A Dachshund puppy survives: the care of a dwarf named "tiny"

There is nothing that touches your heart more than seeing the youngest of a litter trying to survive with “the bigger guys”. Compassion for the little ones and the weak seems to be a very real and innate human emotion in all of us. -But empathy alone will not warm or nurture the pup. If the pup wants to survive, his love, action and commitment can get him through. Do not give up! Even when the vet recommends giving it up, tender loving care can often accomplish what modern veterinary medicine cannot. Watch for signs if the mother is rejecting the puppy and take action. Provide 24/7 support for the first few days. Provide comfort when the mother does not. Finally, provide food in addition to breast milk. Rest assured it can be done! We know. Raising our Dwarf Dachshund was a blessing for us as we learned how to care for the puppy we named Itty Bitty.

The first sign that Gwenny, our female Dachshund, was rejecting a puppy was when she completely ignored him after the other puppies were born. She knew something was wrong with him and focused her attention on the healthy pups. As soon as her Gwenny was strong enough, she picked Itty Bitty up and put him out of the whelping box. How emotional that was, hearing him scream and then finding him alone and shivering on the cold tile floor. We took our midget to the vet that morning and the prognosis was not good. He had an irregular heartbeat and, the vet surmised, a liver problem. He gave him two days to live. That’s when we said a prayer and jumped into action by following these steps:

1. Provide 24/7 support for the first few days: The night Itty Bitty was born, I pulled an old camping cot and my sleeping bag out of storage and set up a nursing station right next to the whelping box. When Gwenny took Itty out of the box, she gently picked him up and put him back in the box with Gwenny and the other puppies. The bond between the pups and the mother at this point is very, very critical, so you don’t want to completely remove the pup if you can help it. He wants the pup to bond with the mother, too, despite her rejection.

has. Set your alarm to go off every two hours for the first night or two. Control the puppies. Doing this together as a family can be a very rewarding time that will provide a lasting memory.

b. If you need to sleep, have one or two helpers; set a time for everyone to take a turn.

2. Provide comfort when the mother doesn’t: Don’t miss an opportunity to comfort the puppy. In those moments when Gwenny was taking the puppy out of the whelping box, she would wrap Itty Bitty in a soft, dry towel and comfort him. She would caress him and talk to him very softly. Amazingly, just like a human baby, she responded to comfort and my voice. This started a strong bond between me and the pup that Itty Bitty and I have to this day.

has. During the day, she found Itty Bitty alone in a corner of the whelping box. Gwenny’s attention was entirely on the healthy pups. She would wrap the towel around it and hold it against my chest while she watched TV. Puppies love body heat! Your warmth warms and comforts them. It will not be unusual for the mother to become concerned and want the puppy back in the crate, even if she rejects it again. Her rejection doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about her pup. She is trying to tell you that she doesn’t know how to fix what is wrong.

3. Provide food in addition to mother’s milk: You will notice right away that your pup is not getting his share of mother’s milk. The others are getting stronger and he is too weak to “fight” for his part. However, it is very, very important that you regularly move the other puppies away (like to the other end of the crate, or even another crate) and let the little one nurse on his own. Even if the mother tries to move away from her, hold her gently and ask her to be still in a soft voice (being loud or firm with her will not only annoy her, but the dwarf will notice too). The pup MUST have access to some of his mother’s milk. There are life-protective antibodies in his milk that will help the pup fight off disease.

has. Next, buy some puppy milk replacer. I like the powder version that you mix with water. You will want to have an eye dropper or syringe to feed the newborn puppy, depending on the size of the puppies. For Itty Bitty, I found puppy formula and a small syringe-like applicator at the local pet store.

b. Heat the milk by adding warm tap water to the mixture. Refrigerate milk between meals. Cold milk can be warmed by placing it in a small container and placing that container in a larger bowl or container that is filled with hot tap water. DO NOT PUT MILK OR WATER IN THE MICROWAVE! This will heat the milk so much that it will burn the puppy.

Cons Set feeding intervals of two hours at first, then increase to four as the dwarf gets stronger. When you can, move from the small applicator to a syringe, then to a puppy bottle (you can also get these at the pet store).

d. The puppy may not suck on the syringe at first. Simply place a small amount at a time in your mouth. Be careful not to put in so much that you choke. The milk will slowly let down.

me. As the puppy gets the idea, in a day or two, he will notice that he will begin to suck milk directly from the syringe.

F. As the pups get older and you switch them to rice cereal, make sure the dwarf continues to get his share, including nursing from his mother.

Keep in mind that sometimes puppies may not make it because they are, in fact, too sick; but also know that, at the time of this writing, Itty Bitty is now twenty months old and is starring in her own children’s book (“Itty Bitty Saves the Day”)! If my wife and I had not worked hard to save our Itty Bitty, we would have denied ourselves the blessing that he has become in our lives. The way she runs in to say “good morning” to MaryAnn every day, the way she runs around the house on her “happy feet,” the way she climbs up my leg when I’m on the couch and onto my shoulder, and the way he loves us unconditionally; We would have missed that! Fortunately, tender care, commitment, and love were the right recipes for Itty Bitty, the runt of the litter.