Hi! I just read your post and I have been in the same condition with a starving dog.Last year the dog warden caught a pair of chi's ,one at a time, and I took them in for foster. The first one was caught within a few days of being discarded and was the easier of the two. By the time he found Priscilla Louise she had been running the cold streets of Ohio for a week or so. She was about two pounds when I took her in. She was sickly, and very under weight and wormy. We treated everything we could. She had no desire to eat or drink. I bought he RX food from the vet and she didn't eat it. I bought Lil' Champs and she ate a little for the first few feedings, then stopped. I would try new stuff every other day. Finally she started eating chicken,. Not very much but some. I added a tad of rice and some gravy and she did okay with that. I used an eyedropper to hydrate her and she did well with that. I gave her pure pumpkin to aid on the lose stools and a little cottage cheese to keep her full.
Priscilla just couldn't get better no matter what we did. I had her bad teeth pulled, she was treated for several variety of worms, dehydration, and toxcidia. She was kept on a heated pad to keep her warm and compy and given all the love I could muster. She died in December and my heart was broken. But I know I did all I could to save her. It sounds like your little one is healthier than Prissy was. If she was too bad the vet would have recommended hospitalization and put her on an IV. The vet must feel her recovery is good. So I would just keep trying to coax her into eating and use a medicine dropper for water or formula. There are a lot of calories in replacement formula and that will help. The puppies are most likely stripping her calories from her and that will make her look ragged. Are you fostering for a rescue? If so they should be helping you with her care. They should educate you on her care and suggest things that will help you. Talk to them and express your concerns. I am sure if you work together you will be able to delivery healthy puppies to a healthy momma. Carol and Crew On Sun, Jan 30, 2011 at 10:17 PM, marlybar5167 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I could use some help! I was given a chihuahua to foster 5 days ago. Here's > the background------first,I have had larger breed dogs all my life, > bulldogs,rhodesian ridgeback/boxer mix, never a small one. This little one > was rescued from an elderly lady who had a houseful of chi's, interbreeding > etc, who was unable to care for them any longer. She was in shelter for > probably at least 5 days,know absolutely nothing about this little girl > other than the circumstance above and that she is pregnant. The vet > estimates she is around one year old and 1 month preggers.The shelter was > sure she was bred with another chi, thank God! Heres the tough part. She is > very malnourished. She weighed 3.3 lbs when taken to vet. He said she was > healthy except for bad tartar problem and being so underweight--no > worms,heartworm,respiratory probs etc. Her belly is huge. She is skin and > bone and huge belly. I am having a rough time getting her to eat. Vet > recommended puppy chow and pedigree wet-little champions. Well she won't eat > on her own. I actually have to hand feed her, and she won;t touch dry food,i > even put in blender and made it into a fine meal,tried with broth, everyway. > She hardly touches the pedigree wet unless i hand feed her tiny specks of > it. I have cooked liver, ground turkey,ground beef,ribeye, and she will eat > about a teaspoon worth at a time if its fed to her by hand and wont touch > any grains, I made some brown rice, tried sticking a single grain in with > her meat, no go. She does like yogurt and vanilla ice cream, give her about > a teaspoon or two a day, all she will eat. I have been feeding her about a > teasp. or two every couple of hours. Besides her eating problem she is very > skittish. She has finally warmed up some, but is fearful of anything new. > She doesn't know how to play, she stays in her doggie bed most all of the > time, but is very sweet, no snapping or barking. Vet gave us vitatabs liquid > vitamins,supposed to give 2 cc's twice daily. I am lucky to get 2 cc's for > the whole day,put a tiny amount in the food i am feeding her each time. I am > scared to death that she won't make it through this pregnancy. At this point > I am not concerned so much with the baby/s I just want her to make it > through. Its been a long time since we've whelped any pups, and this one is > an extremely precarious one. I guess What I need to know is what is the > ideal amount of food she should be eating? I don't know if she is eating > enough.I offer it to her often every hour or two, but not sure. She is just > so malnourished,you can see her whole skeleton. I am on pins and needles > here trying to bring this tiny girl through. Any help on feeding tips/help > would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! > > > -- *Carol* *Muchacha, Bella Rose, Chibbie, Blue, Cooper, Ruth Anne, Gracie, * *ChiChi, Granny and Holly Noel*
