I have a 7 week old Doberman puppy who isn't growing like the others in his litter and he makes a weird sound in his throat. Any ideas?

Full Question:

I have a Doberman puppy that came from a litter of 6. He was born by C-section, as mom was having problems getting the first puppy out on her own. All the pups were pretty uniform in size for the most part at birth. This one particular male has not grown much at all in comparison to the rest. At 4 weeks of age the others' average weight was 10 to 11 pounds and this little guy only weighed 4 pounds!

I took him to our vet and had a full blood panel done and nothing looked abnormal, not even his thyroid or liver. He was close to being anemic, but not bad, was all they could find. This puppy has been VERY energetic from the beginning and still acts like an "Alpha" male! He is VERY sharp and keen. He was the first to nurse and to eat dry food, over the others. He threw up a lot after eating the first 4 to 5 weeks of age, but lacked nothing in weight, other than growing real slow. He now is 7 weeks old and makes a weird sound in his throat. Still growing way slow. Any ideas?? Thank you

Cindy's Answer:

I'd get a second opinion from another vet, he may have megaesophagus (which would explain the failure to thrive and throwing up). Even though bloodwork was normal, I'd still investigate this with another doctor. Some pups with a liver shunt simply don't grow as the rest of the pups in a litter do.

Just throwing ideas out there, good luck.

Cindy Rhodes

91% (10 out of 11)

respondents found this answer helpful