My puppy is tiny and not gaining weight. Should I give formula?

Question

I have a litter of 4 jack Russell puppies, they are 13 days old and I am concerned about 1 of the pups. 3 of them are 330g-360g but the tiny one in the litter is only 150g - it seems to be feeding fine and I have started allowing the puppy to have exclusive feeding time but weight gain is not appearing. Would you recommend additional feeding via formula milk? Pet's info: Dog | Jack Russell Terrier | Female | unspayed

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

Runts of the litter are definitely common and often have a hereditary problem, or illness causing them to not grow as well as the others. However, they can simply be outcompeted by the others, so making sure it gets mom's milk (the best option), or formula may be helpful. It's also good to have a vet check her to see if anything is causing her to remain smaller than the other pups. I hope that helps and all is well with the pups.

My puppy is tiny and not gaining weight. Should I give formula?

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