when to start puppies on food This is my first litter and I have no idea when to start the puppies on food. Also how much should I feed them and what do I feed therm? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks |
Yes - Please - my first litter to and the pups are changing daily so advice would be welcome! In just a few days - the combined weight of my five will equal mommy because one is already over a pound and the others fast approaching and I think, we are easily feeding her weigh per day. |
Hi Friends, I think you'll find the info your looking for in the breeders section. Hopefully nobody will post mean comments to this thread. Good luck with your new puppies :) |
I feed baby rice and goats milk, dry puppy food wetted and Royal canine baby dog weaning kibble. I start around 4 weeks. I try a few times a day. At first they only make a mess but soon get the hang of it I leave the RC weaning kibble and water with them all the time. Just be careful which water bowl you choice they can drown if they have to much. |
I found water bottles were a Godsend to prevent a lot of the mess. I also bought the puppy feeder. It is a stainless steel pan with a raised cone in the center. That way the puppies can all get around it and no food is far in the middle. That keeps them out of the feeder for the most part. Some will still try to walk around the outside of it but at least they won't tip it over. I also used Royal Canin Baby Dog food because I loved the tiny triangle shaped kibble. Helps them not to choke. I tried grinding up the food and making mush out of it, but they just mde too much mess. Finally I just went to giving them the kibble straight away at 4 weeks old. They did fine on it. Pls read as much as you can over on the Breeder's section. You want to be aware of emergency procedures and learn as much as you can BEFORE you need the info. It is really late to be asking questions once the litter is already here. |
BTW -- you all should already have the puppy food as momma dog should be on puppy food from the moment she has the pups. She should also get extra calcium -- you can ask the vet but for mine it was a 1/4 to 1/2 Tums a day. |
My pups had their teeth (sharp) in by 4 weeks and were vigorous suckers...Mama dog said that's enough and weaned them --- nearly everyone told me their mama's weaned theirs at around 8 weeks, so I think it's different for the individual "family", dependent upon a lot of things (mostly a lot of sharp little baby teeth coming in), I started with R. Canin baby dog put in a baggie and smashed fine with a hammer, added some goats milk, water, and alternated puppy nutrical in a.m. and karo syrup in p.m. until they got the hang of it. Then, over the course of the next few weeks, started smashing the puppy food less and less (generally offering really smashed, coarse smashed, and not smashed in the same bowl that way each puppy could progress eating the size that was best for them (I had a runt, that needed the fine smashed food a little longer). They now (@12 weeks) just get the R. Canin puppy (not baby dog anymore) whole, but when they are out of their pen and running around the house they love to get to their mama's bowl and eat her R. Canin "Beauty Care" --- must taste good - a little high fat, so I just switched to a weight control (she's not happy, wants her Beauty Care - lol) for mama as she's been pigging out after getting so skinny while nursing... we had let her eat all she wanted to fatten her up a bit and now (as the vet warned) she would know think she needs those extra calories all the time...if it isn't one thing it's another! ---- ramble, ramble ---- The point to all that is, I suddenly had questions about feeding puppies due to not expecting her to wean the pups so soon, so I don't think one can prepare for every possible scenario (but hey, now I know that one, thanks to all the help from YT'ers.) Kendra |
Kendra - I am LOL - I thought it may be too early to start introducing other food to puppies - they are really doing fine - gaining weight and becoming active (very active). But mom is eating their weight and hers and looks so tiny and he pups (5) so big. I blog about them on my web site because every day is an adventure. I just gave them their first toy and their antics are hysterical. My Vet told me not to give Zoie anything special because she will not be happy when it stops when puppies are weaned, but the advice hear on this site has been awesome. I think in the long run, I will continue to let Zoie guide me as she is a wonderful mommy. At three weeks all five are over one pounders with two fastly approaching two. Thanks for posting - I like using a baggie - Bev |
Quote:
I do not wet the RC baby dog, and I have had them start eating it before they have had teeth. The pieces are so small they can swallow them whole. I still allow them to nurse as long as the mother wants them to. And at times have started to give them food earlier, if i see that the mother is trying to supplement them by regurgitating her food for them. |
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:09 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2003 - 2018 YorkieTalk.com
Privacy Policy - Terms of Use