I need help. I don't know what to do with our new puppy. She's a half and half breed of something but we don't know what it is or her age. We can tell she isn't weaned. I need to know what to do. There is no way she can eat regular dry food, her teeth are barely starting to come in. Can she drink regular milk? Help.
Kesley from Oklahoma
You're not supposed to give puppies "people" milk. If you will check at your local Wal-Mart or contact your vet, there is a milk replacement for puppies. I raise Yorkies and what I do when they first start on food is to put a small amount of dry food in a bowl with hot water, make sure the food is covered. Let this sit until it cools off to lukewarm and it should have absorbed the water by now and it makes a soft dog food they can eat. Don't give them canned dog food, this will often times give the little guys diarrhea. Good luck with your puppy!! (05/06/2005)
By Carmen
Feeding the puppy can be quite simple and easy. If the teeth are showing then they have some ability to chew. Simply take puppy food and saturate it with water, whisk or blend with a mixer or blender after water is absorbed and serve to puppy. Start with a really soupy mix and gradually thicken as the days go on.
By Barbie
Talk to your vet or local pet supply store about Nutri-Cal. It comes in a tube and is a feeding supplement for puppies too young to feed. Also, you might try getting Gerber baby food meats. There's beef, chicken, turkey, veal, ham. Give a little of this mixed in with some kibble mush. No milk! Our teacup chihuahua weighed only 11 oz. when we brought her home 2 years ago and these things seemed to work great for her.
Also, watch the pup's water intake as very young puppies can get dehydrated quickly. Our vet gave me a syringe with the needle removed so I could shoot some Nutri-cal and then some water (not too much at a time!) into Mitzi's mouth. She's now a robust 2 year old and weighs in at a whopping 4 lbs! Also, she still likes her baby food and won't eat her meals unless I put just a little on top and smear it around. What a spoiled brat! (05/07/2005)
My family raised 21 puppies totally by hand from the time they were two weeks old. The vet's office gave me a recipe consisting of evaporated milk, boiled water, white corn syrup and infant vitamins instead of suggesting I buy the prepared formula (he knew we couldn't afford that for 21 pups). When the pups reached about 6 weeks of age we started feeding them puppy chow that we had sogged with warm water. All of the pups survived, and we kept one who is still quite healthy. I can't remember the ratios, but I'm sure most, if not all, vets know this recipe or something similar. (05/07/2005)
By terry
Our local Walmart carries Bitch's milk and bottles. It mixes up just like powder baby formula. You will find it in the pet supply area. You will probably need to puncture the nipple with a hot straight pin. Most do not have holes in them. Start off with that for a few days then introduce some wet can food a little bit at a time. Don't except the pup to drink from a bottle just like a baby. They usually suck a bottle from the corner of their mouth. I feed our puppy around every 4 hours while bottle feeding. You will know when the pup is hungry because she will whine and cry. Now is a great time to start paper training the pup if she's going to be a house dog. Buy the puppy training pads and place the pup on it every time you take her out of her basket, carrier or etc. We have had our pup for 2 weeks and she will whine when she has to potty too. Good luck (05/07/2005)
The Mother dog slows down on breast feeding puppies when they are 2 weeks old anyway. I take canned dog food and put some on my finger and let the puppies start sucking it off. I do this several times a day. It takes about a week doing this before they learn to eat. The 3rd week of their lives the puppies are eating and the mother is nursing them even less. By the end of 3 1/2 weeks they are eating soggy dry dog food. (05/08/2005)
I would try slightly warmed baby food such as the liver or chicken flavors. Later, I would start mixing in dry food, letting it stand long enough so that the dry food softens (or soften with water as stated above or with chicken or vegetable broth). Then I'd gradually lessen the amount of baby food, until the dog is on dry only. This gradual approach will assure that the pup's stomach doesn't get upset with the abrupt change in diet. (05/09/2005)
By Claudia
It seems that bit about not feeding dairy products or any people food to dogs is simply a myth.
Several veterinarians have advised us to feed a mix of evaporated milk and corn syrup. Veterinarians have also told us to add scrambled egg to the mix as the puppies get a little older.
We adopted a new family member from the shelter and he had more bacteria in his stool than what the vet said he should have. He advised feeding a spoon of yogurt every day. Raw meat may be one of the best things to feed a dog. (05/20/2005)
By Coleen
I've raised plenty of litters and the best thing is to get a formula from the vet and mix it with Weetabix until it's a sloppy mixture. Make it about body temp, never cold (remember Mum's milk was body temp, so that's what they need) and give it to the pup. They love it!
Good luck. 05/21/2005)
By Sara A.
Try mixing her dog food with water and letting it set until it gets soft then you can mush it up with a spoon and you might have to force her to eat at first but she should get the hang of it. If not there is the baby bottle, just make sure you get pet sized. You can usually get them from a farm and ranch store, and if needed there is milk substitute for animals. (05/23/2005)
By Jessica
Our Sheba Inu mother dog was let out to go pee one day, and never returned. Long story short, we were left raising 4 sweet one week old puppies. So I also went to Walmart and bought the puppy formula they sell, and began bottle feeding them. Right now they are almost 3 and a half weeks old. So cute, but this is getting very expensive, since we go through a can every week or earlier. So reading all these entries have made me feel so much better knowing I can soon start feeding them dry food, and just moisten it. Yea! Thank you! (11/14/2005)
By Stef
Contact a vet and get professional advice. And don't give your pup cow's milk! Contrary to popular belief, cats aren't supposed to drink cow's milk and neither are dogs. Your pup is too young to eat dog food also, so please call your local vet. (01/22/2006)
I fed a litter of great Pyrenees pups from the time they were 5 days old. A breeder gave me a recipe for formula that worked great. It was a can of pet milk, 1 cup of plain whole fat yogurt, 1 can of baby food beef, and a can of water. Just mix up in the blender. They grew fine and seemed very satisfied. (05/28/2008)
I had this problem this week. We adopted an 8 week old puppy on Monday and it's Thursday. She hadn't been eating well and was constantly whining. So I thought and thought. I didn't have time to go to the store, not until later tonight.
I opened a can of Veg-All and warmed it up in the microwave. I put some of her kibble (Blue Buffalo puppy) in her bowl and put 2 spoonfuls of the veg-all on top. Then I drizzled some extra virgin olive oil on top, stirred it up and let it sit to soak in. She gobbled it up. Thankfully, she now has a full tummy and is taking a nap. =) (05/29/2008)
Never give a pup cow's milk. I'm a breeder and when I get pups that need to be bottle fed I use goat's milk. You can buy it in a can in the grocery store down most baking aisles. Or sometimes in the milk case. Fresh goats milk by the quart. You will need to dilute it half and half so it's not too strong. At 3 to 4 weeks old you can start the pup on dry food moistened with warm goats milk to make it soft and add a little bit of baby jarred meat from gerber- prefer turkey or chicken, it's easier on tummy.
At first put a little on your finger to get them to lick it. Make sure if pups don't have teeth yet to smoosh it up and add more liquid like thinned out oatmeal. As they get use to it over the next couple weeks thicken it up. And by 8 weeks old you should be able to just moisten the dry puppy food with warm water. I have raised many of pups like this and they all turned out healthy! Good luck!
Oh yes. In a previous post someone mentioned nutri-cal. You can get this from Petco or Petsmart as well. If a puppy was small or a small breed I would use this once a day as well, too. Its great source of vitamins and minerals also provides protein, and calories for the pup as well as glucose (sugar) for small pups so they don't go into hypoglycemic shock. Good luck. (01/17/2009)
By Maria
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