New puppy crying, not latching. Is it normal? How can I help?

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. if the puppies are gaining weight, not crying for food and are passing urine and stools regularly, it means that they are getting enough milk. In some bitches it takes a while to produce milk once the puppies latch on the nipples. When the puppies are about 3 weeks of age, you can start feeding them small amounts of wet food mixed with warm water.

Thanks for using PetCoach. Your little guy needs very frequent feeding (every 2 hours) and is also likely looking for a warm body to snuggle up against. Also don't forget to stimulate him to defecate and urinate before and after every feeding. I've posted some great links to neonatal care below but if you have further questions or concerns, call or head to your vet. Best of luck to you and Travis! https://www.petcoach.co/article/orphaned-puppies-how-to-raise-them/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/newborn-puppy-care/

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that your puppy is not eating well and seems ill. Puppies need to feed approximately ever 2 hours when they are first born; if they don't, they can become dehydrated and also get dangerously low blood sugar levels. If the puppy is not feeding well and seems to not be thriving, I recommend bringing the puppy to your local veterinarian as soon as you can. Puppies can rapidly decompensate and even pass on their own when they aren't thriving. Bottle feeding is not the safest option for feeding puppies, as they can accidentally aspirate the milk into their lungs and develop fatal pneumonia. The safest way to feed newborn puppies is tube feeding, where you pass a feeding tube down into their stomach and directly deliver the food. This should be demonstrated by a veterinarian so you can do it safely. I hope this is helpful!

Puppies usually cry when they are hungry or cold. Make sure she is latching and that mama dog has milk. Also open the puppies mouth and make sure the roof of the mouth looks normal- and no cleft palate. You may need to go buy puppy milk replacer and bottles. Make sure the ambient temperature is high 70s as well. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

At 3 weeks of age, you can actually start introducing wet puppy food. I would wet it down with some puppy milk and put it on a paper plate. This way he can explore the wet food and try some. If your veterinarian evaluated him and say he is physically ok then I would not worry too much that something is wrong. I would just continue with trying to feed him the bottle but also offer and wean him onto the wet food. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on your description, I would recommend having the puppy examined by a veterinarian. He may have a respiratory infection that requires an oral antibiotic for treatment. The sooner you get him seen and treated the better so that the infection has less of a chance to spread through the rest of the litter. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help!

Hi there, and thanks for posting this question. Look in her mouth and make sure the palate is normal. If she has a hole in it (cleft palate) she may not be able to suckle. If it looks normal maybe giver her a few drops of sugar water under her tongue so her glucose levels don’t drop, and keep trying to get her to suckle. Try different teats too, one may be easier for her than the others. You may also want to consider buying a bottle and esbilac to bottle feed her if she won’t suckle Mom. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.