sounds like the smaller puppy may have ‘failure to thrive’. This is especially common with puppies from large litters and not surprising since the mother dog is refusing to feed them. It sounds like the bigger pup is doing great and you don’t need to worry about him at all. You should get a small scale (like a gram scale) so you can weigh the smaller pup everyday to ensure she is gaining weight. It is a little early but you could try to start introducing puppy food her as well. You can mix the canned food with milk replacer or moisten kibble with the milk replacer and see if she prefers this. If she is not eating much it makes sense that she is not pooping as frequently. Continue to stimulate her to defecate several times a day. You should also have the puppies dewormed at this age as well. If the puppy continues to refuse food after trying the above suggestions, you may need to take her to the vet to be examined. Your vet can also instruct you on how to safely syringe feed (or possibly tube feed) the puppy to ensure she is getting proper nutrition. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It could be big if it recently ate. You can also rub the rectal area with a wet cloth to stimulate the puppy to poop. If it really isn’t poopIng at all, then I would be concerned there is a defect preventing the puppy from pooping. If it’s just not going often, continue to stimulate with the wet cloth every 2-3 hours. Good luck and kisses to the pups!