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yorkiegirl67 · 11-22-2010, 11:15 AM

We have our first litter of puppies, now 4 weeks old. Mom developed eclampsia 4 days post whelp, so they have been bottle fed and just beginning introducing them to mashed puppy food, a few times a day and supplementing the other feedings with goats milk mixture / formula. I'm hesitant to move them too fast with food as they are resistant to lap water, and I worry about dehydration, although they can easily lap their puppy mash. Mom is 8-9 lbs., and the sire was 6 lbs. The puppies were born, text book perfect, on their due date weighing bigger than I expected at 7.0 oz., 6.4, 6.8 & 5.8 oz. Now the boys are almost 2 lbs., and the little girls almost 1.5 lbs. !! I use a digital scale and closely monitor their feeding schedule, so I know we are not overfeeding ! But as far as water, they definitely would rather have milk, lapped or from the bottle rather than water. Any ideas re: the weaning process & getting them off bottles and onto water. I've even tried putting a 50% dilution of formula to water in their bowl and they lap once or twice then turn their nose up, LOL ! They want the milk... it tastes better, I'm sure !

Also, I'm wondering if there is a way to figure out what the puppies colors / coats will be when they are full grown. The sire was totally black on his saddle and gold.. fine silky coat; my little girl is silvery & tan.. somewhat mixed, and has what I believe is a cottony coat. Her hair doesn't grow down to the floor, etc. A few of the pups coat has more sheen to them, while the others are very soft too but not quite as shiny. I also have one who is jet black & tan but has a white diamond on her chest and has little white mittens on each of her feet. She's gorgeous... I believe this is a parti color. Then the other little guy looks black, but when you put him next to the pup that has almost a glossy looking coat, he almost looks like a very dark brown, rather than black. He has golden hairs shooting through the black on top of his head. The shiny coated mail has almost a completely black face except for Gold above his eyebrows, chest and even his legs look brindle. It's funny, because they all look sooo different. Gorgeous, but different !

Just wondered if there was a way to determine what colors they may grow into. When I bought my little girl, she was black and tan, with a little silvery on her head, and ended up changing completely which, she is gorgeous, while my brother and sister's yorkies stayed completely jet black and tan ? Thanks for your help ! I'm new to this forum, but it's been wonderful for all the insights and sharing of information.

11-22-2010, 11:15 AM	#1
yorkiegirl67 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Lambertville, Michigan, USA Posts: 15	Weaning question / Puppy Coats & Color We have our first litter of puppies, now 4 weeks old. Mom developed eclampsia 4 days post whelp, so they have been bottle fed and just beginning introducing them to mashed puppy food, a few times a day and supplementing the other feedings with goats milk mixture / formula. I'm hesitant to move them too fast with food as they are resistant to lap water, and I worry about dehydration, although they can easily lap their puppy mash. Mom is 8-9 lbs., and the sire was 6 lbs. The puppies were born, text book perfect, on their due date weighing bigger than I expected at 7.0 oz., 6.4, 6.8 & 5.8 oz. Now the boys are almost 2 lbs., and the little girls almost 1.5 lbs. !! I use a digital scale and closely monitor their feeding schedule, so I know we are not overfeeding ! But as far as water, they definitely would rather have milk, lapped or from the bottle rather than water. Any ideas re: the weaning process & getting them off bottles and onto water. I've even tried putting a 50% dilution of formula to water in their bowl and they lap once or twice then turn their nose up, LOL ! They want the milk... it tastes better, I'm sure ! Also, I'm wondering if there is a way to figure out what the puppies colors / coats will be when they are full grown. The sire was totally black on his saddle and gold.. fine silky coat; my little girl is silvery & tan.. somewhat mixed, and has what I believe is a cottony coat. Her hair doesn't grow down to the floor, etc. A few of the pups coat has more sheen to them, while the others are very soft too but not quite as shiny. I also have one who is jet black & tan but has a white diamond on her chest and has little white mittens on each of her feet. She's gorgeous... I believe this is a parti color. Then the other little guy looks black, but when you put him next to the pup that has almost a glossy looking coat, he almost looks like a very dark brown, rather than black. He has golden hairs shooting through the black on top of his head. The shiny coated mail has almost a completely black face except for Gold above his eyebrows, chest and even his legs look brindle. It's funny, because they all look sooo different. Gorgeous, but different ! Just wondered if there was a way to determine what colors they may grow into. When I bought my little girl, she was black and tan, with a little silvery on her head, and ended up changing completely which, she is gorgeous, while my brother and sister's yorkies stayed completely jet black and tan ? Thanks for your help ! I'm new to this forum, but it's been wonderful for all the insights and sharing of information.