Beagke puppies-1 week old

Question
Hi,
Our 7 yr old beagle had 4 puppies last week. 2 died within days. Do not know why. Of the 2 left one is frail & never seems to be sucking on the mother, the other seldom. She seems to not lay there & let them feed. We got some puppy formula from the vet & have been giving it to them both. Now the small one will not take it, has what looks like blood in his nostrils & slow, almost laboured breathing. Is there anything we can do for him? The stronger one will probably go the same way as the mother is not much good I'm afraid. Can we help him at all or should we just let them die? Very sad...any help greatly appreciated.
Sally

Answer
Hi Sally. Always try. The first thing I would do is get them to the vet, and make sure there's no infection going on, and figure out why the pup has blood in his nose. Also, have the vet check them for dehydration. The most important things for puppies is to keep them warm and clean, and don't let them become dehydrated. Never feed a cold puppy. Make sure they're warm, and then try. If they are dehydrated, then the vet will be able to give them some fluids, and they should perk right up. The smaller pup may need to be tube fed. Before that's done, he needs to be checked out by the vet for any defects. You have to feed them every 3 hours. It's a lot of work, but if your old girl went through the trouble of giving birth to them, then they're worth saving.:-) My best advice would be to get them to the vet. Good luck!