Min Dachshund puppies 6 weeks old

Question
My husband and I bought two puppies from a breeder. The puppies were 2 days shy of being 6 months old, minature dachshund. The first night was great then we went to the vets for a check up the next morning. Two days later the littlest one, 1.3 lbs, almost died on me. She has been in the hospital for 3 days. Our vet said that she could come home today. She is not eating much on her own. Our vet said to force feed her if she won't eat every 20-30 min. He gave us this special food for Toxidia (??spelling). We are so very scared. How do you force feed a little tiny puppy? What is the techinque? Will I hurt her even more? HELP. I am so afraid she is going to die on me. This precious little girl is my daughter!!! I just need advise on HOW to force feed a puppy, holding them, how to get the food into them, what to do if they resist, etc. Please any advice would help me get through this weekend. Our vet had an emergency out of town but will be back on Monday and we are to bring her back then. I want to make our vet proud on us by bring back an improved little girl!! Thank you for any advise you can give.

Answer
I'm a bit confused here. In the subject line, you say the puppies are six weeks old, but in your question, you say they are six months old. I am going to assume that "two days shy of being 6 *WEEKS* old" is the correct age.

This is WAY too young to remove a puppy from its mother and littermates.... by about three weeks. And you purchased a sick puppy! I realize that you have fallen in love with this dog already, but you really should return it to the breeder. And I would most certainly present that breeder with the large vet bill that you are incurring... whether you keep the puppy or return it. And if she argues about it, I would take her to small claims court!

Now, I don't know what it is that your puppy has. The closest that I can come up with is coccidia or coccidiosis. If one of your puppies has this, the entire litter probably has it, as does the dam. http://www.cvm.okstate.edu/instruction/kocan/vpar5333/5333iii.htm

Force-feeding a puppy that size and age can be difficult, but basically it would be the same as giving a pill. Open up the mouth, pop a piece of kibble toward the back of the throat, shove it down further with a finger, and then quickly close the mouth while holding the nose pointed upward so that the food cannot be spit back out. You might try feeding her a bit of Gerber strained chicken (yes, the baby food) on a spoon and see if she will lick that off. Five-week-old puppies often are not eating real well on their own yet, and still rely a great deal on mother's milk.

Good luck with your baby!
Karen