4 week old pit bull puppy

by shelly
(pensacola florida)

I recently got a 4 week old pit bull puppy because its mother refused to feed him any longer. Four of the puppies from this litter died.

Before death they all cried out as if hungry then completley seized up, total stiffness all over,then went limp,and breathing became labored. after 20 minutes puppy died.all of them died just like this.

what could be wrong? and what should i look for in this puppy? how should he be acting? moving around a lot? sleeping a lot? etc. i don't know how he should be acting.






Hi Shelly
Momma dogs naturally begin to wean their puppies off their milk somewhere around 3 - 4 weeks of age. This doesn't mean that the puppies should go to new homes though.... it means the dogs' owner needs to start feeding the puppies!!

It's very important for puppies to stay with their momma and littermates until they're at least 8 weeks old, so that they can learn proper canine social behavior and stay healthy. Unscrupulous or lazy breeders simply say "Oh, the momma won't feed them anymore" and find homes for the new pups with no regard for their physical or emotional wellfare. That is not okay.

However, you now have this little puppy and need to realize he is a very, very tiny baby and will need to mostly eat and sleep, with short play periods in between. He will also need his puppy shots right away as he's now being exposed to other dogs and areas where other dogs may have been. I'd strongly recommend that you read my New Puppy Care page as it will give you a better understanding of how to take care of a new puppy.

As for why the other puppies died, I'm afraid it's impossible to say. It could be that if the dogs' owner didn't feed the puppies, then they simply weren't getting enough nutrition and literally starved to death or became so dehydrated that they died. It's also possible that they had some sort of infection, and if that's the case you will need to get your little guy checked out by your vet asap to make sure he's healthy.

I hope your puppy grows up to be strong and healthy. Best of luck with him.