Skinny puppies - remedies?

This is the first time I have experienced this, so I am at a loss. I have 4 pups. 2 are fat & sassy, but the other 2 are skinny. They are raised indoors & live together in a big puppy litter box. They all have been wormed. I took a fat one & a skinny one to the vet yesterday & the fecal on both showed 100% clear on both. No worms, no protozoans. Yet one of them still appears to be getting skinnier, so skinny I am alarmed. I feed them separate as we thought the big pups were hogging out the skinny ones. The skinny ones are still eating vigorously & have wonderful energy. They just won't gain weight. Any ideas on why this is or remedies to cure it? I was thinking of making a batch of satin balls up for them.

Opinions? Advice?

Thanks!

 

Post up picks so we can 1) see what you mean by 'skinny' and 2) I wanna see puppy pics pleeeeeeease .

I might have called my friend's current pups skinny if I had seen them years ago, but they are agile, inquisitive and very healthy. Not at all roly poly they way I've seen other pups. I think some just get more of the terrier part than others. JMO

 

Exactly how skinny are they??

 

They are skinny skinny. As in hip bones, shoulder bones & all ribs showing. But I don't get it. I feed them like little horses. I always make sure they have enough food, so much so they rarely finish all the food I put down for them. They waddle away from the food bowl with their tummies stretched like little ticks. I feed them 3x a day - once before I go to work, once when I come home from work in the afternoon (about 3-4 pm) & once before I go to bed. They eat Pedigree canned per vet recommendation.

 

I forgot to ask? How old are they? How do their coats look.

Also, I would switch to Eukanuba puppy, Chicken soup for the puppy lover's soul, or another premium puppy kibble. It can be moistened if they can't tolerate it dry. I think you can even supplement with a little puppy milk replacer added to the food.

Sometimes it is just because they are growing so fast, they don't fatten up. They may when their growth slows a bit.

 

They are about 5-6 weeks. Coats are looking shiny on one, so-so on the other. From birth until now we always had some bigger pups & these 2 who were smaller. But we figured this was due to differences in age b/c we did several breedings & the bigger pups may have actually been a little bit older & more developed than their smaller litter mates.

The vet did recommend adding some kibble to their food, but I've found they just eat around it. I tried putting dry food in there alone & all they do is spill it all over the floor. Moistened dry food is not hit. They prefer the canned, I assume b/c it smells & tastes better. I inquired about adding some milk replacer to their feed & she advised against it, saying at about 5 weeks puppies lose their ability to digest milk well.

While they were nursing they all looked great though.

 

All I can think of is the food is not concentrated enough in calories for their individual needs. They are eating as much as they can hold. I know Eukanuba makes a canned puppy food. Others on the board may know of some better ones or a homemade one.

*Edit*
If you switch, do it gradually so as not to upset their system.

 

Yes, the vet has said this as well. I switched foods to the one she recommended (Pedigree) but one of the pups continues to get skinnier. I although she still runs, jumps, plays & eats well, I am beginning to fear for her. No one in my area carries Dyne or I'd use that. & I don't know of any high calorie suppliments save for satin balls.

 

The vet recommended you to feed them pedigree?? Oh wow, i would change the vet immidietly. Pedigree is one of the worst foods you can give to a dog. So is Eukanuba. Here's a website that can help you with choosing a good quality kibble and canned food: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ (search for foods rated with 4 and more stars).

Puppies that small should eat at least 4-5 times/day.

Um.. Wow, who gave you that advice? Pups don't lose their ability to digest milk, some of them can have diarrhea after cow milk, but you can buy a puppy milk replacement formula or give them goat milk. I would buy a high quality kibble for them, you can mix it or soak it in goat milk or puppy replacement formula, cottage cheese, water, cooked or raw meat, high quality canned food, etc. For shiny coats and adding a bit more weight on them you can give them salmon oil.

I'm raising a litter of foster puppies right now, they are 4 and a half weeks old and they eat all of the above, plus their mom's milk.

Good luck with the little ones

 

could they be dehydrated.? are they drinking water..and if so are they able to hold it in or throwing it up..? hows there stool ( color ,smell ).? is it solid or do they have the mud slide squirts...?

also have you tested them for coccidia.? you mentioned a vet, wat did he diagnose the situation?

if he just said add some kibble you might wanna just try and get them some better feed...

