Chihuahua Pup Update

Bottle feeding orphans is a tricky business. You have to get the right amount of formula into them so they have enough liquids and nutrition, but at the same time you have to be very careful not to overfeed the pups or let them eat too fast. After we got the pups yesterday, we noticed that a couple of them were badly dehydrated. When the pups are dehydrated they don’t feel well. When they don’t feel well they don’t eat properly. When they don’t eat properly they get more dehydrated. It can be a vicious, fatal cycle.

To combat the dehydration we inject fluid under their skin. We wound up giving fluids to four of the five pups at first. After a few hours only two puppies still needed fluid support. They each got two more subcutaneous injections last night. I’m happy to report that by this morning everyone is stable and we haven’t had to give any fluids today. Four pups have maintained or gained weight. Unfortunately, puppy #5 has lost about 10 grams since yesterday so we’re having to keep a very close watch on him.

The amount of milk replacement formula the puppies need is calculated based on their weight. These puppies weigh about 4 ounces each and need 30 – 35 ml of formula per day. The feedings are scheduled to evenly distribute that amount over a 24-hour period. We’ve settled on 3 hours between feedings during the day and 4 hours at night. That means we only have to get up once at night to feed the pups. There are a total of 7 feedings times each day so each pup needs to drink 5 ml of formula at each feeding. To convert that into measurements that may be more familiar, each pup gets one teaspoon of formula at each feeding and a little over 2 tablespoons per day.

We track progress by weighing the puppies twice a day. We consider them making progress if they gain some weight each day. If the weight stays the same they go on the watch list. A decrease in weight means a serious problem may be developing and we have to give that pup special attention. In another day or two I will begin posting the weight chart at the top of the left column of this blog so you can track their weights with us.