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Old 04-29-2009, 03:48 PM   #1
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Question Questions on nursing and food for pups....

Hi Everyone. I have a question about my mom and her 3 1/2 week old pups. I am pretty sure all of this is normal but I just want to ask so I know for certain. She is spending more time away from her pups, she does not avoid them or anything, but I just want to make sure all of this is normal. When she feeds them should it only take 3 or 4 minutes ? I am sure their teeth are probably coming in and it might hurt her a bit. I just sat with them all and they ate for 3 or 4 minutes, a few pulled off and looked happy, but a few weeks ago they stayed latched on longer. They also aren't crying or anything, they are starting to wander out of the bed area a little, that is truly adorable, they walk and sometimes roll around when they lose their balance, it is too cute! ( I am not wondering about them moving around, just the feeding part) Thanks for any advise comments.

P.S. When do some of you like to introduce mushy food? Water? (There are 5 pups, so that is a pretty big litter, should I introduce the food sooner because there are 5 pups?) I have read to start w/ mushy food 1X a day at 3 weeks but that seemed too soon to me.
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Old 04-29-2009, 04:00 PM   #2
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As long as the pups are gaining weight it is perfectly normal for mom to be spending less and less time feeding.I introduce my pups to puppy mush between 4-5 weeks old.Water not until their fully weened around 5-6 weeks.
Theres usually enough liquid in the puppy mush to satisfy them.But you could always put up a water bottle and show them where it is by brining them up to it and tapping it gently until the water comes out.
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Old 04-29-2009, 04:01 PM   #3
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Her behavior is perfectly normal. Just make sure their toenails are trimmed because they can get very sharp at that age.

As soon as my pups are walking I introduce them to finely ground up dry puppy food. I put the dry puppy food in a blender and grind it until it is fine like corn meal. I sift it through a colander to make sure there are no large chunks. I put the dry mixture in a small double sided bowl like what they sell at Wal-mart in the pet department. I put the dry mixture in both sides of the bowl. The little pups will come over and start licking it. I also put down a double sided bowl with water in it. This method always works great for me. Of course mom will continue to let them nurse but as the puppies eat more dry food and less milk, the mom will slowly dry up.
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Old 04-29-2009, 04:10 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Rosiegirl View Post
Hi Everyone. I have a question about my mom and her 3 1/2 week old pups. I am pretty sure all of this is normal but I just want to ask so I know for certain. She is spending more time away from her pups, she does not avoid them or anything, but I just want to make sure all of this is normal. When she feeds them should it only take 3 or 4 minutes ? I am sure their teeth are probably coming in and it might hurt her a bit. I just sat with them all and they ate for 3 or 4 minutes, a few pulled off and looked happy, but a few weeks ago they stayed latched on longer. They also aren't crying or anything, they are starting to wander out of the bed area a little, that is truly adorable, they walk and sometimes roll around when they lose their balance, it is too cute! ( I am not wondering about them moving around, just the feeding part) Thanks for any advise comments.

P.S. When do some of you like to introduce mushy food? Water? (There are 5 pups, so that is a pretty big litter, should I introduce the food sooner because there are 5 pups?) I have read to start w/ mushy food 1X a day at 3 weeks but that seemed too soon to me.

I start offering Gerber's rice cereal at about 3 1/2 to 4 weeks mixed with a bit of goats milk, enough to make it soupy, offering it 3 times a day. With a litter the size of yours, it's probably a good idea for your mom too. You can also offer a dish of Plain ole canned Goats Milk. Remember everything should be served at room temperature. They are draining so much calicium from her. As they get older and get their teeth I begin adding kibbles and making the gruel less liquidy...By the time my pups are weaned anywhere between 8 and 10 weeks, they're on puppy kibbles mixed with a bit of wet food, sometimes adding grated cheese, cottage cheese, boiled skinless boneless chicken breast shreds. Sometimes, when I have a pup that is not taking to their food readily, I'll add Parmasean Cheese, don't ask me whey they love the stinky stuff.
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Old 04-29-2009, 04:36 PM   #5
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Her behavior is perfectly normal. Just make sure their toenails are trimmed because they can get very sharp at that age.

