What do you feed a 4 week old puppy?

Question

My neighbor just got a 4 week old baby poodle and she couldnt keep it so i wound up with it. i know its supposed to be older than 8 weeks to be taken away from its mom but i already have it and i dont know what to feed it.

Answer 1

Just feed it dry puppy food,with a little canned and some warm water to make it soft so the puppy can chew it.Feed the pup four times a day,all it will eat in about 10 minutes.You can also add some puppy milk replacer to it's food if you like,and some good supplemental foods are strained meat baby food,cottage cheese,and cooked,finely diced chicken or ground beef and cooked rice. You need to get the puppy wormed and vaccinated as well.Such a young puppy is vulnerable to all kinds of viruses. Good luck.

Answer 2

There is a milk replacer that is sold in liquid form, or powder form, to be reconstituted. This is the very best thing to give the puppy, by botte. Puppies and kittens still need the "nursing" type feeding that a bottle provides, even if they can feed on their own. The milk replacer provides vitamins and proper balances of nutrients necessary for an animal of that age. If the puppy has its baby teeth, it can probably eat some softened puppy food, too, but using the milk replacer with a bottle will help it to feel secure. There are also recipes online for formulas, but I am not certain whether they provide everything the pup needs, or whether they could cause diarhea. You could also check with the vet for more information. Have fun with your puppy. By the way, can't the people who had the dog with the puppies take the puppy back for two or three weeks, until the puppy is old enough to be more realistically weaned from the mother? Also, with kittens, the mother helps them to defacate, and I am not sure how long a mother dog does this. If the puppy does not seem to be urinating or defacating, then you will have to help it along with a dampened wash cloth or paper towel, by gently wiping the areas, so that waste products don't build up in its body.

Answer 3

Puppies are not supposed to be taken from the mother until they are at least 8 weeks old, I bought a small dog for my children and he was only 6 weeks old when we went to see him but the breeder warned us that they would not let us have him until he was 12 weeks so that he would have all his injections and be used to being away from the mother for a while. This also was the case with a Dalmatian pup I bought eight years ago. I think that the breeder is at fault here and all a 4 week old puppy should be taking is the mothers milk, it looks like your going to have to bottle feed the pup for the next two weeks at the most and then start introducing puppy food and watered milk eventually stopping the milk and giving him/her water instead of milk as milk is not good for any dogs as it can cause fits if given to them all the time. If you took the pup back to the mother now she most likely would reject it.

Good Luck

P.S. You should be feeding the puppy every four hours just like a baby.

Answer 4

you should get some puppy formula from your vet, or a petshop. Both would also sell bottles and nipples for puppies. You should take it to see a vet anyways. Goat's milk is also acceptable to feed a puppy.. but not cow's milk.


It is old enough to start introducing solids too. Soak a little kibble in warm water and mash it up. You can also offer meat baby foods.. just read the ingredeints to be sure it does not have any onion powder in it.

A puppy that young should be offered small amounts of food every 2-3 hours.

Answer 5

Raw egg is not a good idea. She has a chance of getting salmonella poisoning and other various illnesses. Use warm water/cooked egg. 4 weeks old is very young to bring a puppy home. Purina puppy chow sounds fine but crush it up as best you can and let it soak in some warm water before you feed it to your dog.

Answer 6

i dont understand why the breeder sold a 4 week puppy, its wrong, take the puppy back to the breeder, puppy needs mum! Puppies at 4 weeks are still dependant on mums milk. You can give goats milk to him as theis is the closes milk you will find. He should of been started on puppy food, like pedigree (tin) puppy food, mixed with about 10ml of cooled boiled water. He will need feeding at least 4 times a day, from the age of 2 weeks he needs worming every two weeks, i always use panacur puppy paste from your local vets. Jabs should be given from 8 weeks old. I would strongly recommend you go back to the breeder as it is still possabl;e to loss him

Answer 7

pet stores sell PRM puppy replacement milk, if it will not drink on its own, you will have to bottle feed. If it has started eating. mix PRM with puppy canned dog food, make it like oatmeal, I doubt it teeth are very long, and eating dry food at this time will not work, His teeth will break. Feed every 4 hours. No human milk, you will have a great case of diaherra.

Answer 8

at 4 weeks old pup should be able to lap, goats milk will be fine for pup to have also sock some puppy dried food with water make it very sloppy ,do this 5 times a day, small amounts you may have to help him eat it by putting it in his mouth with your fingers he will soon get the hang of it ,keep him worm ,and lots of love ,but if you could take him back it would be best for him ,good luck with your new pup but if your in England east midlands i will come and have him Ive got a litter they r 2 weeks old my ***** would feed her ,it wouldn't her the dog

Answer 9

Take the puppy back to the breeder and let it get weaned properly. If that is not possible, you need to see a vet and get some help. Four weeks old is to early for a puppy to leave its mother. Your puppy won't survive.

Answer 10

i fed mine like a lamb with a eye drop thing then a babys bottle with cowangate in it then gradualy worked him onto dog food diet of dry an mix now instead of being the weakest of litter he's now the biggest