2 week old puppy won't nurse.

Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry to hear that this pup is possibly not doing well.

It is often hard to know why one pup is not doing as well as they should.

I would highly advise having your vet take a look at this pup to see if they can determine what is going on.

It's possible he has an infection somewhere and if that is the case then the vet can prescribe antibiotics in order to help.

Can you see if there is a large space on the roof of his mouth? If so, this is a cleft palate and it will interfere with his ability to take in food. It can sometimes be fixed with surgery.

It is also possible that there is a congenital problem. In other words he may have been born with an internal defect of some sort. Unfortunately most of the time when this happens there is not much we can do.

And then there are some pups that are just slow starters.

Is he gaining weight? If he continues to gain weight then this is a good sign. But if not then I am more concerned.

I hope he is ok!

Dr. Marie.

---This question was asked in our Ask A Vet For Free section.---


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