As soon as my pups are walking I introduce them to finely ground up dry puppy food. I put the dry puppy food in a blender and grind it until it is fine like corn meal. I sift it through a colander to make sure there are no large chunks. I put the dry mixture in a small double sided bowl like what they sell at Wal-mart in the pet department. I put the dry mixture in both sides of the bowl. The little pups will come over and start licking it. I also put down a double sided bowl with water in it. This method always works great for me. Of course mom will continue to let them nurse but as the puppies eat more dry food and less milk, the mom will slowly dry up.
I used to use the mushy water soaked food until I tried this method..there is so much less wasted food and it works like a charm
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Old 04-29-2009, 05:28 PM   #6
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Thanks for all the great advise! I was so happy to get back on here and see all of the comments, I really appreciate that.
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Old 04-29-2009, 05:31 PM   #7
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I do the same exact thing with Life Abundance kibble at anywhere between 4 to 5 weeks old depending on the litter as each one is different. I also mash up the Lifes Abundance canned food with a little formula. They do very well.

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Her behavior is perfectly normal. Just make sure their toenails are trimmed because they can get very sharp at that age.

As soon as my pups are walking I introduce them to finely ground up dry puppy food. I put the dry puppy food in a blender and grind it until it is fine like corn meal. I sift it through a colander to make sure there are no large chunks. I put the dry mixture in a small double sided bowl like what they sell at Wal-mart in the pet department. I put the dry mixture in both sides of the bowl. The little pups will come over and start licking it. I also put down a double sided bowl with water in it. This method always works great for me. Of course mom will continue to let them nurse but as the puppies eat more dry food and less milk, the mom will slowly dry up.
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Old 04-29-2009, 08:05 PM   #8
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I start offering Gerber's rice cereal at about 3 1/2 to 4 weeks mixed with a bit of goats milk, enough to make it soupy, offering it 3 times a day. With a litter the size of yours, it's probably a good idea for your mom too. You can also offer a dish of Plain ole canned Goats Milk. Remember everything should be served at room temperature. They are draining so much calicium from her. As they get older and get their teeth I begin adding kibbles and making the gruel less liquidy...By the time my pups are weaned anywhere between 8 and 10 weeks, they're on puppy kibbles mixed with a bit of wet food, sometimes adding grated cheese, cottage cheese, boiled skinless boneless chicken breast shreds. Sometimes, when I have a pup that is not taking to their food readily, I'll add Parmasean Cheese, don't ask me whey they love the stinky stuff.
Do you feed puppies the canned goat's milk as it is in the can or do you dilute it with water? I have read where some people say to dilute it so I don't know which way is correct. The Parmasean cheese sounds like a good idea. What brand kibble do you feed?
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Old 04-30-2009, 04:16 AM   #9
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I have a nice supply of frozen, raw goat's milk from when I had dairy goats. I have them frozen in ice cube sized peices, I am glad I have a use for them.
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Old 04-30-2009, 06:17 AM   #10
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Do you feed puppies the canned goat's milk as it is in the can or do you dilute it with water? I have read where some people say to dilute it so I don't know which way is correct. The Parmasean cheese sounds like a good idea. What brand kibble do you feed?
I use fresh Goats Milk when I can. But, always have canned on hand and dilute with equal parts of distilled water. I was using Just Born, but my
vet (Canine Nutrition and Reproduction Specialist) scolded me and told me to use Goats Milk (95% closests to Mother's Milk). He informed me that Just Born was the cause of premature cataracs.

I start on with Royal Canin Puppy 30, specifically made for weaning small breeds, then swithc to Puppy 33 at about 8 weeks of age. Tried the grinding down method, but my puppies love crunching down, so I quit doing that and have had better sucess.
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Old 04-30-2009, 08:09 AM   #11
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I use fresh Goats Milk when I can. But, always have canned on hand and dilute with equal parts of distilled water. I was using Just Born, but my
vet (Canine Nutrition and Reproduction Specialist) scolded me and told me to use Goats Milk (95% closests to Mother's Milk). He informed me that Just Born was the cause of premature cataracs.

