My 12-day-old puppy is sick, not growing, and breathing heavily. What to do?

I'm very sorry this puppy is so sick! Newborn puppies are extremely fragile, and when they are sick, they have to see a vet immediately. She needs medical treatment from a vet right away for her best chance of survival, and I would take her into one now.

Oh no. Breathing issue in a newborn are considered critical. Take a pediatric bulb syringe and suction out the nose and throat area for any residual liquid. I suspect that your puppy may have gotten fluid in the lungs. There could be a congenital defect (i.e. cleft palate) that could have caused this or it could have been accidentally done by aggressive feeding from the mother where milk went down the trachea instead of the esophagus. It is critical to take puppy to your ER vet if he continues to having difficulty breathing after you suction everything out well. He may need oxygen support (if tongue is blue or not oxygenating well) and antibiotics if he is found to have aspiration pneumonia. Constipation is also a concern but doesn't take precedence over the breathing problems. Please get puppy help asap because he is considered to be in critical condition and in need of medical assistance.

This sign could be compatible with an upper respiratory tract inflammation/infection. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm this clinical suspicion and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

These are quite concerning signs and there is the possibility of a foreign body ingestion. An immediate check up is required to confirm this clinical suspicion and treat it appropriately. Antibiotics and x rays may be needed.

I am very concerned that Bogummy is quite sick based on your description. Puppies his age are generally very bouncy and happy, so if he doesn't even want to move and is yelping, I'm very worried he is painful or very ill. The abnormal chest and stomach movements is very concerning too. I would worry that he has something going on like pneumonia if he is having trouble breathing. Really a cold nose doesn't mean anything. The only way to tell if a dog has a fever or not is to take his temperature rectally. Anything over 102.5 is considered a fever. I would recommend you take him to your vet as soon as possible to get checked out. He may need further testing like blood work or x-rays to figure out why is he is acting so abnormal.

I am concerned that she is having such trouble breathing. This could be another pneumonia, an upper respiratory infection, a fungal infection, a congenital heart problem and much more. If your vet has already done X-rays and they were normal, you may want to talk to them about having an ultrasound of the heart done. Also, I would have her blood work checked to see how her liver and kidney values are and see what her white blood count looks like. Finally, I would talk to your vet about whether see needs some antibiotics and medicine to help her breathing. I hope this helps and she starts to feel better soon.

It sounds like Cubbie is really sick. Breathing fast can be due to a fever (due to infection), an injury, pain or even a problem in the lungs. Any any of those problems can cause a puppy to not eat well and not feel well. Anytime a small puppy is not eating normally, they need medical attention right away. Small puppies can become very sick very quickly because they cannot regulate their blood sugar or temperature normally. I think Cubbie needs to see a vet right away to figure out what is going on and how to treat it. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Cubbie feels better soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach..