dry scaly skin on a newborn puppy

Question
I have a puppy that is 12 days old.He is a Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix. He has dry flaky skin all over his body including tail, legs, body etc. He has had a vet check at 5 days old but did not have the scaly skin. Over the last few days it has gotten more noticeable and if I move his fur around I can see the flakes all over his skin. Also his fur seems to be thinner than it should everywhere. His littermates fur is thick and soft and they have no flaky skin issues. When he was born he was very tiny (2.5oz) and gained weight pretty slow up till now and seems to be a few days behind the other pups. I am making an appointment for him to be seen ASAP but would like a heads up on what it could be and what treatment could end up being.

Answer
Hi Ariel,

Your puppy may have something called "fading puppy syndrome". You should not delay any further in having your vet examine this puppy.

Until your puppy can be seen by your vet, it is essential that this puppy be kept warm and receive extra calories, if there is to be a chance of recovery.

Read about bottle feeding a new born puppy here:

http://leerburg.com/bottlefeeding.htm

Best of luck,

Patti