I start on with Royal Canin Puppy 30, specifically made for weaning small breeds, then swithc to Puppy 33 at about 8 weeks of age. Tried the grinding down method, but my puppies love crunching down, so I quit doing that and have had better sucess.
Thanks for you input. I will be sure to dilute the canned goats milk if I use it. I would love to have some fresh goat's milk. Do you buy it fresh or do you have your own milk goats?

I only use the finely ground food when I first start weaning at around 4 weeks. By the time they are 6 weeks old I do not grind it as fine and in some cases by then I don't grind it at all. I always leave down the dry food but once the pups are around 5 or 6 weeks old, twice a day I put down a little dry mixed with the canned Pedigree Lamb and Rice puppy food.

I had read before what you said about the Just Born puppy formula. I wonder if the Esbilac would cause a problem also? Luckily over the years I have had to do very little supplementing of puppies.
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Old 04-30-2009, 08:25 AM   #12
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Thanks for you input. I will be sure to dilute the canned goats milk if I use it. I would love to have some fresh goat's milk. Do you buy it fresh or do you have your own milk goats?

I only use the finely ground food when I first start weaning at around 4 weeks. By the time they are 6 weeks old I do not grind it as fine and in some cases by then I don't grind it at all. I always leave down the dry food but once the pups are around 5 or 6 weeks old, twice a day I put down a little dry mixed with the canned Pedigree Lamb and Rice puppy food.

I had read before what you said about the Just Born puppy formula. I wonder if the Esbilac would cause a problem also? Luckily over the years I have had to do very little supplementing of puppies.
I'm laughing here....No, I don't have my own goat....I live in California now, not in Texas, not making fun that's where I came from.

I'm not sure about the Esbilac. With my last litter, my mom went down when puppies were a week old. She went on heavy antibiotics and doc said to bottle feed, I told him I started doing the Just Born and that's when he told me to put them on Goat's Milk since it is the closest thing to mom's milk. I was doing the Just Born because of the colestrum.

The other reason I quit grinding is, that I'd catch those lil buggers with their heads in their mother's dish....chomping on her food with no problem.
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Old 04-30-2009, 09:32 AM   #13
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I'm laughing here....No, I don't have my own goat....I live in California now, not in Texas, not making fun that's where I came from.

I'm not sure about the Esbilac. With my last litter, my mom went down when puppies were a week old. She went on heavy antibiotics and doc said to bottle feed, I told him I started doing the Just Born and that's when he told me to put them on Goat's Milk since it is the closest thing to mom's milk. I was doing the Just Born because of the colestrum.

The other reason I quit grinding is, that I'd catch those lil buggers with their heads in their mother's dish....chomping on her food with no problem.
Come on now. I am sure there are goats somewhere in California. I lived in Vista, California when I was in the 4th through the 6th grade. I loved it there, beautiful country at the foot of the Palomar mountains. Where in Texas did you live?

Feeding the ground food can get messy but for me is it easier then the mush because they get it all over themselves.
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Old 04-30-2009, 09:36 AM   #14
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I have a nice supply of frozen, raw goat's milk from when I had dairy goats. I have them frozen in ice cube sized peices, I am glad I have a use for them.
So how long ago did you get rid of your goats? Did you have a lot of them. I would love to have a few goats but I doubt I will every talk my dh into building fences.
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Old 04-30-2009, 09:44 AM   #15
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So how long ago did you get rid of your goats? Did you have a lot of them. I would love to have a few goats but I doubt I will every talk my dh into building fences.

I sold them to a friend last spring. I had a buck and 2 does and one little baby from the one doe. They were the mini kind (nigerian dwarfs). Talk about having an animal that loves you unconditionally, those goats were the best! But the fencing is truly needed! They say if your fencing doesn't hold water, it won't hold a goat, and that is just about true. Carrying 90 lb. hay bales in 10 degree weather isn't the funnest thing either though. Nonethless I do miss them, maybe someday I will get back into the livestock.
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