My puppy has cleft lip/palate. How do I feed and care for them?

Question

My dogs puppy has Cleft Lip/Palate and I don’t know what to do I read online that it helps to feed them with the tube but I am worried what can I do to help her the puppy. Pet's info: Dog | Great Pyrenees | Female | 3.5 lbs

Dr. B. DVM, DACVIM (Oncology) · Accepted Answer

It really depends on how severe the defects are. The larger the cleft palate the more risk to the puppy for failure to thrive from lack of nutrition and aspiration pneumonia. These puppies can require a lot of care to try to give them time to mature to see if the defects will close a little. Ultimately surgery is typically required to address the defects. These surgeries are best performed by a boarded surgeon for maximal success. I have attached a link below with more information. I would recommend that your puppy be seen by your family vet to assess the extent of the defects. If tube feeding is indicated he/she can show you how to do this. This puppy should also be weighed daily, be monitored for dehydration, and be monitored for signs of pneumonia. These puppies and parents of high risk breeds ideally should not be bred as genetics are the main cause of this issue. I hope this helps and thank you for using PetCoach! https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/cleft-palate

My puppy has cleft lip/palate. How do I feed and care for them?

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