Saving a Puppy: Tube Feeding

In 2005 a dam died giving birth to her pups. All of the pups died but one, however the remaining pup was dying as well. The breeder was unable to save the two-day-old pup on her own. Not wanting to see the pup suffer the same fate as her littermates, she took the pup to the vet. The vet took over with the breeder assisting, but they were not winning, the pup was not doing well. They were bottle feeding her, and her tummy seemed full, but she was fading. Three days had gone by; the pup was five days old. Afraid the pup was going to die at any time, the vet and the breeder decided to call Bev Dorma from MistyTrails Havanese/Mastiffs. They both knew if anyone could save the pup it was Bev and her family.

Realizing the bottle-feeding was leaving the pup with a tummy full of air, they started to tube feed the pup every two hours. Pictured is eleven-year-old Emily inserting the tube into the pup’s throat. Emily was born with her mother's natural gift of caring for puppies.

A puppy needs one cc of fluids for every ounce of body weight every 2.5 to 4 hours.

The tube is carefully inserted, making sure it goes all the way to the stomach, and doesn't stop short in the lungs. It is wise to mark the tube with a Sharpie marker, to know you are in all the way. If you are unsure, tube feed WATER first. (Do not try this if you are inexperienced without consulting your vet.)

And the food is slowly fed.

The pup was weighed daily to ensure it was eating enough and gaining weight. Every two hours this puppy was fed, around the clock. The foster puppy was named Tira.

At five days old, Tira was added to a litter of Havanese puppies. She had tried to nurse, but got mostly air, and could not survive without human help. But what she did get was a foster mom to keep her clean, tend to her needs, and a litter to keep her warm. Whenever possible, with an orphaned puppy, it is great to find a foster mom or wet dam. When Tira was added to this litter, the hope was that the dam would take over. The dam readily accepted her and did everything she could, but Tira couldn't latch on properly for some reason. This photo is of Tira at four weeks old, the litter is 3.5 weeks old. She could nurse, but it would come out of her nose, and go into her lungs. She didn't get much. She could not survive without human help. The same thing happened when we tried to bottle feed her. Even at four weeks old she needed to be tube fed every three hours. She could, however, swallow soaked kibble whole.

We tried to bottle feed her, but she slurped air, so we squeezed the sides of her mouth to the bottle; this helped to limit the air going in. Mostly we had to tube feed her (90% of the time) as she would get milk in her lungs which could have caused pneumonia.

Four weeks passed and the pup was started on small amounts of solid food.

Stan Dorma looks after the tiny pup as he works.

Cleaning the pup after a meal.

Four weeks later, little Tira was thriving.

Today Tira now lives with a very nice family who loves her.

Courtesy of MistyTrails Mastiffs/Havanese

 

 

 

So You Want to Breed Pros and Cons of Inbreeding To Breed or Not To Breed? Whelping Puppies: Breeding age Reproduction: (The Heat Cycle): Signs of Heat Breeding Tie Dog Pregnancy Calendar Pregnancy Guide Prenatal Care Pregnant Dams Full-Term Mucus Plug Whelping Whelping Kit First and Second Stage of Labor Third Stage of Labor Sometimes Things do not go as Planned Dam Almost Dies on Day 6 Whelping Unfortunate Troubles Water (Walrus) Puppies C-Sections C-Section Due to Large Dead Puppy Whelping Puppies: C-section Pictures Dam Day 62 PostPartum Birth to 3 weeks Puppy Nipple Guarding Pups 3 Weeks: Time to start potty training Pups Week 4 Pups Week 5 Pups Week 6 Pups 6 to 7.5 Weeks Pups 8 Weeks Pups 8 to 12 Weeks Whelping Large Breed Dogs Mastitis in Dogs Mastitis In Dogs: A Toy Breed Case Why are Toy Breeds are Harder to Train? Crate Training Showing, Genetics and Breeding Saving a Puppy: Tube Feeding Trying to Save a Fading Dachshund Puppy Whelping Stories: Three Puppies Born Whelping: All puppies do not always survive Whelping Puppies: A Midwoof Call Whelping a Full Term Preemie Whelping Small for Gestational Age Puppy C-Section Due to Uterine Inertia SubQ hydrating a Puppy Whelping a Singleton Premature Litter A Premature Puppy Another Premature Puppy Pregnant Dam Absorbing Fetus Whelping Puppies Congenital Defects Puppy with Umbilical Cord Attached to Foot Puppy Born with Intestines on the Outside Dewclaw Removal Done Wrong Whelping and Working Whelping a Messy Litter of Pups Whelping Puppies Picture Pages

___________________________

___________________________

Home

All Breeds >   Purebreds >   Hybrid Dogs >   Find the Perfect Dog >   Pets >    All Creatures >    Understanding Dog Behavior >   Care Training+ >   Photos >   Submit a Picture >   Free Desktop Wallpaper >   Adopt a Rescue Dog >   List Your Rescue >  Puppies for Sale >  Find a Breeder >   Classifieds >   Place Breeder Ad >   Place a Banner on DBI >   About the Ads >   Breeders vs. Rescues >   Spike the Bulldog >   Maguire Farm >   Scam Warning >   Rescue Login >   Breeder Login >   Privacy Policy >   Link to DBI >   Contact Us >   Site Updates

Advertising

Advertise on DBI >   Advertising Rates >   Advertising Help >   Place a Banner on DBI >   DBI Advertiser Policy >   Media Coverage >   Advertiser Comments >   Classifieds/Breeders >   Place an Ad >   Login

Custom Search

The Material contained herein may not be reproduced without the prior written approval of the author. Contents & Graphics Copyright © Dog Breed Info Center® (C) 1998-. All Rights Reserved. Our work is not Public Domain.