The puppies are 19 days old and the mom just over the past day or so stopped feeding as much. I've noticed that she waits sometimes up to 7-8 hours between feedings. Is this normal? Puppies are healthy...mom will go into whelping box and clean them a little then as they are all riled up and ready to eat she leaves. Do I need to be supplementing now? They have no teeth as of yet but you can sure feel the little nubs....it won't be long. Thanks for any info ya'll can give me....I guess i'm just worried for these little ones!
2007-01-17 06:52:50 · 7 answers · asked by earthdweller 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Yes, this is somewhat normal. Right now the puppies are probably getting teeth and their claws hurt. I would try trimming their toenails, as long as you know what you're doing. You can give them a little supplement puppy formula if you think they are not gaining weight.
My dog did the same thing about that same time. Have you noticed when they eat, they kind of knead on her teats? Clip their nails and it will be less painful for the mother to feed them.
Edited: Man the person below me is a total moron. Calling people dumb and can't even spell it correctly. Head back to school, idiot.
2007-01-17 06:59:10 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Cow's milk is a big no no. There are various puppy starter milk powders on the market and you can definatly give them to them warm. You mix the powder into a paste first with cold water, then add warm boiled water to it....just the same as a baby. I wouldn't recommend weetabix or ready brek as these would not contain the correct levels of nutrients. Buy a good quality puppy complete and soak with warm water until it is mushy, then you can add the warm milk to it and squash it into a porridge. Not all puppies will want it at 3 wks, but certainly by 4 wks they will. It is a good idea to do that now. As the puppies grow, change the diet so they have soaked puppy complete (without milk) 3-4 times a day, and 3 warm milk feeds. The milk can be reduced to 2x daily by 6-8 wks. Hope this helps.
2016-03-14 07:09:58 · answer #2 · answered by Susan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Perfectly normal! The puppies are getting close to the age that she is trying to teach them to be more self sufficient and get ready for solid foods. It's normal for them to do this around 3 to 4 weeks of age. As long as she is still nursing them, they are fine. Have you offered them water in a bowl yet? If not, I would suggest it just to ensure they won't dehydrate though I highly doubt Mom would allow that to happen. Just make sure she's still feeding them though. If she stops, you may have to take over. But with teeth and claws coming in and getting sharper, it does wear thin on Mom and she'll need breaks. Check her teats to make sure they are not red or inflammed. If they are, be sure to get her to the vet asap. That's a sign of mastitis which is very dangerous. Good luck!
2007-01-17 07:02:08 · answer #3 · answered by MasLoozinIt76 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If the puppies are about 3 weeks old, it's not uncommon for the mama to be "bored" with her maternal duties (as their teeth are coming in), but she needs to stay with them and still feed them periodically. She'll eventually get to the point where she stands up to feed them, and will feed them less often, but right now, they need all the milk they can get from her.
Have you been trimming the puppies' toenails? Remember, that the pups pummel mom's teats with their feet to get the milk to flow, and if they're scratching her up with their toenails, it may be too painful for her to feed them. Check mama's teaties for scratches and trim the pups' toenails once a week.
You can actually start right about now supplementing their diet with some more solid food. We give pups around this age a single meat ball of raw hamburger twice a day to go with their mother's milk. (We form the meat into little walnut-sized balls, and then freeze them to kill bacteria. After a quick thaw in the microwave, we give each pup a meatball. The raw meat is relatively easy for them to digest and isn't as rough on their baby tummy or bowels as hard kibble is.)
Around week 4 we start adding rice pablum (baby cereal) to the meat. And then slowly start rotating in crushed puppy chow... By week 6 the pups are eating chow without a problem. As more solid foods are added, you'll also have to make sure that water is available for the pups.
But they need their mother's milk at this point in their lives for the nourishment and immunities they get from it.
2007-01-17 07:07:07 · answer #4 · answered by Fetch 11 Humane Society 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is too early for the mom not to nurse, here's a quick guide.
Nurse puppies every 2 hours for the first 2 weeks.
At 3 weeks, put a water dish with the puppies to be available 24/7.
At 3 weeks, introduce a moist gruel of puppy food. This can be canned food or ground up puppy food that is soaked to be moist.
At 4 weeks, reduce nursing times to about evey 4 hours.
By 5 weeks, you are starting weaning, you should offer the puppy gruel every 3 hours and mom should nurse every 5 hours.
At 6 weeks, when the teeth break through start switching the gruel to a kibble, slightly moistened. By the end of week seven make the kibble dry only and Mom nursing 2 times a day.
Week 8, complete the weaning process by offering kibble puppy food only and no more nursing.
Week 9, your pups are ready to go to new homes.
Also, have the first round of shots given at about 7 weeks.
One more thing. Sit on the floor and hold the mom down to nurse her pups so she can't get up and leave them. If your dog is just a bad mother you will have to step in and make her feed the puppies. Of course, hold her down gently.
The mom also needs a lot of extra food, cottage cheese and plenty of water to make the milk.
2007-01-17 07:02:30 · answer #5 · answered by dog's best friend 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Mother's know best, so she must know what she's doing! I would go with the flow for a day more or something so you can see if it's normal or not. Then maybe call the vet or a breeder. Breeders usually know what to about puppies!
2007-01-17 07:57:25 · answer #6 · answered by Bridgette B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would start bottle feeding them a little bit at a time and see if she has anymore interest in feeding them after you start if not you should be giving them a bottle every 4-5 hours...good luck
2007-01-17 06:58:29 · answer #7 · answered by LUCKYGIRL 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
yes this is normal the mothers are normaly very atached to there pups! trust me i have been a dog breeder for about 30 years now! and i have never seen a mother who hasnt acted like or at leas close to it
2007-01-17 06:55:59 · answer #8 · answered by ฿ęŊ 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