Puppy Illness,one week old,runt and twitchy?

by Ivanna Smith
(Kansas)

I have a chihuahua that had 4 pups, one runt of the litter they are one week old. This runt twitches in his sleep a lot and has random pup whining when is asleep.

He also falls asleep when nursing? Signs of low blood sugar maybe? He is probably an ounce or half.





Hi
Twitching and whining when sleeping is actually pretty normal for puppies at any age.. plus new born puppies do nothing much except eat and sleep for the first two to three weeks.

Sometimes a 'runt' is tiny because he has health problems, but other times it's simply because of his position in the womb and the size of the litter. In that sort of situation the little one will usually catch up to his siblings given time.

As long as this little guy is gaining weight and seems contented I wouldn't worry about him. BUT if he isn't gaining weight, cries a lot, has difficulty nursing or you are worried about his health at all, then you need to have him examined by a vet asap.

Hope this helps, best of luck with your puppies.