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Feeding Puppies
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Sometimes it becomes necessary to
hand raise very young pups. Emergency weaning may be necessary if the
mother dog is injured or has severe mastitis (breast infections) or
hypocalcemia (milk fever). Hand-raising takes a considerable commitment in time at
first, but gets easier when the pups are more than 4 weeks old.
We have very good puppy & kitten milk replacers available. An emergency formula can be used for a few days, but we recommend switching to approved milk replacer as soon as possible. Weighing pups daily on a postage scale is very helpful to following the feeding guidelines on the milk replacer instruction label.
The emergency formula we use is:
1 cup water
1 cup evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)
1 tablespoon Karo syrup (light or dark)
2 egg yolks
The first 2 weeks of life, it is necessary to feed about every 2 hours. We use either a small pet nurser bottle or a syringe, and we warm the contents slightly. The formula should not feel hot to the owners wrist area. The puppies are best positioned on their chests, either in your lap or on a warm surface.
This upright position helps to lessen the risk of aspirating formula into their lungs and causing pneumonia and death, as the excess is more likely to dribble out their mouth. It helps to squeeze out a drop of milk onto the nipple before putting it in the pups mouth to induce sucking. If puppies do not have a strong sucking reflex, we may need to use stomach tube feeding, which is a riskier procedure.
When a pup seems satisfied, (this may be after only a few ml. of formula), it is necessary to stimulate their urinary opening and rectum with a damp tissue to induce urination and defecation. The mother dog would normally do this by licking the pups bottom.
By the time the pups are 2 wks old, they can usually go 6 hrs overnight without a feeding, as long as they eat every 3 hrs during the day. At 3 1/2 to 4 wks. of age, the pups can be offered dry puppy food soaked and mashed in water (an then mixed with a small amount of formula if necessary). Offer the solid food mixture twice daily at first, but continue bottle feedings every 6-8 hrs. until they are fully weaned from the bottle.
A stool sample should be checked for intestinal worms & other parasites at 3 and 5 weeks of age, and vaccines are usually begun at 6 weeks of age.
We have very good puppy & kitten milk replacers available. An emergency formula can be used for a few days, but we recommend switching to approved milk replacer as soon as possible. Weighing pups daily on a postage scale is very helpful to following the feeding guidelines on the milk replacer instruction label.
The emergency formula we use is:
1 cup water
1 cup evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)
1 tablespoon Karo syrup (light or dark)
2 egg yolks
The first 2 weeks of life, it is necessary to feed about every 2 hours. We use either a small pet nurser bottle or a syringe, and we warm the contents slightly. The formula should not feel hot to the owners wrist area. The puppies are best positioned on their chests, either in your lap or on a warm surface.
This upright position helps to lessen the risk of aspirating formula into their lungs and causing pneumonia and death, as the excess is more likely to dribble out their mouth. It helps to squeeze out a drop of milk onto the nipple before putting it in the pups mouth to induce sucking. If puppies do not have a strong sucking reflex, we may need to use stomach tube feeding, which is a riskier procedure.
When a pup seems satisfied, (this may be after only a few ml. of formula), it is necessary to stimulate their urinary opening and rectum with a damp tissue to induce urination and defecation. The mother dog would normally do this by licking the pups bottom.
By the time the pups are 2 wks old, they can usually go 6 hrs overnight without a feeding, as long as they eat every 3 hrs during the day. At 3 1/2 to 4 wks. of age, the pups can be offered dry puppy food soaked and mashed in water (an then mixed with a small amount of formula if necessary). Offer the solid food mixture twice daily at first, but continue bottle feedings every 6-8 hrs. until they are fully weaned from the bottle.
A stool sample should be checked for intestinal worms & other parasites at 3 and 5 weeks of age, and vaccines are usually begun at 6 weeks of age.