Fading Puppy Syndrome
What is Fading Puppy Syndrome?
Fading Puppy Syndrome (FPS) is a failure to thrive in neonatal puppies for no apparent reason. Puppies can fade due to several things that cannot always be pinpointed unless a necropsy is done. Even then, sometimes there are no answers. A few reasons could be a Canine Herpes Virus (CHV), Brucellosis, intestinal parasites, lack of warmth, not getting enough colostrum and bad genetics.
What does Fading Puppy Syndrome look like?
FPS is exactly what the name says. It is a puppy that lacks any desire to thrive. They will not nurse, they become dehydrated and slowly fade away until they die. Many breeders refer to something called “the cry” that FPS puppies get. If you have dealt with an FPS puppy you know exactly what it is.
Once they get this cry you know they are going downhill and there is not much left you can do. Not all puppies get this cry, but most faders do especially towards the end. Constant crying in puppies is a sign of distress.
Newborn puppies should mostly nurse and sleep and crying should be very minimal. When you have a puppy that cries constantly, you need to be diligent in finding out why.
When am I in the clear on having a puppy get Fading Puppy Syndrome?
That is a hard question to answer. Usually, once puppies are weaned which is around week 4, you can call yourself in the clear. If a puppy is going to fade for the most part, they do so within the first week of life. 21 days of age is a good time to finally breathe. At that time, they can regulate their own temperatures and can be given soft food and water to help aid with starvation and dehydration. The first 48 hours of a puppy’s life is the most critical to if they are going to live or if they are going to die. It is very crucial for a Breeder to be diligent in aiding during this time.
How do I treat Fading Puppy Syndrome?
Sadly, there are no guarantees on a real FPS puppy. There are however hacks that breeders have found that can help give your fader a chance. The first of course would be to help them on mom. Open their mouth and try to get them to latch on. Puppies need the colostrum that moms give in the first 72 hours. If you can get the puppy to get some of mom’s colostrum in their system, it will help them tremendously. There is an oral gel called NurseMate that you can buy online. This is oral colostrum that you give your puppy just like an oral dewormer. It is a necessity in your whelping kit.
Adding in constant warm with a heating pad can also help. Puppies are not able to regulate their temperatures and cannot shiver to warm themselves up. We must make sure puppies stay warm so be sure to have a heating pad, heating lamp or keep them in a room that is at least 75-80 degrees. If you cannot get them to latch, then you can try to bottle or sponge feed. There are numerous videos online of both methods. We prefer to use goats milk instead of puppy formula due to the increased nutritional benefits of goats milk. You can find powdered goats milk online or at local farm stores.
Another method which many breeders stand by would be liver water. What is liver water? It is exactly what it says, liver water. You boil down beef liver and collect the bloody water from it. There are YouTube videos on how to do this, but ideally you would be giving your fading puppy drops of liver water every 2 hours. Many breeders say this is the tried-and-true method to helping your fader. When you have a fading puppy anything you can do helps!
Lastly, would be plasma. Some breeders always keep Fresh Frozen Plasma on hand. If you are not able to draw and spin down your own dog’s blood and collect its plasma, you can order some from Hemopet.com. Fresh Frozen Plasma gives puppies an extra boost that they could not get from anything besides colostrum and liver water. You give this plasma orally within the first 24-36 hours. After that it must be IP or subcutaneously. This can be a daunting task for new breeders which adds to why keeping a fading puppy alive is so difficult.
In the end, MOST Breeders experience Fading Puppies at least once in their breeding career. It is nothing that we would wish on anyone but having the knowledge and tools to keep that puppy alive is critical. The first 24-48 hours in a fading puppy’s life is literally life or death.
Do your research, understand the signs and symptoms, have goats milk, bottles, heat pads, NurseMate, beef liver and Fresh Frozen Plasma on hand. Good luck! You’ve Got This!
