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Tiny Orphaned Baby Animals

This is a collection of things I have learned over the year raising these little animals who other people, including some
veterinarians, told me I should not bother to try. I am a stubborn one when it comes to the animals I always loved, and as a
results have saved a lot of newborn or nearly newborn animals who would have died otherwise. It seems orphaned critters from
birds rabbits and squirrels always found their way to my doorstep even when I was still a child growing up in Ohio. It seemed to
my family anyway, to be a talent I had able to work with and save these babies. Animals do seem to trust me for no apparent
reason, especially injured ones.. Its no real talent really to save one of them. Anyone can do it who has patience, a little time and
a desire to save them. But I have learned one heart braking thing which caused needless suffering to some of the puppies I
tried to save. Some can not be saved or can only be saved to live a short and painful life not worth living. As new animal
formulas come out, it makes it easier to save the life of these tiny animals. But I don't agree with saving animals who have severe
genetic problems like severe cleft pallets or no legs or no eyes or noses that don't work because they were bred to short and
the poor animal has to breath through their mouths. Its bad enough that careless breeding practises have caused these
deformed creatures to be born. But to force them to lead painful lives is an ultimate betrayal to the animals who we have been
entrusted by God to care for. If their lives are going to be pointless and painful let them die in the peaceful way they are meant to.

But this is not the case of my most recent attempt, a puppy who for some reason got shorted the food supply before she was
born and came out extra small , dehydrated, and basically dieing if someone did not help her. She also seems to have gotten
afflicted with a dwarf gene that made her extra small. I am not sure if anyone has an explanation about why some puppies are
born extra small like her. All small dogs are dwarfed versions of the bigger dogs. And its true that some do die within the first 5
years of life while other live a long time. But the time they are here they lead happy lives with loving owners who are willing to do
whatever it takes to see to it they have happy lives. So to me they are worth saving for whatever time we have with them and the
memories they will leave us with. So if you are truly intent on saving the life of that tiny puppy who is struggling to nurse and cant
seem to do it, here are some things I have done that has been very successful. The tiny puppy I referred to will be used as a
subject for a lot of this page. Her name is Lucy.

But first while keeping the puppy (or other animal) warm, take it to the vet to see if there is something wrong that will cause this
particular animal needless suffering if we try to save it.. Because before they get that first bit of nutrition their death will be a
matter of them just slipping into sleep where they wont feel any pain and just never know life. Sad its true. But this is better then
an animal who has a severe problem and feeding them makes them have enough strength only to suffer pain and then spend
the next few days crying in agony before death finally does come anyway. There are so many things that can go wrong from
twisted bowels and heart defects to immature stomachs. You can not save a tiny puppy with these problems. Cleft pallet puppies
can be saved with feeding tubes. But you must consider if your willing to give this animal the care it will need for the rest of its
life. It may never eat normally depending on the severity of the problem. Even if it does it may have to go to the vet throughout
its life to be given anesthesia and have it mouth cleaned as food get stuck in the open hole in its mouth.

I am not looking to be any ones conscience. You know what you are willing to do. Just ask questions and make a decision based
on logic and not emotion. Also find a veterinarian who is sympathetic to your cause. They are not all the same. One who makes
you feel bad about breeding your dogs is not one who is going to understand about your willingness to save the life of this
animal. If your veterinarian is so hard nosed that he cant see your devotion to your animals, then I would find another
veterinarian.

However keep this in mind. Most likely if you do save this life your monetary reward will be zero to less then that. It has to be out
of pure love of this animal that you do this. You will get a reward but money will not be it.

Once you've gone to the vet and were told that this animal has a chance to be saved, then the next step is what and how to feed it. I
strongly believe in prepared vitamin enrich formulas made for animals. My favorite and the one Ive had the fewest problems with
has been Esbilac. You can get it made with cows milk or goats milk. They make it for dogs and cats but I have used the cat formula on
other animals like squirrels and rabbits. Another thing Ive learned is that they will need extra water other then the formula. This will
keep them from being bloated and gassy and hopfully keep dehydration away. If you have well water you may want to get bottled
water for your baby. I use the nursery water made for preparing formula. You can get this at the baby department in any grocery
store. Also keep non flavored pedialyte around. If you cant find non flavored, get the apple flavor. They seem to like that best. Avoid
anything with grapes in it as grapes are toxic to dogs and cats.

Next I do not like those bottles made for small baby animals. Buy a box of 3 cc syringes and some replacement nipples for the small
animals bottle. Most online pet supply stores such as revival, will have these items. But if this an emergency you may have to buy a
bottle just to get the nipple off of it until you can have things sent to you. Your veterinarian may have these things for you to
purchase. The nipples will fit on the end of these 3cc size syringes. The nipples will need to be cut or put holes in it for the milk to
come out of. They don't come ready with holes. I find it easiest to get cuticle scissors and make a criss cross cut across the top of
the nipple.

