One week old pup not gaining weight

[Skeeter41]

I have a new litter of 7 on the ground this past Friday. They are all growing like weeds, except for one of them. 5 of the pups are around 16 ounces, one of them is 19 ounces and then we have runty that is 8 ounces.

I have been feeding him as often as possible. Normally this is 3 times a day, once before work, once when I get home and then another time before bed. I have been feeding him store bought milk replacer. On a normal feeding he will eat around 7 cc's of replacer.

The thing is that he is the most active pup of the whole bunch, the rest lay around and sleep while he is climbing over top of them, underneath of them and constantly around the box. On Monday he weighed 6 oz, Tues 6.5, wed 7.5, Thurs 7.5, this morning 7.

Any suggestions on what to do?

Also, how soon does Momma go back on her hard dog food? She refuses to eat the hard food, but will eat it if I moisten it and mix it with some hamburg and rice.

[Newt]

Have you checked him for a cleft palate? It prevents them from sucking efficiently.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2&aid=1498

[Laneline]

I have a new litter of 7 on the ground this past Friday. They are all growing like weeds, except for one of them. Any suggestions on what to do?

Also, how soon does Momma go back on her hard dog food? She refuses to eat the hard food, but will eat it if I moisten it and mix it with some hamburg and rice.

I would set aside the other pups and let the runt have at it’s momma alone for a while. I would do this everyday {15 min} once or twice, for about a week.

I would keep a 24 hr feeder with hard food all the time for the duration of the nursing {for the first four weeks}, but I would also feed her soft food once a day.

I like the runt, they seem to always have a personality of their own with lots of “grit”.