two week old pups

I've read about coaxing young animals to "nurse" by dipping your fingers in milk and letting them suck on them... maybe that would help? Sorry, I don't have any experience or real advice, but I hope they perk up soon. Poor little things. 

hadnt thought of that, so yes that was VERY helpful!

they are german shepherds by the way... not sure how much they are supposed to weigh at two weeks and i dont have a way to weigh them... but if i have to feed them bottle via finger then thats what i'll do... probably safer anyway. dont have to worry about them aspirating...

thanks! 

when we get puppies that small, we just get the smallest baby bottles we can, and a large can of puppy formula (esbilac - not sure on the spelling, but it's close to that =])

Make sure they are laying flat, like they would with their mom, don't hold them like a baby - they can drown. I always encourage potty before feeding (with puppies and kittens) you can't add more if they have no room! Squeeze a little into their mouths, so they can get the taste. Once they figure it out, they'll eat like champs.

 must be the bottle then. its not a puppy feeding bottle.. but this is what i was given to feed them with. i know they're hungry.... they are howling for crying out loud! the milk on the finger thing didnt work either.. i dont know how soon to expect them to get the hang of it really. as far as i know they have only been off their mom for two days - not counting today.. in order to acquire a proper bottle for them i will have to drive an hour to the nearest city. our small town doesnt have anything like that and the vet is only open two days out of the week, and that isnt until wednesday. wish i knew a good foster mom.... but that could be risky. if there is something making the mom sick then the pups could possibly transfer that to any other puppies or their mom...

which is another question... what would make a litter of seven puppies drop like flies in only two weeks and also dry the mother up? i know some mother dogs will refuse to nurse puppies if they are sick or deformed, but according to the owner the mom is dry as a bone but still interested in her pups.. and NO she has NOT taken them to vet  

the annoying thing is.. i bottle fed an orphaned squirrel and had more success with a wild animal than i am having with two seemingly domesticated puppies...  

When I had a kitten that still needed to nurse, I used a very small syringe, not a bottle of any kind.  The trick was s-l-o-w-l-y pushing in the formula at the same pace as the kitten suckled. 

thats what i am doing now except they wont suck on anything. they will kinda sorta lap it up for a second but then make this noise like "nyagh!" and pull away from the syringe.
 

When I had my first litter, I had a problem with one of the pups being very small and too weak to nurse.  I had several old breeders tell me to use goat's milk with a little light Karo syrup in it.  Try switching to it, maybe that will help.  Good luck!!

Liesje

When I had a kitten that still needed to nurse, I used a very small syringe, not a bottle of any kind.  The trick was s-l-o-w-l-y pushing in the formula at the same pace as the kitten suckled. 

Yes.  I have done this with kittens.  Just makes sure that it is s-l-o-w-l-y.  Or, you could get it into their lungs!  And, don't hold them like you do babies (on their backs), just visualize them nursing from their mother.

You can do it! 

I forgot to tell you that you can buy goat's milk in the can with the other canned milk in the grocery store.  I bought mine at Walmart.

I use a baby bottle and use a soft nipple (new born) warm the goats milk .Make sure you don't get it hot just warm .I put the nipple

in there mouth then place my fingers around there mouth lightly helps keep there mouth on the nipple .Good luck .I hope they eat for you

maybe you could have the vets show you if you can't get them to eat .

Homemade formulas and feeding instructions:

http://www.bullmastiff.com/Feeding%20a%20Newborn%20Litter%20with%20No%20mother.htm

http://www.leerburg.com/bottlefeeding.htm

put the synge in the back of the cheek and push the plunger slowly, they will eat. Most won't suck on them put you can save puppies this way. Or you can use a dropper.

Here is something else to try:

 First I mixed 1/2 cup distilled water heated and then added 3 tbs of sugar. This I fed a small amount with a dropper. I gave this mix for 2 feedings. It helps give energy. Then I mixed a can of goats milk with same amount (used the can) of distilled water plus I added a tsp of honey. I then bottle fed every 4 hours for the first day and then every 5 hours the next 2 days.

Is it possible that they dont like the nipple you are using.  I have helped to bottle feed plenty of pups, and with some of them we had to go through lots of different nipples in order to get them to eat.

if they still aren't eating, you can try putting down a PLATE (not bowl...) with some canned puppy food really moistened up with the formula. Let them play in it, walk in it, etc. They will eventually lick it off of them selves and eachother, and slowly get the hang of eating on their own. They may be too young to try this, it works with kittens though!