When you feed your animal you will need to put a little in the animals mouth before they get the hang of it and start nursing. Just be
very careful to squeeze out a drop at a time and make sure the animal is swallowing. Its so easy to drown them. Eventually you will
be able to feel the suction when the baby realizes its being fed and starts nursing.

You will also need some baby wipes. Get the non scented kind. I found these to be the best for wiping the bottom to make them
poop. There is no nice way to put this. There is a lot of bottom wiping that you are going to be doing. The mama dog licks the puppies
bottom to make them go. I have used cotton balls, washcloths old socks and a number of other things friends suggested. But the
best so far is disposable baby wipes. You will probably make their bottom a little raw and you may see some blood. It is normal. Don't
worry but do try to be gentler. To use baby wipes you will want to run them under some warm water to make them warm before
touching the animal. This will also rinse off any chemical which may cause irritation. Wipe gently on the animals genitals and rectom
area until it poops. Be prepared for moments when it cant seem to poop. Don't keep rubbing it for a long time. Just give it some
extra water and try next time.

Warm is important. You must keep the animal warm. It can die simply from being to cold. Get a heating pad and keep it on low. Make
sure the animal has a way to get off the pad if it gets to hot. One that turns off automaticaly in 2 hours is a good one sense you have
to check them every 2 hours for a while anyway. Generally the baby will be able to hold in its own heat around 2 weeks of age.
Before this they can not hold their body heat for long and will depend on an outside source for heat. This is why you will see mama
dogs and cats seldom leave their babies for the first 2 weeks of their lives. Here are some pictures of a few puppies I have raised. I
am currently raising a pekingese chihuahua cross puppy who was dehydrated and only weighed 2 ounces when born. Although she
crawled and strugled to get near near mom for warmth, she did not try to suckle at all. So after taking her to the vet to make sure
she had no serious obvious fault other then being small, I started the hand feeding process.

Lola was born weighing
less then 2 ounces. It
was a struggle keeping
her alive. She lagged
behind in growth and in
her motor skills. But by
the first 3 months she
had caught up nicely.
She grew to a whole 4
pounds and is living
with a family who loves
her dearly.

Rocky is Lolas brother. He weighed less then an ounce when he was
born and things did not look good for him. He had one problem after
another. He was allergic to cows milk and I had to feed him goats milk
formula. At 2 months old he fell through the wires of his cage that I
had sitting on a table to make things easier for me. The fall caused
him to go blind in one eye. I underestimated his small size and
thought he could not fit through the wires of his cage at 2 months
old. He lived in a human baby playpen with mesh sides for the rest of
his first year of life. At 4 months old he came down with a high fever,
It was a mysterious fever with no apparent cause, but he survived
this too, although he lost most of his hair. Rocky is seen here in this
picture at 4 months old ( after he recovered) playing with the only toy
he was strong enough to play with. A paper towel. After the first year
we made a large play area for Rocky complete with tunnels and toys
he could play with. But still his life was not a good one. So when he
was 2 years old a kind lady adopted him. He had a happier life there
with her other dogs she rescued. He weighed less then 2 pound here
at my house. But with her he gained another 6 ounces. Rocky is my
favorite success story. His new veterinarian seems to think Rocky is
a little slow mentally. I agree. Several times as I struggled to raise him
and he struggled to survive, I would attempt to give up hope for him
and let him die. But he would always do something amazing and I
would give hope another chance. The last picture shows Rocky with
his new Mom. He may not be the biggest or smartest dog in the world
but his new Mom loves him and this is what life is all about anyway.
Rocky is a true success story and the hero of his own life.

This first picture was taken after I got her to drink her first bit of formula. She did not feel well due to the dehydration I am sure but I
did manage to get her to take 2 CCs of formula the first time. The vet had just given her subcutaneuos fluid treatment about a half
hour before this. We were all cautiously optimistic. She weighed 2 ounces. Ive raised smaller then this successfully. Only 6 hours
later she improved so much as you can see in the second picture. The right veterinarian can make the difference between success
or failure. That puppy went from looking like death warmed over to a bright pink puppy in only 6 hours. She was still very thin and
would not nurse well.

By day # 2 she had figured out it was better to eat then not eat. She started to grow but very slowly. I decided she is probably one
of the dwarfs I occasionally have who seldom get more then 2 pounds and this is probably what her problem has been all along.

1 week and still not 3 ounces.

