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Help Requested With a Tiny Puppy

R

Ruby2011

Member
Hi Guys,
I am new here but could you please help & advise me. This past Sunday I became the mum of a 10 week Cavalier named Ruby. The problem is she is very small & skinny. I am hoping you more experience Cavalier lovers can advise me on how to build this little darling up???Ive heard about Satin Balls but because she is only 10 weeks I think she is too young to eat these...Maybe???
She was the runt of the litter & shows visible signs of this but she is very active & happy out. She just appears skinny & frail & her coat is not the best either. She is currently eating Kasco nuts (which she was eating before I recieved her) & I have been mixing them with soup to boost the protein.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Ruby 2011
 
icon_welcomeHi there and you're very welcome to Cavaliertalk! I'm not sure if you got the chance to look at the site, but there is a section in the Health and Diet that may be of help to you. You can find it by clicking here: http://www.cavaliertalk.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?43-General-cavalier-health-and-diet-forum

Don't worry about if she is a bit skinny, my Belle was the same way and now she's 'pleasantly plump', which is a bigger worry than being skinny. Have you wormed your puppy yet? Puppies need to be wormed, that may cause her to be a bit thin. Just keep giving her the food at regular meal times. I am sure someone else with more advice will come along shortly. Good Luck!
 
Thanks Desrae, I have not really had the chance to look around the site for help. Yes she was wormed on Sunday before I picked her up.Thanks Again:D:D
 
I wouldn't worry too much at this stage.If she's eating what you place in front of her and is lively and playful and behaving normally,then it may be just a matter of time.Maybe try her with a little scrambled egg as a treat?
If you haven't done so already,I'd book a check up with the vet and have her given an initial check up and schedule vaccine appointments.It's best to use only veterinary wormers as opposed to supermarket ones.
The vet can give you assurance that you have a normal thriving puppy.
Sometimes a leggy cavalier can appear thinner,it depends on their build really.You see some skinny framed puppies and other plump chunky ones.
My first cavalier didn't really fill out until after her first season at 8 months, goodness,she was always so scrawny but turned out well in the end!
Welcome to the forum and feel free to post some photos,we adore new puppy pics.
Sins
 
Thanks Sins,
I spoke to my vet today & he advised putting her on Mother & Puppy food to help build her up a bit. She already has her first vacine but he told me today to hold off giving her the second for another 3 to 4 weeks, just to keep her indoors & she will be fine until then. I dont mind doing that at all. He believes that giving her the booster vacine now when she is so thin could do her more harm than good, that her poor little body may not be strong enough for it.
Im sure in a few more weeks I wll be putting her on a diet, this puppy can eat for Ireland haha...

Thanks for all your good advice.

Ruby2011
 
I've moved this thread as it was originally posted into the section on questions about how the board works.

On the vaccines -- Your vet will have to start her entire puppy series again I think -- you cannot wait a month+ between core vaccines so will guess the series will begin again. Til then be sure as your vet rightly advises, not to take her outside on walks and be very careful about exposing her to other dogs indoors as well as they can track in distemper and parvo. (y) If she can meet some other dogs this would be helpful as otherwise she will miss a critical phase of socialisation.

It is frustrating when breeders home puppies that are not robust and healthy (she should not have been homed in a state where she was so skinny that a vet would be concerned about giving routine boosters) but sadly that is often the case particularly in Ireland where health is almost an unknown concern for 99% of breeders and the country remains the puppy farm capitol of Europe. :x

I hope she quickly gains weight and gets safely on her way. :flwr:
 
Karlin said:
.

It is frustrating when breeders home puppies that are not robust and healthy (she should not have been homed in a state where she was so skinny that a vet would be concerned about giving routine boosters) but sadly that is often the case particularly in Ireland where health is almost an unknown concern for 99% of breeders and the country remains the puppy farm capitol of Europe. :x

I hope she quickly gains weight and gets safely on her way. :flwr:
Click to expand...

Hi Karlin,

I have to say I am offended by your comment. I would never have any dealings with a puppy farm in Ireland or anywhere else on the planet.

I chose to take Ruby on to give her a good shot at life. All I asked for was advice on how to build her up. Ruby was breed by a friend of mine who sat under her day & night when it became obivious that she was being neglected by the mum & litter. My friend feed this poor little might so that she would survive. Ruby was then passed on to me knowing I would give her the extra attention that she required. There was no money exchanged, just one loving home to another loving home.

If the vaccines need to start all over again then that is how it is to be. I will do what I & my vet think are the best options for Ruby.

UPDATE: Ruby is filling out nicely. Her spine is no longer as visible as it was last Sunday when she came home for the first time. Her coat is starting to shine & grow. She is well able to run & play now. Its amazing how far she has come in a short week.

Thanks for all your advise on helping to give this poor little might the best chance for a great life

Ruby2011
 
Hi Ruby.


I am so glad that your pup is now doing so well after only a week with you. Many years ago I took on a little rescue pup who weighed half of what would be expected of a pup at 12 weeks, but who thrived once the vet and I worked out what her special needs were and put her on a good diet. She repaid me a thousand times over by living to 15 years and bearing 4 litters of beautiful pups.

