There could be couple small and weak american bulldog puppies in the litter. Watch them closely if they are smaller then others. Make sure they are able to eat by themselves. If they are make sure they are nursing - the bets way is to put them on the mothers nipple and hold them there until they are full. You have to make sure they are strong enough to actually get milk into their system. I put my little finger in their mouths and compare their strength to bigger puppies in the litter. If I decide they are not strong enough then I start feeding them with eyedropper or a bottle. You have to be really careful with doing that to make sure that they do not ingest milk into their lungs. If this happens they will suddenly die or develop pneumonia. If you notice that the puppy is dehydrated, doesn’t want to nurse or cries constantly there is couple things you should be doing:
- take it away from the litter and place it in the box on the heating pad( I use bottles with hot water or I put rice in ziploc bag and warm it up in a microwave) make sure that the puppy has a cooler space to crawl away to
- give lactated ringers under the skin ( you should make sure you have it on hand before your bitch give birth - you can buy it at the vets)
- give an antibiotic - the most popular is clavamox - but a a powder from your vet before your dog gives birth - you mix it with 14 ml of water and you give 0.17 ml ( this is about one little drop - don’t give to much)
- make sure the room is not to dry - you can wet a towel and put it over a top of the box with a puppy - to make sure it is easier to breath
- handle the puppy often, pick it up and put it on the side
- give a drop of Karo or corn syrup on its tongue
- if it wants to eat feed it with this formula:
goat’s milk ( or evaporated milk + water)
plain yogurt make sure it has lots of fat in it
egg yolk
couple drops of corn syrup or Karo syrup NOT honey
If a puppy is to weak to eat place a drop of a formula on its tongue whenever you have a chance. If you notice that the puppy is twitching, shaking having muscle spasms - place couple drops of Karo Syrup on its tongue.
With a sick puppy you have to act quickly otherwise it is going to die. The recovery is not guaranteed but the chances will increase if you follow the steps that I described above. You will have to devote a lot of time into the sick puppy and monitor it constantly if possible - make sure it is safe and cannot be crushed by its mother. Bitch will let it get chilled and die because she senses that the puppy is weak and or sick. Some females would sit on the sick puppy. If you have to transport the puppy to the vet - make sure you take a heating pad with you and transport it in a box with a towel and a cover on it - no drafts !!!
If a puppy is chilled do not feed it - make sure you warm it up before. You can warm it up by placing on the heating pad or putting in the warm water - up to its neck. Measure the temperature of the water before you put the puppy in it should be around 96 and 98 degrees - make sure you change the water constantly- you will need a helper - the temperature cannot fall lower then 95-94 degrees because it will no longer work as a warm up for the chilled pup.
