Help! Just rescued a 4 week old pomeranian puppy (pitbull, bite, clean)
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I need help- just bought a 4 week old puppy- shes a purebred pomeranian. They weaned the puppy 3 days ago at 4 weeks old and according to them they sold the mother. The puppy has been fed kibble in the meantime. She clearly has fleas and it seems like she has worms- her belly feels swollen and she has diarrhea. I'm going to take her to the vet in the morning..hopefully theyre open. What do I do in the meantime? She needs to be bottle-fed, right?
Ooh, I don't know but I would assume so given her age, but do you even have doggy formula on hand? Maybe give her some rice and mashed up boiled chicken with a tablespoon of pumpkin mixed in in the meantime to help settle her tummy.
Who did you buy the puppy from and why would they wean her so early? Poor baby. Keep a sample of her stools to bring to the vet so they can see what worms she's got.
I do have some puppy formula actually so I'm gonna see if I can get some of that into her. I bought her out of a hoarding type of situation. My mom found out about puppies for sale and went to see one and then called me. The house was full of animals running all over the place and garbage and feces everywhere. My mom bought one and I got the other. There was a third puppy that they wouldnt sell. Its sad. Apparently the cops have been there before about it.
one of them is way bigger than the other. Overall both pretty tiny.
Actually, for a 4 week old Pom that first one at least looks pretty big to me. I've had adults that size that were in our rescue and that I owned years ago.
If you've got formula, warm it and mix it with puppy food if you have some and let the puppy food soften. Once it's soft, feed puppy that.
Unless you've got Panacur on hand - and I think only people that are involved in veterinary care, rescue, shelters, etc - keep it on hand, there's nothing you can do about worms. Don't use any over the counter stuff - especially Hartz - for de-worming. The only safe OTC de-wormer I will use is Safe Guard. It's the same active ingredient as Panacur. If we run out of P I will stop and buy the SG as a last resort.
Don't take those puppies ANY WHERE. Their feet should not touch the ground outside of your secure yard. If you don't have a physical boundary fence that no other dog has been in, I'd consider potty pads right now. Based on the condition mom was kept in with those babies, I'd guess she wasn't vetted either, which means those puppies are extremely vulnerable to tons of diseases. A single parvo cell is all it takes to get a puppy sick and kill it in days when they're that old.
You've got a LONG road ahead of you. I hope you've got a lot of experience. Thankfully it's a smaller dog so it's not as big a liability. Find yourself a good trainer if you've not done so already. Taking a puppy from mom that early means it won't have much - if any - bite inhibition. Those puppies have no clue how to be a dog and now they have no one to teach them. They need a trainer that can show you how to take over for mom. They shouldn't have left her for another 6 weeks. Really angers me. As if I needed more reason to hate humans. Gah!!
Last, call your state office, your animal control or humane society, the sheriff's office.............someone and report that. I'm not sure what state you're in, but many of them ban the sale of any dog before it's 6 weeks of age. That hoarder has done a very serious injustice to those puppies and I wouldn't be surprised if only half of them even survive. Sick. Just absolutely sick and appauling.
Thank you for the advice- we have them in a box in our spare bedroom right now. We have three other dogs here- mine and my parents two dogs- so we're keeping them separate. The first one is pretty large (I wonder if they are really pure poms as claimed or a mix) but her belly is super bloated and she has really bad diarrhea. The second one seems really lethargic and is tiny. I need to report them to animal control or something. Its just sad since I know they have been reported before.They had a bunch of cats in there that acted feral and were very thin. Sad situation. We're in New York State.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrs1885
Actually, for a 4 week old Pom that first one at least looks pretty big to me. I've had adults that size that were in our rescue and that I owned years ago.
If you've got formula, warm it and mix it with puppy food if you have some and let the puppy food soften. Once it's soft, feed puppy that.
Unless you've got Panacur on hand - and I think only people that are involved in veterinary care, rescue, shelters, etc - keep it on hand, there's nothing you can do about worms. Don't use any over the counter stuff - especially Hartz - for de-worming. The only safe OTC de-wormer I will use is Safe Guard. It's the same active ingredient as Panacur. If we run out of P I will stop and buy the SG as a last resort.
