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Originally Posted by yorkiegirl67  Hello Kendra, I've really enjoyed reading this thread as I am beginning the weaning process with our 4 puppies. Lucy developed eclampsia 4 days following whelp, so we have been bottle feeding them since then. I had to deal with the swollen teats, and her crying for her puppies to feed them, but the vet said absolutely not. What my vet recommended was "cold compresses", as opposed to "warm compresses". I got one of those gel pads, put it in the freezer and wrapped it in a cloth, so it wouldn't be too cold. She loved it, and would lay on her back, cradled in my arms like a baby, while I applied a little pressure. She had some issues with sadness over not being able to nurse the pups, so she didn't eat so well for the first week. That seemed to dry her up pretty quickly. Also, I purchased some baby onsie pajamas from the resale store, and cut off the arms and legs & put a slot for her tail. That way, she could interact with the pups, and no worries about them trying to nurse from her. Now that the puppies are 4 weeks old, she still interacts with them for short periods of play, and if one trys to nurse off her, she simply gets up and walks away. I still keep an eye on this though, as I'm sure even though she looks dried up, they could probably suckle enough to get things flowing again. I'm giving our puppies gruel, but only twice per day... and still supplementing them with the bottles they are used to. They are good at lapping, but don't want water ! I don't want them to get dehydrated and of course I want to slowly get them on food and not overwhelm their GI track. Our puppies are big... they were born at 7 oz., 6.4 oz. 6.8 oz. & 5.8 oz. Now they are between 1-1/2 lbs. and 2 lbs. !! Basically, they gain 1 oz. per day. I use fresh, whole goats milk, yogurt, karo, & egg yolk. Our pups did not like the taste of evaporated, canned goats milk. Someone said the whole milk was better, but wow.. a bit expensive !!
I'm worried about moving too fast on the gruel (which they can lap, so it is a medium consistency) and the worries about dehydration with refusing water. I started putting a little formula in their water, and they still turn their nose up at it. Grrrr... they want their milky !! So if I fed them 4 times per day of the gruel, and they were not drinking much water, I worry about them through the night, dehydration and issues with constipation. Do you or anyone else have any ideas ? My pups do not have teeth yet. |
Yes, these types of threads are great for helping aren't they? I learn so much from not only my own questions, but from others. Sorry to hear your dog had trouble with eclampsia. Gracie did some weird panting a couple times (& acting odd) and I was concerned but then she stopped (we attributed it to laying in the whelping box on a heating pad and nursing and exhausting & overheating her). Now I wonder what was up with that really. Might have been the start of eclampsia.
My pups had all their teeth at 4 weeks, thus I'm thinking that's why Gracie decided to wean them...though when she jumps in their x-pen to play with them (or steal their puppy food) they usually attack her and try to nurse...she sets them straight right quick! (they're 8 weeks now).
Water: I, too was fearful of dehydration, at about 3 weeks I'd dip my fingers into the water bowl and open their mouths and put a few drops in..I'd do that twice daily. Then at about 4 weeks they'd go to the water bowl and lap at it. I always kept it at half water, half ice...thus I think once they discovered the nice cool water they loved it.
The puppy mush: I would open their mouths and put some in each of their mouths 2 x a day, which they weren't crazy about but I knew they were at least getting something (they'd spit it out at first, but I'd make 'em swallow it - seemed cruel, but I wanted to make sure they got something of substance in them) plus I'd leave chopped puppy kibble (I'd put the already small kibble in a baggie and take a hammer and smash it "fine") and they would go over and try a nibble or two, eventually getting the hang of it. I still give them puppy kibble in three "sizes" 2 x day: I use Royal Canin Baby Dog. I put some of the kibble in their bowl (unchopped), add some "rough chopped" and then some "fine chopped" - they eat it all so I'm sure I wouldn't have to chop it any more, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something special for them. Mary suggested I add baby cereal (rice) to the mush and I did that (made sure that got put into their mouths), that didn't last long as I noticed they preferred their mush without it and would eat it better without - but I think that was because I started the rice cereal after introducing them to the dog food mush - so I think the rice cereal is a great idea.
I was buying the canned goats milk and diluting it with distilled water, warm it and they loved that. But now they prefer diluted regular canned milk or 1/2 & 1/2 - so they get probably a 1/2 cup of diluted milk 2 x a day.
I use to give them Karo (a drop) once a day and then a puppy nutri cal once a day (alternate feedings), but have since quit that as they are just thriving, seem like much older puppies.
Since yours don't have teeth, maybe just make up the rice cereal w/ a teeny tiny drop of the puppy nutri cal (liquid) mixed in, plus some karo and a teeny tiny bit of fine crushed puppy kibble and put it in their mouths several times a day.
I read another thread about massaging their backsides with a warm washcloth to stimulate mama's licking of them to help them eliminate.
I think as long as they were getting the mush in them you could start cutting back on the bottle feeding and making sure you give them some water each day...but I'm not the expert here. Just when I think I know nearly all I need to know a new question comes up for me. Thank Goodness for YT and these threads and all the experienced breeders we have here!
Good Luck, let me know how it goes
Kendra