1st time boxer owner - 4 week old puppy

[triz]

First time posting on this great site, already found much helpful info for raising my little guy, but I have a few questions and concerns.

Just 2 days ago I "rescued" this little 4 week old boxer runt from being given to a pet shop or shelter due to situations I am not very sure of with the original owner. I heard the mother was neglecting the pup so they gave it away. He is 4 weeks old, about 1 lb, and his first few teeth are barely poking through his gums.

Anyways I am somewhat concerned of any issues that may arise from taking him away from his mother and pups at such an early time. Is there anything I should be aware of or do to help ease this situation? He will hardly ever be left alone and I have another small dog (malteese/pomeranian mix) that can keep him company.

Secondly, this guy is SMALL! Weighs 15 ounces, and is around 1 month old. Should I expect him to stay small as an adult? I am not sure if he is pure breed. From what I read, I hear you can't really judge its adult size from when its a pup, but have any other owners seen a pup this size around 4 weeks old?

Lastly, he has not pooped in the 2 days I have had him. He has been drinking a good amount of goat's milk each day, and seems healthy, but just worried because I have not seen him go yet. Pee's everytime I put him on his pee pad and hardly ever pee's on the floor which I find amazing for a 4 week old pup.

Thanks for your time

Proud Boxer owner,
Triz

 

[TwoDogs]

Take this pup to a vet now! A pup that small can go downhill very fast--especially one that was already being neglected by mom. It really concerns me that he isn't having bowel movements or urinating. By two weeks old, pups should be eliminating on their own, but your pup might still need to be stimulated to deficate. The mom would lick the anus to do so. You can get the same effect by rubbing with a warm damp washcloth. Even if your pup starts to eliminate, he still needs to see a vet. If he is dehydrated, he won't be producing much urine--this is very bad for a small pup.

Some people swear by goat's milk as a substitute, but it doesn't have as high levels of protein and fat that bitch's milk or a commercial puppy formula would have and it is higher in lactose than bitch's milk. At 4 weeks, a normal pup should begin to have a gruel of puppy food and water or formula offered along with the bottle feedings. But you should definitely see a vet to make sure that your pup is getting adequate nutrition for his age, size, and condition and to make sure that he is not suffering from dehydration or some other health condition.

 

[johann]

Please bring him to a vet. If you can't get in to see your regular vet, go to an emergency vet!!

A 4 week old pup can't maintain their body temp and blood sugar well at all. Your vet will be able to help you get him on an appropriate diet to make sure that he gets all the nutrients he needs. Not pooping for 2 days is a BAD thing in a pup this small. It means something isn't working right or he isn't getting enough fluids (most likely).

Any socialization concerns are going to be a moot point if he doesn't get medical attention ASAP.

I hope the little guy is doing better. He's lucky to have a new owner that cares about hiim and will take care of him.

 

[triz]

I actually just got back from my local vet which is a family friend. He said the pup looks and is acting very healthy for his age and small stature. Gave him some deworming medicine and we are taking him back there Thursday for a 2nd dose and more checkups for free.

He has actually been drinking goat's milk ALOT since we got him. We've been bottle feeding him about every 2-3 hours for about a total of 2 to 2.5 oz of milk every day and he seems to love it. We are soon going to start grinding up reccomended puppy hard food and mixing it with some milk and a bit of water and see how he does on that.

He made his first stool this morning actually which was a big relief. We tried that stimulating trick with a warm watered towel a for the past 2 days but it didnt to work for those specific times. He just squatted on his wee pad when I set him on there and went! He's been peeing quite often since I got him, about 7-8 times a day after feedings.

Vet thinks he has a little bit of German Shepard in him which I can somewhat see too, think its a very interesting mix of breed.

Thanks for your responses!

 

[johann]

Sounds like he's doing well.

 

[Darbysmom1]

Mothers Milk

I would say even if he seems to be doing good on goats milk you should really get some of the mother replacement milk it has vitamins things the puppies really need that goats milk simply doesnt have. I even feed it to my bitches that are nursing and mix it into the puppies gruel once they are on that. Just my two cents. So scary a four week old puppy very sad, glad to hear he is going to the bathroom now at least and like someone mentioned before they still can not regulate their body temp so you should also be having him sleep on a heating pad. Good luck.....

 

[triz]

Is there any prefered brand for the mother's replacement milk or anything special to look for?

Right now im using Esbilac Goat's milk for puppies and mixing it with Royal Canine Baby 30 hard food. He seems to love it!

At night we keep him in an open top small box layered with a soft puppy pad on the bottom and he snuggles in with a baby microfiber blanket which he loves to bury himself into.

I have a normal heatpad for humans but will this work for the dog as well? If it will, should I put it under the thick puppy pad or just wrap it in a thing sheet and have him lay directly on it? I'm scared im going to make it too warm for him and not realize it throughout the night.

Thanks for your help, its much appreciated.

 

[triz]

Also forgot to mention I live in South Florida, so temperatures are very warm. We keep the house cooled to about 78 degrees. Not sure if this factor still maters with using a heating pad or not.

 

[dorimama]

Never put the puppy directly on the heating pad as this can lead to overheating and burns. Instead, put a few towels in between him and the heating pad and make sure he has room to move off of it if he gets too hot. Only use it when you're around and only if necessary...you don't want to over heat him, expecially if it's already warm where you live.

It sounds like you're doing a great job with this little guy! Keep us posted!