My puppy is tiny and not gaining weight. Should I give formula?

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.

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!

You can try supplemental feeding with dog milk replacer and keep him warm and next to the mother and others if possible. Sometimes there is an underlying medical problem with the runt and in spite of your best efforts they do not survive. Dogs and other animals have litters with several pups because there is often one or two that don’t live. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Lucky.

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

Yes! You absolutely must booster the runt a bit as it is likely getting much less nutrition than the others in the litter. Mom will neither reject the pup nor will the pup reject mom if you add additional nutritional support. This is very commonly done by breeders with smaller pups.

I am sorry to hear about your concern with Dolly. I am not famliar with the Mastador breed, but if she appears smaller than the other puppies it is possible she could be a runt. In puppies that have poor growth, we also become concerned about health conditions such as liver shunts, which can cause poor growth/weight gain. I would recommend having Dolly examined by a vet to ensure she isn't underweight and that she is a healthy puppy. It could be that one of her parents was smaller and she has taken on the traits of this parent while the other puppies have taken on the traits of the larger parent.

It can be hard to read their minds sometimes! Mom may feel like that individual pup is defective or not hers, hence the reason she keeps pushing it away. However, if the pup seems to be growing adequately, this isn't a concern. You may want to start weighing the puppy daily on a small kitchen scale to monitor its growth to make sure it is getting enough milk. Talk to your vet about how much it should gain per week. Smaller puppies (or "runts") can still grow into heathy adult dogs.