I HAVE JUST RESCUED A 4WEEK OLD PUP AND NEED ADVICE ON FEEDING HIM..
COULD ANYONE PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS..
2007-02-01 23:34:30 · 31 answers · asked by Vito C 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
He should be getting teeth. Feed him canned food first as soon as he can handle it mix it with hard puppy food. As soon as he is eating the hard in the mushy slowly start using less canned and more hard. Mine are five weeks today and eating all hard. All eight of them. I do still let them nurse when mom wants to. Its good for them till next week when they all get spayed/neutered along with mom.
ADDED!!!
He does not need formula or milk.
Kitkat he may be too young to be away from his mom but SH*T happens. ALL THE TIME!! He no longer needs to nurse he needs to be weined. People make dogs nurse much longer than they should. Just like a human baby they get teeth you start giving them finger foods.
Being away from mom and siblings is going to cause behavior problems but he can eat just fine!!!
2007-02-01 23:40:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 2⤋
at the age of 4 weeks the mother would be weaning the pup already. Feeding the pup moist canned dog food should do it. Just make sure that the pup is drinking and eating fine. Also please give the pup lots of association with vaccinated friendly dogs-preferrably a family members dog. A dog that leaves the mother before 8 weeks has not been socialized. They learn this important stage around 6 weeks. Also get the pup his first set of shots at 7 weeks and get him/her dewormed.
2007-02-02 01:26:51 · answer #2 · answered by gotchagood 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You don't need to bottle feed him, he should be able to eat soft food, but he does still need milk of some sort, got to your local pet store and ask their advice, you can buy substitute bitches milk, you can get it from your vet. but they will charge you a lot more than the pet shop will! He will need around 6 small feeds 4 milk and cereal of some kind, (baby oat cereal or something like that) weetabix is good as well but not too much! and no need for sugar, the 2 other feeds mix up a VERY Small amount of puppy meal (biscuit) and about a teaspoonful of puppy tinned food also mix in a small amount of warm boiled water so that it is not quite runny but sloppyish, feed by 'eye' what I mean by that is , if you think he could eat a tiny bit more then give it but don't overdo things remember his tummy is very small.
Keep your vet informed of what you are doing just in case you need help!
Good Luck.
EDIT
He will be able to poo and wee unaided!
EDIT 2. in case anyone is in any doubt, in MY case I found a litter of abandoned puppies, the owner of the b1tch had moved and left the pups in a garage, it sounds like VitoC has rescued this pup and NOT taken it away from it's mum!
2007-02-01 23:49:38 · answer #3 · answered by Pawstimes16 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
WHAT on Earth are you doing with a 4 week old pup? Don't you know they shouldn't leave their mothers until at least 8 weeks? Get it to the Vet immediately, it will almost certainly need specialist care.
2007-02-05 03:33:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are various ways:
1) pet stores have puppy formula and utensils to supplement a pups diet (this is for nutritional purposes, not the entire feeding)
2) use can food and slowly introduce puppy kibble around 6-7 wks, or
3) take puppy kibble and soak in milk or water to soften (be sure to throw out what isn't eaten and wash the bowl)
Don't panic. Although it is definitely still young enough to need mother's milk, pups around 5 weeks can convert to soft puppy food. Just make sure he/she's getting water intake so it doesn't become dehydrated.
**Since you rescued it, I would advise taking it to the vet for a check-up. The vet can then give you different options for feeding. The vet may also want to go ahead and give it's first shots just to make sure it stays healthy.
2007-02-01 23:51:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
This pup is too young to be away from Mommy but ususlly they can leave Mommy at 6 weeks - 8 weeks. I would feed canned puppy formula, and puppy food soaked in a little warm water to soften it. Pup should be fine but, I agree you need to get the puppy to the vet. good Luck!
2007-02-01 23:52:07 · answer #6 · answered by Sarah A 1 · 3⤊ 1⤋
He is a bit young to be away from his mother, but the weaning age is about 4 weeks, so I would advise you to purchase a good quality puppy food, such as Hills Science Plan, Royal Canin puppy, Eukanuba puppy, and purchase a puppy milk substitute such as lactol or welpi. He should be receiving milk substitute every 6 hours or so, (usually start off at birth every 2 hours, then drop down to every 3, then 4 etc), so meed him formula every 6 hours, and one of the feeds, offer puppy food instead of milk. You will need to show him how to eat, may have to mash the food up and put it in his mouth to show him. Also see if he will lap the formula milk from a saucer. As he gets used to eating, gradually replace milk meals with food meals till he is on about 5 -6 meals of puppy food a day by 6 weeks old.
Initially, after each milk meal, you will need to stimulate him to go to the toilet by gently wiping his bottom with warm, wet cotton wool, as naturally his mother would do this by licking the puppies bottoms after feeding. As he grows he'll learn to do this for himself.
Good luck xxx
2007-02-04 11:31:55 · answer #7 · answered by myfairladyisasleep 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
at 4 weeks old he/she should be having some form of solid food not just milk. weatabix with milk is a good start, but it does have to be very soggy (over do it with the milk a bit) invest in a good puppy food as well in a week or so he/she should be almost ready for a bit of that, but again make sure it is moist. bottle feeding is still a good idea but at that age you might be lucky and they will be abel to drink it properly, (feeding really does vary on what type of breed)
2007-02-02 01:18:20 · answer #8 · answered by tikidog1981 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Ask your vet, they should be able to advise you on feeding times and what to actually give the pup. Solid food will need to be introduced slowly.
2007-02-02 01:29:36 · answer #9 · answered by JOANNE C 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
my mum had to bottle feed one of my dogs pups years ago, she fed him babys milk warm from a bottle, he turned out all right in the end, he's now 9 years old and he's a big belter so dont worry just make sure the puppy is getting lots of drinks and he'll be fine x
2007-02-04 21:07:54 · answer #10 · answered by Mrs Paterson x 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