 

just let them grow out of it,they will in time. has the parents been known to throw small pups?

 

Hope they start doing better,good luck with them.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

Mary Jane: Yes, the vet recommended Pedigree. She also recommended a feed them 3x a day. But I will try some cottage cheese to see if that helps. I also have some powdered puppy milk replacer (I bought canned but it had a foul odor, so I threw it out) but haven't used it since she said puppies of that age lose their ability to digest milk.

Big Texas: Yes, they are drinking water & they are holding it down. Their stools are OK - not too hard not too runny. The vet said their fecal looked clear, no parasites.

RR3000: The sire is 50 lbs. He has thrown pups that matured out to be his size, but has also thrown some mid to small dogs (smallest 26 lb c.w. F) & the dam was a smallish dog, about high 30s, low 40s.

EDIT - Forgot to add - Mary Jane you mentioned salmon oil for adding weight. Do you think buying a few cans of mackrel & adding it to their food will help add weight to them? I know one woman who swears by mackrel in her dogs' food.

 

we had a pup similar to that. her siblings were fine but she looked like hell. we gave her goat's milk, danactive, egg yolks, and puppy food. she also drank some pedialyte. she's fine now. good luck w/ your pup.

 

There's a huge difference between a small puppy/runt of the litter and skinny/emaciated pups with hip bones, shoulder bones and all ribs visible. If something won't be done about it those pups can get really weak and die, they won't just grow out of it.

ABK don't listen to your vet's advice, Pedigree is crap, it's like feeding a newborn baby McDonald's food. You will see much better results if you switch them to a higher quality food.

Be careful with canned fish, those usually contain high amounts of salt which is bad for the dog's kidneys, you can give it to them once in a while, but not every day. I recommend you to buy this: http://www.grizzlypetproducts.com/ - you're lucky, you can get it MUCH cheaper than i can here in Europe..

 

i just went through this a few months ago with my litter. i had 2 pups that were not gaining weight and were extremely skinny as you mentioned. my good friend Roe recommended to add raw liver into there food but to first put it in boiling water to release the juices. i offered it to them at first just plain and they ate it up and then i started to add it to their feed separately from the other pups. within 10 days they gained alot of weight and were well on their way to catching up to the others.
this was just something that worked for me recently so i dont know what anyones else's experience with it is or if anyone has tried it before.
good luck

 

Everything i would have said, has already been said except internial parisites.I know you said they did a fecal and it was clear,but sometimes especially with pups they can miss it.I had one i knew had coccida,took him to the vet, no signs of it on the fecal,two days latter took him back and it showed up.If you have access to albon start them on it it will not harm them,even if they dont need it.You can get it from the vet or make some up yourself.I would make it myself and save alot of money and have extra for latter.Here is a link on how to do it yourself.

http://www.game-dog.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25713&highlight=albon

 

I would suggest (Dyne) it is a suppliment for animals and they love the taste due to the vanilla flavoring. Real good brought back a many of animals for me and adds on good solid weight.http://www.revivalanimal.com/store/p/2693-Dyne.aspx?a=yahoo

 

Lots of good advice here already. Sorry to hear about the problem. Try the satin balls. Don't know if they are recommended for pups, so perhaps someone more knowledgeable can add a more informed two cents. However, I know they work wonders on skinny dogs, ao I vote go for it. The Dyne stuff, also good. As for Pedigree not being a good food,...certainly there are choices out there that may be considered "better," however, what works well for one dog does not necessarily work well for another. Some of the best looking, healthiest dogs I ever knew ate pedigree, Ken L biscuit, Ol' Roy,...depends on the dog, depends on the situation. Just use good judgement and your eye,....but you know that already. And just in case worse comes to worse, keep in mind that regardless of what we think nature does know more than we do, and sometimes unpleasant things happen for the best. Just do all you can, care all you can, let the universe handle the rest. You know what you're doing.

 

I actually just went thru this exact same thing out of 9 2 just wouldn't put on any weight, after the vet and wormings I changed their food from the canidae to Chicken soup for the puppy lover's soul, and gave em some time they all blossomed out of it. Their still young give em time to grow. I feed twice a day and they are fat and happy.