Hi,
BACKGROUND- skip if you just want to know the problem

I found six puppies the day before Christmas eve. It was cold, raining
and they were close to drowning in mud under a gazebo. The mom may have
been around, but after a pulled them out of the mud and held them in a
towel and waited, she still had not returned. Fearing hypothermia I
took them to the Animal Defense League. They gave me some bottles and
formula and told me good luck. 3 1/2 weeks later, I fostered out 4 of
them to another rescue organization (thank goodness- I was going back
to work teaching after the Christmas break and I could not care for all
of them and work. My four year old son also told me he wanted to be a
puppy so I would spend more time with him.)

So, I made the move to a homemade formula, since the commercial stuff
was soooo expensive and they were so constipated I had to take them to
the vet (of course I stimulated them too make them poop and pee). I
also used regular baby bottles left over from my son, the nipples on
the pet ones are terrible. I have been using the homemade formula and
baby bottles since the end of the first week.

THE PROBLEM

For the last couple of days the two I have left seem to have forgotten
how to suck on a bottle. They chew on the bottle and can't seem to
latch on so I change the nipple to one with a bigger hole- then they
take too much and gag. I check the smaller holed nipple to make sure it
is not clogged, offer it again and they drink a little and start biting
and can't seem to latch on. When they do latch on they pull off and/or
turn their heads away.Sometimes when they are really hungry they have
no problem latching on and they suck about 3 ounces down. They have
not lost any weight. They are 3 pounds each. I have been giving them
about 1/2 teaspoon each of Nutrical-worried that they are not getting
enough calories.

They have a mouthful of teeth so I also have been giving them pits of
mushed, boiled chicken and formula mixed together. But this has not
been their main source of calories. They just lick it off my finger and
sometimes lap it out of the flat container I feed them out of. They
only get about 2 tablespoons each of that a day. Can the chicken and
Nutrical make them that full? Are they ready to be weaned? I worry
about fading puppy syndrome, but they are still playing and biting on
each other- so I doubt it is that. Maybe I am feeding them too often
during the day- while on the 3 day weekend I have been offering them a
bottle about every 3-4 hours. They are not hypothermic, they are not
dehydrated, they are still peeing alot and pooping 1 time a day. I keep
them clean and I play and cuddle them a couple of hours a day. Any
ideas?

Towel for orphan puppies $6
Extra bottle nipples because you screwed up on the first ones $5
Heating pad $12
Vet bill for constipation and chilled puppy $85
Supplies for homemade formula $5

Having a fat and happy baby fuzzy-face nuzzle into your neck and fall
asleep- priceless

VCanfield

Hmmm. This must not be a very busy board. Oh well, I will write the
solutions in case someone Googles with the same question. The problem
was the milk coming out too fast. If anyone ever uses cross cut
bottles, sometimes the way the cut on the nipple is turned makes the
formula comes out too fast. So by turning the nipple around in the
collar and adding some baby rice cereal I was able to get the right
consistance. Now they are eating and there is not choking.

vcanfield wrote:
Hi,
BACKGROUND- skip if you just want to know the problem

I found six puppies the day before Christmas eve. It was cold, raining
and they were close to drowning in mud under a gazebo. The mom may have
been around, but after a pulled them out of the mud and held them in a
towel and waited, she still had not returned. Fearing hypothermia I
took them to the Animal Defense League. They gave me some bottles and
formula and told me good luck. 3 1/2 weeks later, I fostered out 4 of
them to another rescue organization (thank goodness- I was going back
to work teaching after the Christmas break and I could not care for all
of them and work. My four year old son also told me he wanted to be a
puppy so I would spend more time with him.)

So, I made the move to a homemade formula, since the commercial stuff
was soooo expensive and they were so constipated I had to take them to
the vet (of course I stimulated them too make them poop and pee). I
also used regular baby bottles left over from my son, the nipples on
the pet ones are terrible. I have been using the homemade formula and
baby bottles since the end of the first week.

THE PROBLEM

For the last couple of days the two I have left seem to have forgotten
how to suck on a bottle. They chew on the bottle and can't seem to
latch on so I change the nipple to one with a bigger hole- then they
take too much and gag. I check the smaller holed nipple to make sure it
is not clogged, offer it again and they drink a little and start biting
and can't seem to latch on. When they do latch on they pull off and/or
turn their heads away.Sometimes when they are really hungry they have
no problem latching on and they suck about 3 ounces down. They have
not lost any weight. They are 3 pounds each. I have been giving them
about 1/2 teaspoon each of Nutrical-worried that they are not getting
enough calories.

They have a mouthful of teeth so I also have been giving them pits of
mushed, boiled chicken and formula mixed together. But this has not
been their main source of calories. They just lick it off my finger and
sometimes lap it out of the flat container I feed them out of. They
only get about 2 tablespoons each of that a day. Can the chicken and
Nutrical make them that full? Are they ready to be weaned? I worry
about fading puppy syndrome, but they are still playing and biting on
each other- so I doubt it is that. Maybe I am feeding them too often
during the day- while on the 3 day weekend I have been offering them a
bottle about every 3-4 hours. They are not hypothermic, they are not
dehydrated, they are still peeing alot and pooping 1 time a day. I keep
them clean and I play and cuddle them a couple of hours a day. Any
ideas?

Towel for orphan puppies $6
Extra bottle nipples because you screwed up on the first ones $5
Heating pad $12
Vet bill for constipation and chilled puppy $85
Supplies for homemade formula $5

Having a fat and happy baby fuzzy-face nuzzle into your neck and fall
asleep- priceless

VCanfield