my yorki pup is 4 weeks old?

Question

my pup came from my ***** yorki he is feeding of his mom at the moment when can i start to feed him solid food (puppy food)

Answer 1

You can start supplementing him with puppy food moistened with warm water in about 10 days or so. The puppy still needs to nurse, you just give him a bit of food twice a day to start the weaning process.

Answer 2

the first 8 weeks

Puppies should not be separated from their mother before they are 8 weeks old. Puppies who leave their mothers sooner have a rougher time adjusting and a higher incidence of illnesses. I do not know if it is due to weakened immunity or mourning the premature loss of its family. Their mother's milk provides them with the nutrition and antibodies they need to become healthy dogs. At three to four weeks, puppies should begin eating some solid food. You can try mixing three parts food with one part water or puppy replacement milk . This will make the food easier for the puppy to digest. If your puppy begins eating a little solid food before they leave their mother they will have an easier time adjusting when you bring them home. One way to tell if a puppy is ready to come home with you is if it prefers human company over their mom or siblings.

6 - 8 weeks
Feed your puppy 3-4 times a day. Puppies have different nutritional needs than adult dogs. Choose a puppy food that provides the appropriate balance of nutrients your puppy needs. Be sure they are getting the right amount of protein and calcium, and the proper amount of calories. Check the label to determine if you are feeding your puppy a balanced diet. Meat should be the first ingredient on the label.

after 8 weeks..
Feed your puppy twice a day.

3 - 6 months
Your puppy will be teething. He may become a finicky eater or loose his appetite. Keep feeding him nutritious food twice a day. If he has an upset stomach for more then one or two days, take him to the veterinarian.

6 months - 1 year
Your puppy may look all grown up but he is still a puppy. He should still be fed puppy food for the added nutrition. Feed him the puppy food for the first year. In some larger breeds even into the second year. Ask your veterinarian when you should switch to adult food. Make sure the adult food you switch to is still a balanced diet with the first ingredient being meat.

8 - 9 months

Feeding can be reduced to once a day.unless you feed 2wice aday

2 years
Smaller breeds can start on adult food when they are a year old. Larger breeds should stay on puppy food until they are fully mature which is usually about 2 years of age. Ask your veterinarian when to switch your dog.


hope this helps .. you might be better off printing it!!

Answer 3

You can start feeding pups soft puppy food at 4 weeks, but since he is the only pup, he will probably not be interested in it just now. I would wait another week and try him on it. Just soak the puppy food in warm water until it gets soft. At 7-8 weeks he can start eating dry puppy food.

Answer 4

You can start now. I start giving soft foods at 3 weeks. For his first chow, you can give him a wee bit of cottage cheese (not ice cold, but don't cook it either). You can also get rice baby food and mix it with goat milk and give him some of that. For such a little baby, just start with a few spoonfuls.

He will learn to lap and that's the first step to feeding himself. He should still be nursing from his mom to get the other vitamins he needs.

When he has that lapping and swallowing down, even if he's still messy - get good quality puppy chow and add a bit of yogurt and warm water to it and let it soak til it is soft (an hour or even overnight if it has yogurt which will keep it from spoiling - will grow more yogurt organisms which break down the sugars in food), then you can start giving him that. Or in a hurry? - pulse a quarter cup of puppy chow to grind it up and then take a little of that and add a bit yogurt to it and a little warm water (yogurt probiotics help the stomach digest the new food). - use plain yogurt, not the flavored and sweetened kind.

When he's able to chew, you can give him foods that are more solid. By the time he is 5-6 weeks, he should be able to manage soaked puppy chow or soft canned food easily enough - 3 times a day.

Watch how his occlusion (alignment of his teeth and jaws) is developing, and when he starts losing his baby teeth from 3 to 6 months, feed him softened food for at least one of his meals so his mouth doesn't hurt.

Answer 5

you can start introducing pups to soft food at 3 weeks. try some raw beef mince and some ready brek....these are perfect for getting them started. they should be almost on a completely solid diet at 6 wekks. They will still have milk at six weeks, but only a little. They should be on a completely solid diet when ready to go to new home at 8 weeks. You should have found all this out when your b1tch was pregnant. The vet can give you thorough advise.

Answer 6

He should be eating gruel now.... which is dry food mixed with water to make an oatmeal type food. Slowly use less water over the next few weeks. Be sure it is a high quality puppy food. Also be sure he has been to the Vet to start puppy shots and worming. Have the Mom wormed too.
Good luck

Answer 7

4 weeks is a good time to start weaning him to solid food over the next 4 weeks. I feed my dogs raw foods ( and I DO SO recommend it, even small pups at this age are quite capable of consuming raw food like wings) but if that is not in your plan, then please choose a quality food to wean to.

Answer 8

Hi, from experience of breeding yorkies, iv had 15 pups, you can start feeding now. Ready brek mixed with water (NOT MILK) for about a week because your female yorkies teets must be very sore by now and i bet she getting a bit peed off with them. ready brek with water for about a week then gentally introduce puupy food mixed with water

Answer 9

at four weeks he can be weaned from the mother..give softened puppy food of your choice ...puppies should be fed 4/5 times a day...breakfast porridge or scrambled egg ...midday..puppy variety of the dog food of your choice softened ...tea time ...same as breakfast...supper same as midday...leave goats milk down so he will learn to lap put on a saucer not a bowl as he could fall into the bowl a saucer if he falls it will empty on the floor and not drowned him...as he eats more take mum away for the day after she has given him a suckle first thing in the morning and only put her back at night if needed put a babygrow on her back to front which will cover her nipples and he will not be able to feed off her as if he does he will not want to eat solid foods eventually mum will start drying up so he will have to eat...
i usually wean mine with readybrek mixed with goats milk and a little clear honey....the scrambled egg has softened dry food in it ...always leave water down but again i cant stress enough shallow dish preferably one that will tip over if weight put on it......
mum may regurgitate food for him dont panic let him eat it its natural for her to do this she is softening the food for him...

Answer 10

All these answers have good advise and are correct, but you can buy a mixture from a vet that is specialised for weaning pups onto food.