Worms in small puppies

Stringer

Well-Known Member
I was begining to worry about one of the puppies in my litter of lab pups. I didnt weigh them when they were born but at 2 weeks this pup was 1/2 the weight of the biggest pup. She has always been noticably smaller and I make an effort, when I can, to make sure she got a turn at the milk bar (12 in the litter so a bit of a acramble at feedind time :lol: The difference with some of the others was not so dramatic.

I wormed them at 2 weeks (hence the reason for weighing) and 2 days later the small pup has gained 100 grams. She weighed 660g previously so this represents a substanstial increase

My question is - even though the bitch was wormed every day from day 40 of pregnancy til 2 days post whelping could the pups still have a high worm burden?

She has always been lively and never showed any signs of being anything other than healthy. Her eyes opened a day or two after the others but in my limited experience this is normal.

All the best

Stephen
 
Hi Stringer,
You don't say what deworming drug you used. None is 100% effective and all pups are born with worms as they are naturally infected when they are developing inside the bitch ( prenatal infection ). Deworm 3, 5,and 8 weeks just before they go. 12 is a massive litter and competition at the milk bar is intense. Just move them around as much as you can so that everyone gets a fair crack. There will be a variation in size. You will soon need to start supplementing their feed as they will knock the bitch's condition. What I advised was to start supplementary feeding in small amounts from about 4 weeks but condition of pups is paramount. I fed my own litters Oatmeal porridge with mince ( in my case a pricket that killed himself on a fence and one a stalker badly shot ) and lots of full cream milk and SA 37 vitamin (Obtainable from Vet, Pet shop or internet ). Gradually reduce the milk and add a little vegetable and fruit, brings them on a treat. 3 meals a day. It is going to cost as labs particularly as pups are always hungry. Bear in mind you are building for the future so don't stint Pass on to new owners their diet regime when they go. Have fun as you will discover how much bloody hard work it is raising pups. As they get older before they are weaned you can actually make them sit at meal times but don' be too strict. The bitch will probably decide when she has had enough Always bear in mind labs are born half trained and spaniels die half trained. If they are working strain try and sell them on to working homes as otherwise they are too lively for a stroll in the park and become a misery to themselves and the new owners.
Good luck any questions pm me
morena
 
Hi morena

Many thanks for your reply

Wormer is Panacur, 10% for bitch and 2.5% for whelps.

Just wondered re worms as the puppy has appeared to pile on weight in the 2/3 days since worming.

Plan to start weaning at around 31/2 weeks of age, on a similar regime that you have outlined possibley using complete puppy food as well.

The parents are both from working lines:

http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5202&highlight=

Cheers Stephen
 
hi

with large litters i have had i usually supplement the bigger pups with a bottle so that the mothers milk which is far better goes to the smaller and / or weaker, during the day i keep the bitch put of the pups for an hour or so to let the milk build up and feed the biggest myself and let the smaller take mums. worming the bitch during pregnancy is no guarantee of no worms in pups (a vet once said it only guaranteed more sales of wormer, draw your own conclusions lol) so i worm just before mating then do the pups at 3 (just before weaning) 5 and 7 weeks. there have been cases of panacur resistant worms but it does cover more types of worm than most of the others so i usually do the first with drontal puppy, the second with panacur 10% and the third with drontal puppy. a pup doesnt have to have a big worm load if its a small pup anyway and isnt getting enough milk. if you have done 2 matings then the smaller pups are usually from eggs fertilised from the later mating and developmentally are a couple of dasy behind their siblings

hope this helps
 
ash243 said:
hi
if you have done 2 matings then the smaller pups are usually from eggs fertilised from the later mating and developmentally are a couple of dasy behind their siblings

hope this helps

Cheers Ash,

I did wonder whether this was possible, thought I was being unscientific. :lol:

In my experience (limited admittedly and not with a litter of this size) once the pups are weaned the small ones catch up quite quickly. just wondered about the worm thing.

Had toyed with the idea of bottle feeding the small ones but your idea probably makes more sense, may give it a go over the weekend.

Thanks again
 
Dont bottle feed them, unless you have the correct curved bottles ,as vets have. ( I ssen many using baby bottles & drowning the pups.) Use a 5ml sterile srynge, & goats milk, drip by drip , for new born. Not forgetting to top & tail after ;) .
 
Hi,
I never worm a bitch in whelp and when the pups are 2 weeks old I used Drontal puppy. Gets the worms out quick instead of the 3 consecutive days you need to worm with Panacur.

I also heard a rumour of a very large well known organisation ditching the worming of all thier bitch's with Panacur whilst in whelp because of issues with pups.

I also agree with the comments re later fertilisation or something that our vet says happens is that the umbilical chord can get trapped leading to a puppy getting less nutrients than the rest and making it smaller.

I also do not bottle feed. Tube feeding is much faster and for a demo see the videos on You Tube and just buy a catheter from the vet.

Best wishes.

Ian
 
try this link http://www.bestpetpharmacy.co.uk/

good and cheap vet stuff for your pups,i use them all the time and are very cheap better than your vets.

try putting them on goats milk instead of cows,more fat content

i dont worm the bitch when i know she is in pup,and the next time is using drontol and then i do the pups and her at the same time
 
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