I have a 4 week old puppy.....?

Question

.. ok let me start from the beginning. My dad brought home this 4 week old puppy from a ranch and he had fleas.. So the first thing I did was take him a shower.. I used dog shampoo and it looked like most of the fleas died.. Of course I used warm water and rinsed him for a nice little while.. I want to use Frontline on him but Im not sure if that's a good idea right now because he's so young.. do you guys have any suggestions regarding fleas?. ..Also, when my dad brought him home he said 'just feed him regular dog food, that's what they fed him over there' but I immediatly went to the store and bought him puppy food. Do you guys recommend that I feed him milk?? He loves the puppy food and eats it like nothing... I truely appriciate any feedback, suggestions, recommendations you guys might have for me.. thanks!

p.s. He is not my first dog but definitely my first puppy!

Answer 1

You were right,not to put the medicin on him-i think he is too young.Same thing for the food.don`t feed him regular dog foo his teeth may not be strong enough for that - you also may want to consider getting him a chew toy ( he may be still teething)

Answer 2

Okay, when we got our Border Collie puppy, she was 6 weeks old and we were soon going camping in a place we knew had flea problems. She was too young for the back of the neck meds for fleas.

Here's what our vet told us. I can't remember what it's called, but the vet said there is a daily little pill you CAN give to puppies under 3 months old (and she said that at 3 months, they are big enuf for use of Frontline). If you ask your vet, he/she should know what you're talking about. Anyway, it's a daily pill, costs a little more than Frontline for a monthly basis, but does the same thing... kills the fleas as they bite. You will need to keep using this pill for 7-14 days in order to break the flea life cycle. Within an hour of giving to your puppy, the adult fleas will die off and then you maintain to eliminate eggs still hatching.

My vet highly recommended this product and it worked excellent and is perfect to use on puppies too small for the other kind.

I want to say that this would likely be better than a regular flea bath on a puppy that young. Flea shampoos have some pretty harsh chemicals in them to get rid of the fleas and that can't be too good for young pups. I'd go with the pill if your vet offers it and if he/she doesn't, I'd find one that does.

For the puppy food... yes, keep using puppy food rather than adult food. Puppy food is made to accomodate a growing puppy where as adults don't need some of the extras there. Definitely a good choice you made to invest in some puppy food.

Answer 3

Do not use any flea product(including Frontline/Advantage) including flea shampoo on ANY puppy under 8 weeks old. 4 weeks is way too young to be away from mom and littermates matter of fact it is illegal to have been givenaway or sold by the breeder and equally as illegal to have been bought or adopted this young.
This puppy needs to be fed a high quality puppy food and it also need puppy milk replacer for at least another couple of weeks after that just a high quality puppy food.
Be prepared for future social and behavioral issues since pups removed from mom and littermates to young most always end up with issues.
The only safe way to keep fleas off a puppy this young is to use a flea comb.
Also a puppy this young really shouldn't have a bath either since they have trouble regulating theri body temperature and get chilled easily. Chilling can lead to death.
This puppy should be examined by a vet and should be dewormed..puppies should be dewormed at 2,4,6, & 8 weekso f age and periodically after that. He will also need to receive his first distemper/parvo vaccination at 8 weeks of age (NOT before)

Answer 4

No milk.
He shouldn't have left mom yet. Unless you have another dog around to dicipline him, he's going to grow up with serious issues that won't be your fault. There's nothing that can replace dicipline from mom, and socialization from littermates.
Do not use products for fleas on puppies younger than six MONTHS, and you can use head and shoulders shampoo to kill the fleas.
Puppy food is fine, but you might need to help him with it, it could be too hard for him and need a soak in some warm water.
I can't believe in the age of technology there are people out there like that ranch owner who think 4 weeks old is an acceptable age to let a puppy go into a home environment. Shame on him/her.

Answer 5

My puppies had fleas and I bathed them with a flea shampoo, I only used a little bit but washed the area real good, where I saw the fleas. I waited 10 days and bathed them again. The frontline may have been too strong for him, but at 6 weeks you can put it on, so he should be ok. You should feed him some kind of puppy chow, and don't give him milk. He should have plenty of water.
You should get him to the vet for his shots and worm medicine. If you have any other problems just call your vet and they will help you.

Answer 6

I have been bottle feeding 7 puppies since they were 5 days old. They are now 4 weeks old and eating solid food. Soak a good quality puppy chow in either puppy replacer milk ( can be purchased at your vet or a pet store or you can even give it goats milk( not cows milk) gradually soak the food with less liquid so it will eventually eat it dry. Ask your vet how often since puppies require feeding more often than adult dogs of course in much smaller portions. Most important take it to the vet to be examined ask your vet, about deworming, and what age he reccommends vaccines to be given.Be well informed beforehand.

Answer 7

Quote
"contact the humane society for training info and get basic info on your breed of dog free from books in the library. and you can show your dad then too.

The Humane Society of the United States
Includes descriptions of public-awareness campaigns, programs, legislation, activist alerts, and educational publications"

HSUS is a pet owners worst nightmare, they are an extremist group same as PETA.
They just did a good job of picking their name so that an unsuspecting public would confuse them with their local Humane Society.
If you do a careful search you will find that PETA and HSUS have swapped leadership on several occasions.

That puppy should not have left the nest at such an early age. 7 weeks is about the youngest a pup should be removed from it's litter mates.
Absolutely no meds at that age, and be aware that Mommy's immune system will be shutting down in the puppy very soon. This is going to leave the pup venerable to everything.

Answer 8

I would hold off on the Frontline until hes a little older, if hes only four weeks he will still need his injections etc that should be your first priority. In the meantime, hoover all the places he sleeps or lies down, wash his bedding in the machine, and get a spray or powder for all the areas he likes to lounge around. Consult your vet for more advice on his diet, but as he's a puppy he will need the extra protein found in puppy food. Although he should still really be with his mother, they aren't supposed to leave the mother until 8 weeks.

Answer 9

You didn't say what kind of dog he is, but I think if he's not terribly small, he ought to be ok with the bath. I would hold off on the flea stuff for now. My neighbor says that Dawn dish detergent will kill fleas but I don't really know about that. Walmart sells puppy formula. Four weeks is kinda early for him to be away from Mama. The formula is not too expensive, and my puppies liked it (their mom died when they were a couple weeks old and we bottle fed them.)

Answer 10

4 week old puppies should still be with their moms,unless shes not letting them nurse.I would definately take your puppy to the vet.He will need vaccinations at 7 weeks.The vet will be able to inform you on feeding aswell as flea med.I didnt start my pup on anything till she was 9wks.The vet knows best!
I use REVOLUTION for her,its a topical liquid that prevents fleas,roundworms,earmites and ticks. Good luck with your new pup,there only young once.

Answer 11

NO MILK, there is puppy milk replacer available at most large pet stores, you can give that a try, but if he's weaned, he may not want to take the bottle, but you can mix it in with wet puppy food, for calories.

Take him to the vet as soon as you can, they may be able to help with the flea situation because he is too young to be using harsh shampoos and flea treatments.

After he receives treatment make sure you clean and disinfect his blankets, toys, and the area you've been keeping him in, so there isn't a re-infestation.

Be sure he has blankets etc..in his bed, at this age, its still hard for him to regulate his own body temp.

best of luck.