# Question re: Chi not growing



## BobbieBoo (Feb 7, 2012)

Hi all, I have a question.
I'm going to be getting a new lil Chi pup soon to add to my lil family. I've been in constant contact with the breeder and receive daily updates and photos on my lil pup.

There are some concerns and she is taking her to the vet to get things checked out. One is, she's very very tiny. From a litter of 6, she's 7 1/2 weeks and only weighs 7 oz. She's weighed 7oz for over 2 weeks now. There was a point where she got to where she was wobbly when walking and didn't seem right so the gal took her to the vet and the vet thought it was shunt and put her on meds and said to keep her seperate from the other pups. Well with in a day of being seperated she perked back up to her old self. She took her for a second opinion. They said it could be that she was knocked over to much by the other pups which were a lot bigger. (Makes sense, I had that happen to one of my pups in the past) She was eating lots, running around playing with the lil girl all seems well except she is just not growing. She seems happy n and healthy but still sometimes gets a lil wobbly but not bad.

Any ideas? Anyone have a small pup that just was so tiny they took time to put on weight? One of my girls when I got her was a pound and she stayed that weight for almost two months. Didn't gain but she was having low iron issues and medicine fixed her up and now she's a healthy 5.5 pounds.

Thanks for any input! I hope this lil girl is just a mini girl and there's nothing wrong she's just growing at a slow rate. 

Bobbie


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## wild.irish.rose (Jul 7, 2011)

*mini chi*

my male-bailey-is 1yr old n only weighs 2.2lbs.as a very young pup-under 8wks-he was alittle smaller than his littermates(litter of 5)n stayed under a lb until he was 4-5mths old.he did grow eventually but slowly n not by much.i had him checked by my vet n hes fine.he plays n rough-houses w my 5lb females.as long as he checked out by your vet n seems to act normally i would just keep an eye on him n let him have fun.in his pic on the siggy hes actually wearing a teens stretch sock.i cut the foot part off n cut a hole for the neck where the toes should be n cut little slits for arms.i still have a hard time finding anything to fit him-lol


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## BobbieBoo (Feb 7, 2012)

Oh he's too cute! He looks alot like my lil male I had that passed. I did the sock thing too when he was little! 
Thanks for the info, I'm hoping that's all it is with this little girl. I talked to the breeder after she took her to the specialist. He said she looks healthy and her lil wobble walk is fine nothing wrong with it. He said it could be 1.The wormer she is using may not be working so she is taking her to the vet to get a different one this weekend. 2.It still could be a shunt bc they can be ok one week bad the next then ok, but she was only bad one day then fine I believe. Or 3. Something with the brain but he said with all the info he gave her it's not likely anything with the brain bc she'd be blind more than likely and would be running into things and stumbling which she doesn't do at all. So we wait and see! Fingers cross n prayers said that she will be fine and I can get her in a few weeks


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I would have a BAT (bile acid test) done to check for a liver shunt. Then you would know for sure. If everything checks out, she may just be genetically very small and be healthy (other than monitoring her for hypoglycemia). But at least you could rule out a liver problem and I would want to do that before bringing her home and getting attached.


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## OzChi (Oct 26, 2011)

My puppy was the biggest of 6 by a long way. I took her at 8 weeks and 3 of the others stayed until 12 weeks because they were tiny. Once she was gone they all put on weight. She hasn't turned out to be a big Chi at all, she was just fat because she was bossy and pushed out the others. Once the liver shunt is ruled out you may find that your pup grows up to be an average sized Chi once she doesn't have to compete for resources with 5 other pups.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Just curious--and I really know nothing I'm just putting myself in your position and thinking about this--what is the breeder feeding her?


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## LostLakeLua (Sep 6, 2009)

Ditto Tracy. Definitely get at least the Bile Acid Test done. The only other thing that this makes me think of is hydrocephalus, but that is a little more obvious in photos. But the symptoms sound similar to Eleanor's puppy Mikey; who past away shortly after 9 weeks old. He was always smaller than the rest, clearly stunted growth, and would have weird spells where he'd be weak; but then suddenly seem fine. We rushed him to the emergency vet twice; but knew in the back of our mind it there wasn't much we could do. He passed away peacefully in his sleep. I certainly hope that's not the case; just thought I'd mention it since it happened to me.


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

Have a look at "Ataxia "on google ,could be a mild case of it ?


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## bayoumah (Nov 30, 2010)

hi im sure rooting for your little chih to just be all healthy and be a tiny keep us posted do you have any pics of her thanks


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## theshanman97 (Feb 19, 2012)

tillie was wobbely when we get her at 6 weeks in till she was around 4 months! (i think her head is a bit too heavy for her legs some times  ) the puppy should be ok she will just need time to catch up , PLEASE get her as if you dont someone else may not as tillie was the last left in the litter and was apparently shunned by 10 people coming to look at the puppies and she said she would have had to try and keep her (she already has 3 dogs and was keeping one of the pups) so tillie was very lucky!  xx


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## LeStatKelly (Aug 25, 2011)

Although my LeStat is a crossbreed he was very tiny at 7-8 weeks, around 350grms, he was also a little wobbly but seemed healthy.
Shortly after that the vet wormed ad defleaed him and he had a bad reaction to that.
I don't now if this affected him but he was very tiny for almost 18 months.
He was a pound at a year and at 18 months he was around 2lb or so.
He was a picky eater though!
I'm pleased to say that over the last 2 months he's started eating almost everything put in front of him and is almost 3lbs in weight.........we're amazed at the difference in him although he's a still a nervy little character!

Can I just say that when you get her if you are concerned and stressy I think this can make the little ones worse as I am convinced LeStat picked up on our concerns!


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## Kurukulla (Sep 26, 2011)

A wobble at 7 weeks is not normal. The breeder alao shouldn't let a pup that small go to a new home. My 3 week old boys are bigger... Just starting to walk and they do not wobble.

I would want a full blood panel done, a bile acid test and a thorough checking over. The wobble and size make me think the pup could be hydrocephalus. If the breeder is willing to let this pup go any earlier than 12 weeks then walk away. Personally I wouldn't sell a pup this small to anyone it would stay with me til I knew the pup was totally healthy and sturdy enough to go to a new home that was experienced in dealing with smaller chis.


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