December 27th and going into her third week has seen some great advances.
She knows me as her caregiver by sight sound and smell. She has a favorite toy
she sleeps on. Shes up to 9 CCs of food or a combination of 6 CCs formula and 3
CCs of water. There is no signs of her being behind in mental development as
she actually seems to be doing more then her litter mates who are all being
cared for by their mama. Her weight suddenly jumped to 5 ounces. Still quite
small in comparison to the rest of the litter who weighed that much at birth.
You can expect some pretty freekish looking belies on these tiny puppies once
you feed them. They get air in their bellies when they get fed a bottle just like
human babies do. If you listen closely, you will hear little belches. If the belly
does not go down within the next hour, you can start messaging the sides of the
belly and listen for the burp after each feeding. But don't be too alarmed by that
bloated looking belly. Its normal and means she ate well.

Success stories of puppies I raised in the past.

help on how to feed and care for
the tiny baby animal who has only
you to turn to.

6 hours later

About 2 hours after her birth

Sofie was a tiny who I raised but she was a tiny due to some problem she had
with digestion. We new this from the start as she started out normal size 5
ounce chihuahua puppy, but started to decline a few days after birth. I ended
up hand feeding her and she would improve and then decline every time I put
her back with mom. Finally I decided to just hand feed her and not give her
back to her mom. She actually grew to an unbelievable 6 pounds. But it was a
struggle as each day she seem to bring us a new issue. But once she got past 4
moths old her digestion started working normal and she survived to be a
beautiful blue fawn who had puppies of her own. Shes still a picky eater. But
shes alive and spoiled rotten by her new owner. Never give up hope.

Tia was born weighing about 2 ounces.
Most of the puppies were born small but
still bigger then her. Tia just did not get
enough food because the others were
pushing her away. In this case I could give
her a supplement feeding and then put her
back with her mom so she could get mom
to care for her and she would not forget
how to search out her moms natural food.
This worked excellent because Tia
eventually got strong enough that she
could nurse along with her litter mates,
and she did fine. What a gorgeous puppy
she turned out to be. Ive lost track of this
puppy but I am sure shes no more then 3
pounds grown.

Both these dogs were born in my house. But the smaller one on the left is the
one I had to hand feed. She was normal size when she was born but for some
reason she did not grow well. The other puppies grew but she grew only half as
much. Also her head was to big for her body. I thought for sure hydrosephllis
was the cause. But a trip to the veterinarian proved this to be false. But she
was an especially small dwarf. Vet said she would probably always be small and
have a puppy look to her. Well she got a whole 2 pounds. But those big eyes
and that big head does make her look like a puppy. She is in a home where the
family loves her. I think I started hand feeding her when she was about 2 weeks.
So it wasnt too long and mama did most of the cleaning work.

This sweet puppy came from my Yorkshire terriers first litter. She is a chorkie.
She was so small when she was born she barely registered on my scale. Less
then one ounce. Maybe only 1/2 an ounce. I dont think she ever got to 2
pounds. I only needed to supplement this baby. She did nurse from the
beginning. Her mom was such a good mom. She actually separated the tiny
puppies from the bigger ones. I was sure she was rejecting the tiny ones but
she didn't. When she got finished feeding the larger puppies she would move
over to the tiny ones to let them nurse. This was her first litter. Up until this day
I thought yorkies were stupid. Now I know that they are smart but only about
what they want to be smart about. Sort of like cats. Still this puppy was so small I
supplemented her to make sure she got enough. I thought for sure she was
going to die. But she is still alive last I heard. She is being raised in a house
with a little girl and her mom.

By 5 weeks old Lucy can drink out of a baby bottle made
for infants. This one has a smaller nipple on it. I was
looking for the premie nipples but they are very hard to
find. I found these Gerber bottles with the nipples. They
are labeled newborn starter set. I got them at Walmart in
the baby supply section. The nipple on these bottles is a
lot smaller then the other ones on the market. It came in
a package of 3 bottles. She can easily use these. Its
working great. Again, don't waist your money on those
bottles the pet and feed stores sell for baby animals.
They don't work. Maybe if people stop buying them, the
companies will improve them.
If you cant find the premie nipples you can use the
regular nipples just get the ones that are softer. The
Playtex nursers do work well as the puppies can use the
tip of that nipple.
When you start using these bottles your puppy will get
air in the tummy. If you gently massage the back
between the 2 front legs, this will help those air bubbles
come out with little belches.
If all is going well pooping should be less now and she
should be able to go without assitance. Of course this
will mean lots of clean blankets will be needed. I find
baby receiving blankets at yard sales and thrift stores.
These work best.