My 2-day-old runt puppy is weak and won't eat. What can I do to help?

Hello there! I'm sorry to hear about your runty puppy. If the mother won't feed him and you can't get him to nurse, it's unlikely that he's going to survive for very long. Sometimes, small or runty puppies have internal abnormalities that prevent them from being able to nurse properly, and these pups generally don't make it without aggressive care. I highly recommend that you bring this pup in to the vet first thing in the morning for evaluation and treatment - even if that treatment may mean humane euthanasia. Keep him warm and try to feed him warmed milk replacer at least every few hours. If he appears to be very lethargic or is having breathing difficulty, you may need to bring him to an emergency vet tonight. There is a 24-hour hospital near you - here is their information: Animal Emergency

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

Provide additional heat support as needed. Be careful to not cause burns though. You can pick up some Esbilac or Pet-Lac at the local Petco and supplement the runt. Keep track of his weight to confirms adequate gains.

I'm so sorry to hear about your pup. First step is to warm him up. A Heating pad set on low with the cloth cover on will work. Other types of warm packs are ok too as long as there is a towel/cloth between the heat source and the pup. Keep heating until a rectal temp of 99 is achieved. Meanwhile, rub a small amount of white karo syrup or honey on his gums to help with low blood sugar. Between these two things he will hopefully perk up within 10-20 minutes enough to take the bottle/teat. Then feed as often as he cries. DO NOT try to syringe or force food until you are sure he is swallowing well as this can cause pneumonia if he accidentally inhales a little. Side note: I know it's silly, but be sure that you have poked a hole in the nipple of the bottle (many come with no opening which is weird). Sometimes, despite these efforts, a puppy will not respond and you will need to see the emergency vet for IV bloodsugar and fluids, etc. Even then, we sometimes cannot save them and they do pass. Many times these are the runts of the liver or we suspect there is something else going on (born with a congenital organ problem). Hope this helps and best of luck to you and the baby!

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.

If the mom is not producing enough milk then you need to supplement and bottle feed them with a puppy milk replacer. You should also be weighing them daily to monitor their weight gain. If the puppies continue to have problems then they should be examined by a vet to determine the cause.

This one likely has a medical condition that is keeping him from being as strong as the others. The best thing to do is have him evaluated by a vet. There may be something that can be corrected. It's very important for them to have the mother's milk, so the best thing you can do is remove the bigger ones every three hours (day and night) to allow the little one to suckle. You should also get some milk replacer for dogs at the pet store. There is feeding guidelines on the box. Sometimes mom may be dry, so if the pup is suckling for a long time (over 5 minutes), then he's likely not getting enough milk from mom and you should offer the milk replacer. Feeding can be reduced to every four hours when he is four weeks, and transitioning to puppy food can happen at six weeks. I hope that helps and the pup turns-out OK.