These underweight pups deserve every bit of love and extra attention we can lavish on them and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the work you are putting in now. Well done. We will all look forward to pictures to record puppy's progress over these next important months.:)
 
Hi Flo
Thank you or the warm words of encouragmet but theres no thanks neccessary. Ruby is a beautiful little thing & Im 100% positive that she will turn into a fab dog.
I have to say that the mother & puppy nuts appear to be doing most of the work :D I am feeding her as much as she wants at the moment.

My Basset Hound Daisy has adopted her asone of her own & I think that has helped in a big way also.

I knit her a little blanket with sleeves on Friday so she is warm & has stopped shriverng/ I am not a person that puts clothes on a dog (barr a rain jacket while walking in the rain but thats so there is no smell of wet doggy in the house haha) but shes so small that I had to do something to keep her warm. I guess because shes so thin she feels the cold that little bit more.

I will be posting a picture of little Ruby soon

Thanks
Ruby2011
 
Bless you for taking on this tiny little one. Sounds like she will have a wonderful home. Looking forward to seeing pictures.
 
Hi All

Off to the vet again this afternoon... Poor little girl has blood & mucas in her stools, hopefully nothing serious... Ive been told it may just be tape worm....

Fingers crossed that she may now be strong enough to give her the second round of vaccines. :eek:
 
Oh no...I will be thinking of you!!! Please give us an update when you get back from the vet.
Hugs to little Ruby.
 
You are a sweetheart to do this!!

She may have picked up colitis from ingesting something she shouldn't... Gracie was a professional at that when she was a puppy. Keep us posted. We ran across a young female Cavalier a few months ago that was the only survivor of a bad birth... she was VERY tiny and was handfed for WEEKS! We actually inquired about taking her but the breeder fell in love with "Bitsy" and could not part with her. She had a bent leg that will need some surgery later on but she could get around faster than Gracie!!

I do think you point out how important it is for us not to leap to conclusions about people's circumstances here on the board. Easy to get jaded from the many stories of bad breeding situations.

I will be rooting for Ruby and for you.
 
Saying a prayer for your little girl. If love could heal, I am sure she will get well, as it's obvious how much you adore her.

Let us know the moment you know anything.
 
Good news

Hi All
Took Ruby to the vet yesterday as I said I would. The vet very pleased with the way she is coming along. As Karlin predicted the vacinatines have to be started again so she was given her first round again yesterday with the booster to follow mid October :jmp2:


The vet believes she has a burst capillary in her bum & thats where the blood is coming from... He figures that the Mum & Puppy food is probably a bit strong for her little system & she may have got constipated from it & burst a capillary (Sorry but there really is not a nice way to explain this). However he feels for the time being we should keep her on the mum & puppy just to build her up a bit more.


Poor little might yelped something terrible when she was vacinated & when I picked her up to sit on the sofa last night she yelped again... She was really sore but is back to hr normal bouncy self today haha


So at last little Ruby appears to be turning a corner & coming along at last....


Thank you all again for your messages of support for Ruby... You are all so kind :)
 
Graciesmom

Your right we do jump to conclusions... With soooo many horror storys about breeders & bad handlers out there.... But have we noticed, we never hear the good storys???? We just forget that there are responsible breeders out there & there are genuine dog lovers out there too...Just like all of us...

But hey, maybe its time we broke the mould & share the good doggie storys we hear & let Karma or God orThe Universe or whoever deal with the bad ones....

Ruby2011:cool:
 
More celebrating of good news would be great

We do need more good news so that we do not lose heart and feel it is hopeless! I was so thrilled to find a great breeder who has been doing four generations of MRI scans as well as the other vital health tests. This should be celebrated!! She has had four generations of breeding dogs without CM!!! I would like to give her some kind of award that everyone in the world would know about... as a way to show that it CAN be done. Then maybe others would follow in her footsteps. I do salute those pressing hard for more health testing and making more of them mandatory, but in the meantime, we can't forget all the good people out there doing their best.

Hope that wee Ruby is on the mend soon!!

Ruby2011 said:
Graciesmom

Your right we do jump to conclusions... With soooo many horror storys about breeders & bad handlers out there.... But have we noticed, we never hear the good storys???? We just forget that there are responsible breeders out there & there are genuine dog lovers out there too...Just like all of us...

But hey, maybe its time we broke the mould & share the good doggie storys we hear & let Karma or God orThe Universe or whoever deal with the bad ones....

Ruby2011:cool:
Click to expand...
 
Oh, I'm anxious to hear more about your little button. And maybe a picture, she sounds like a dolly. Claire cried at one of her vaccinations and was sore the first day, but was like your Ruby, and back to herself within a day. I think the tiny ones feel it more.

Do keep us up on how she is doing,
 
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Hi All

I have put a few pictures up on my profile so yee can ave a look at my little baby. Sorry it took so long but it was hard to get her to stay still to take the pics, she really is full of life these days, thank god...

I guess she is coming along great as I had to loosen her collar last night. Fingers crossed it continues.

Thanks again for all your warm wishes & helpful advise.

Yee are all heros to me & Ruby
 
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