1weekold pit bull

Question
QUESTION: Hello Ms. Bartis,
My friends just gave me a 1 week old pit bull. She's very adorable, but i'm kind of concerned about how to take care of her. her eyes have not opened yet, and i dont want her to die on me. So if you can please help me.

ANSWER: Hello Stephanie and thanks for your question.

I'm kind of puzzled as to why this puppy was taken from it's mother so young, but there must be a reason.

First of all, you need Esbilac puppy milk replacer (or similar). This is the one that I have used successfully with puppies and wildlife. She will need to be fed every two hours day and night. After each feeding she will need to be stimulated to urinate and defecate. To do this, use a warm soft cotton ball or very soft cloth and gently wipe the anal-genital area. This will cause the puppy to urinate and "poo". You will need to continue the stimulation until after the eyes are open and you notice the puppy is "going" on it's own.
You will also want to warm the formula until it feels just warm to your touch.
Keep this pup in a box with a heating pad under half of it, so that it can stay warm. They are not able to regulate their body temperature at this point, but can crawl around to find the warth if they are cold or crawl off the heat if they are too warm.
Once this puppy is about 3 weeks old, you can start introducing small amounts of kibble mixed with the formula and by four weeks you can offer it more often and in a bit larger quantities. By 5 weeks, it may be possible to completely wean the baby off the formula, but some will need to still get the formula, but it is offered in a bowl.

This puppy is going to be very susceptible to disease if it didn't get to nurse from it's mother within the first 24 hours after birth. So you'll want to get it's parvo shot at about 3 - 4 weeks. I would call vet and see about setting something up with them to get this puppy checked out.

I hope that all turns out well for you and your puppy :) If, for any reason, you feel as if you can't provide the necessary care, you should take this little girl to the nearest vet office or rescue group. They have the experience to care for these neonates with the level of care required.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: She was taken away because the owner of the mother was planning to sufficate the litter because she said that it was too much to take care of. As far as the formula, how much do i give her, its kind of hard to measure how much powder to how much water.

P.S. Thank you so much for answering my question, I really appreciate it.

Answer
Just follow the directions on the package of milk replacer. It should come with a little scooper.

I just can't get over the way some people think!

The pup would probably take about 1 - 3 oz at first, but that should increase in a week or so. If you notice diarrhea, cut back a bit on the amount of formula you are giving at one time. You might also want to add some yogurt to the formula (about a teaspoon), as this will add beneficial bacteria to the GIT. They need this to help with nutrient absorption and to keep the bad bacteria from overtaking the gut. This is especially important when introducing solids.

Keep me posted and please don't hesitate to let me know if you need help.