Hey Kendra, thanks for your reply ! It's great to hear other's experiences, and share back and forth. I actually did start with a rice cereal / crushed Wellness dry kibble... I think the ratio is 1 Cup Rice Cereal, 1 Cup Goats Milk formula mixture that had the yogurt, karo and egg yolk only, mixed with 1/2 C. of pulverized, basically powdered dry puppy kibble. I used my food processor at first so it was nearly powder. It was way too thick, so I thinned it down with more formula at first, so they could lap it. They loved it... never any issues with eating, or having to hand feed these little "eaters", but unfortunately they have been used to us feeding them given the eclampsia issue since day 4 ! Thank God they got 4 days of colustrum from the Momma !
The pups surprised me and started drinking heavily diluted water with a little bit of formula... It's amazing how quickly they develop and change from one day to the next, even hour to hour. I'm still going to take it slow..
You know, I'll bet your little girl was feeling a bit of eclampsia given what you said about the "heavy panting". That was my first sign she was not right. When I picked her up, and she couldn't stand, I knew it would only go downhill from there. No way would I risk her life, so off to the ER my husband went at 3 am. The vet said, she could have been dead by the time we awoke in the a.m. from severe seizures & calcium issues. I know so much more now, that if we ever breed her again.. which we are not planning, even though despite everything it's been an amazing experience, I will supplement with calcium upon whelp with the pudding mixtures and monitor the demand the puppies place on the Momma. I believe our pups were a bit larger in size, and our Lucy was almost 9 lbs., but still... she nursed continuously and the pups depleted her in a short time. I even had the vet check her calcium even though they didnt' want to, 24 hours post whelp and all was fine. They basically admonished me for worrying about eclampsia until 2-3 weeks into nursing when the demand was higher, and 3 days later... it happened, and could have been deadly. So the breeders here, with their experience have much to share and tha's why I was so cautious about the eclampsia.
Thanks so much for all your comments and advice ! How are your babies doing at 8 weeks ? Do you have good families for all of them ? Our babies were just 4 weeks today, and they bring such joy to our whole family. If you don't mind me asking, how much are you selling your pups for ? Mine are pretty much spoken for from family members, but they still intend to pay for them. I have an idea of how much to ask, as I paid $650 for my little girl a while back, but I really am not sure. Lucy is not a show dog or anything, just a wonderful temperment amazing little girl. Loves everyone... totally wonderful. Wow, Kendra.. not sure about you but the whole breeding thing has been big bucks, especially the hand feeding thing. No problem though.. I was prepared for anything but Wow !! To do it right, it costs big bucks for sure ! Thanks again for your message. Keep in touch, and I'll do the same. Time for the last feeding then finally sleep for me !! |