Don't take those puppies ANY WHERE. Their feet should not touch the ground outside of your secure yard. If you don't have a physical boundary fence that no other dog has been in, I'd consider potty pads right now. Based on the condition mom was kept in with those babies, I'd guess she wasn't vetted either, which means those puppies are extremely vulnerable to tons of diseases. A single parvo cell is all it takes to get a puppy sick and kill it in days when they're that old.
You've got a LONG road ahead of you. I hope you've got a lot of experience. Thankfully it's a smaller dog so it's not as big a liability. Find yourself a good trainer if you've not done so already. Taking a puppy from mom that early means it won't have much - if any - bite inhibition. Those puppies have no clue how to be a dog and now they have no one to teach them. They need a trainer that can show you how to take over for mom. They shouldn't have left her for another 6 weeks. Really angers me. As if I needed more reason to hate humans. Gah!!
Last, call your state office, your animal control or humane society, the sheriff's office.............someone and report that. I'm not sure what state you're in, but many of them ban the sale of any dog before it's 6 weeks of age. That hoarder has done a very serious injustice to those puppies and I wouldn't be surprised if only half of them even survive. Sick. Just absolutely sick and appauling.
Your vet will have a formula to give her, and you will probably need to use a syringe to be certain she gets enough to sustain her growth. She should not have been removed from her litter for at least another ten weeks, so in addition to her physical needs, you will also need to teach her how to be social amongst people, dogs, and other critters.
I am very sorry to learn about the predicament, but I am glad she's found someone as caring as yourself to help her through this time.
Do you guys think that hanging with my pitbull will be sufficient for teaching her to be a dog? Ella has had puppies herself before I got her- provided that she likes the puppy will she help it?
hanging with any dog will be good for her, but right now youve got a few thigns to focus on.
bloated belly and diahrrea (and given the situation) = WORMS. otc stuff is useless and she should eb ok till the 26th BUT your going to need to keep her hydrated, dehydration will quickly kill a puppy that young.
at 4 weeks she shoudl still be feeding from mommy/just starting the weaning process, but youve not got much choice, i personally wouldnt bottle feed her if she will eat otherwise,. instead a good quality kbble soaked in room temp formula should be fine as long as shes got the start of teeth to chew it. you could also wizz it in a blender to make a puppy slush, itll be messy but i wouldnt give her straight dry kibble yet.
a good quality canned food (no corn/byproducts) would also work.
get a digi scale (walmart has some for under $20) and weigh her in oz daily just to make sure shes getting enough...
as i said i dont think its nessicary to bottle/syrnge feed at this point unless she refuses to eat.
feed small and frequent, toy breeds are prone to hypoglycemia, if your heading out anyway pick up a tube of nurtical and take a lok online for symptoms of hypoglycemia.
because its very likely shes got a belly full of parisites keep your other dogs away from their poop and be meticulaous about cleaning up...at least for right now, theres all kinds of risks like parvo and distemper that your ging to be watching for ontop of it all so i dont think quarrenteining for a few days until shes been checked over by a vet is a bad idea.
from the pics, size wise there actually nicely sized and look quite bright eyes (dont look sick) so thats a good sign, you may find there actually closer to 6 weeks when you see the vet, they look quite "developed" for a 4 week old pom facially and coat. thye dont typically "poof" untill closer to the 6 week mark. lol, id say 5-6 weeks with people trying to get more takers saying their younger, but they could also be just well developed from larger parents...your vet should be able to tell you better from the teeth.
in terms of socilization, thats where your biggest work is going to come in, the fact youve got another dog (hopefully dog frinedly) will be a huge help as a human can never be a mommy dog...
lots of interaction (once shes good on shots and have vet clearance) with other dogs, people ect will be your biggest asets.
also start now with bite inhibition training, no teeth should ever be uysed on you or your clothes.
good luck, they are incredibly cute.
oh one last thing, it IS illegal in NY state for anyone to sell or give away puppies under 8 weeks old so PLEASE report these horrible people!
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