weight loss | Dangerous Common Sense

Day 5 – The Tale of Two Puppies Continues

By Galen|2018-09-28T09:16:28-07:00September 28, 2018|dachshunds|

Our puppies continue their divergent paths. Metro did only okay overnight, the hospital said. He started losing weight, so they put him back on tube feeding for a while. He is also being bottle fed. His weight went from 139g yesterday night, down to some unspecified level overnight, and back to 136g this morning. The doctor said that they might want us to bring Zenith and MUNI over to Metro sometime today to see if chewing on Mom will help him. The doctor said that all Metro's vitals... except for eating and weight... are fine. Heart, lungs, and a few [...]

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Day 4 — There’s Something to Be Said for Stability

By Galen|2018-09-28T09:44:22-07:00September 27, 2018|dachshunds|

The ER vets just called. Metro has drunk his last two meals from a bottle! But, he is still having trouble staying warm. So, he's staying there tonight. Next scheduled update, tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, MUNI (remember her) has been snacking, smacking, and sleeping all day. She looks good. MUNI on Day 4 By Herself Zenith had an actual full meal at lunch for the first time since the C-Section. She also pooped and peed to make me happy. Zenith has gotten agitated at times, nesting/digging at the towels on the whelping box floor. She also has walked oddly [...]

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Day 4 — Struggling to Thrive

By Galen|2018-10-01T18:56:32-07:00September 27, 2018|dachshunds|

Metro is in the incubator at the emergency room where we brought him at in the middle of the night. When we fed him yesterday afternoon, we hoped he had turned the corner. He sucked from the bottle, and the amount of fluid our vet calculated that he drank sounded good. Unfortunately, the feedings at 6:30, 10, and 1 am had him eating very little. He kept losing weight, getting down to 4.97 ounces at 3 am from 5.39 ounces at 9 in the morning. He was born at 6.31 ounces... losing weight the first day is normal, and he [...]

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Day 3 — Intervention

By Galen|2018-10-01T18:57:43-07:00September 26, 2018|dachshunds|

Geoffrey Blowing on Metro to Keep Him Warm Prior to Feeding At the instructions of our regular vet, we went out and bought puppy nipples and bottles from Petco after her 10:30 visit. The formula Dr. Cain recommends was fine, but the delivery mechanisms we'd acquired were too large for dachshund puppies! Our SF vet, Dr. Jill Chase, returned to our house at 2:30 to help us give Metro his first bottle feeding. One part formula, two parts warm water, stir, mix, put in the bottle and feed. Pretty straight forward... unless you've never done it before, the [...]

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Day 3 — Eat! Please!!

By Galen|2018-10-01T18:58:27-07:00September 26, 2018|dachshunds|

MUNI, the girl seen here on the left, is gaining weight. The boy is losing weight and not staying well latched on. The Midday Report today has to focus on getting nourishment to the boy. The first week of their lives puppies aren't very interesting, anyway. They eat and sleep. They crawl over mother to find a dining spot, but they don't play, open their eyes, or generally act much more than consumers of milk. That's ideally. The girl, who we are tentatively calling MUNI, is doing okay. She is constantly on a nipple and sucking. She's gained [...]

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