Neonatal pups

I have a litter of 9 indoors. They were ALL thriving until the past 2 days. I've noticed that the bitch now wants to spend less time with the pups as she sits outside the pen often instead of being inside with them. While that is not a huge concern at the moment, it doesn't place much confidence in me about her mama skills for these next 2 crucial weeks. Her teats look good, not hard or hot. I had her on TMZ for 10 days for preventative mastitis and coccidia. The temperature inside is 80-90 (SoCal is 85-90 outdoors at the moment).

I am not too worried about the pups not nursing enough. Pups are 12 days old and growing with the exception of yesterday when I weighed them all, a majority of them had gained only 0-1 oz. Up to that point they were all gaining at least 2-4 oz daily. Can I bottle feed this early or should I still be tube feeding? (I plan to supplement if the weight gain plateaus again).

My main concern is that I have one male that is constantly crying and roaming the pen. Prior to those nights I've noticed him nursing hard and fighting healthily for his place near the nipple. These past few days he has been crying non stop especially at the late hours of the night. I've witnessed him nursing solidly when he's not crying though in the morning and when I first get home from work. So I tried to place him next to a nipple when he's crying and he doesn't nurse but crawls away and continues crying. The only thing that seemed to help is when I pick him up and massage him but as soon as he goes back down he's crying again. He feels slightly hot and has a big tummy (as do the others but not quite as big as his). Any idea what might be going on?

Another concern of mine is that I have not seen the pups defecate since the first 2 days. What should I look out for in terms of bad signs? I have tried stimulating their anal area with warm cloth but have yet to see any poop. I'm gone for work from 9-9 most days so I am not clear if the momma is stimulating them enough although I do notice urination color on the whelp pad/blankets. Should I use an enema and how so?

Sounds like you're doing everything right ... problem is, sometimes TMZ isn't the answer, and Clavamox will work.

Had a case of mastitis last year, where I went through the same steps as you, but then went to the vet to get clavamox. Sometimes that just works where TMZ does not.

There is also a condition called "Fading Puppy Syndrome" that I hope you don't have.

Jack

PS: Yes, you can use a damp Q-tip to rub/stimulate elimination.

You are right to be worried, as crying, restless pups = uncomfortable/sick pups.

Fat, sleepy pups are what you want.

How would you administer clavamox? and at what dosages?

I don't have any at the moment but I do have some Amoxicillin. Will this work as a substitute? I am 95% confident my bitch does not have mastitis though. Her milk looks normal: No blood, foul smell, weird discharge or odd color. The teats are dropping but are soft and warm but not hot.

The pup survived the past few nights, seemed to respond after I rubbed him a bit, but it takes me 3-5 attempts every hour apart to finally get a good 3 hrs of undisturbed sleep.

Clavamox is potentiated amoxicillin, so I get mine at the vet in a pinch (if I don't have some onhand).

Drops are generally for pups, while adults take tablets. 6.25 mg/lb is the dosage.

Jack

Would you recommend I mix the amoxcillin with the replacement milk at that dosage?

What could I do to help fading puppies and is it contagious?

It sounds like you have a pretty healthy litter. You likely aren't seeing signs of elimination because the mother is stimulating them and cleaning up after them, as she should be. Normally fading puppies are cold and listless, not restless and whining. Most common reasons for puppies to cry a lot is because they are either hungry (not getting enough milk) or uncomfortable (too hot or too cold.) If you feel like he's running a fever, I've given puppies infant tylenol drops before with no issues. Literally just a drop though. Personally, I wouldn't administer any antibiotics to any puppies without being sure that there is a problem, and then knowing for sure what that problem is. Nine puppies is a large litter, so if he continues to act poorly, it may just be that the mom isn't getting around to giving him as much attention as the others, and some extra milk/stimulation may be all that he needs.