When is it best??

Food, Fitness and how to keep them healthy.

Postby PITS4LIFE » March 15th, 2006, 10:07 am

When is it best to start introducing pups to dog food? I have been bottle feeding them, but they are getting to where they act like it is not enough. They are 3 weeks old, so I know it is a little to soon, but at what week do i introduce them to soft puppy food. They are starting to get their baby k-9's now. They are getting huge. I have been feeding them every three hours unless they are asleep I wait till they wake up, but that is few and far between. They are very active, and believe that I am a chew toy. Little teeth hurt, but they are so cute!!!
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » March 15th, 2006, 10:15 am

I have no idea what the answer is, but do you have any pics of them? Puppies are so cute, especially fat little pit pups!
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Postby PITS4LIFE » March 15th, 2006, 11:08 am

pitbullmamaliz wrote:I have no idea what the answer is, but do you have any pics of them? Puppies are so cute, especially fat little pit pups!

I will be putting up pics soon. My camera and the pups have not been cooperating with me.
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Postby msvette2u » March 15th, 2006, 11:34 am

When I've had shelter puppies, they've started to try to eat Mom's kibble at about 3-4 weeks of age. You could soften some kibble really well and try that for them. Use the puppy formula to soften it :)
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Postby Jenn » March 15th, 2006, 12:38 pm

Do they just naturally eat it on their own?
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Postby msvette2u » March 15th, 2006, 12:59 pm

At the shelter I see them climb in the mom's food bowl and try to munch on it.
What I've found is, some are and some aren't. You can put a piece of it on your finger and introduce them if they aren't ready. If they aren't, you'll know, they'll just walk away. But a day or two later, especially after seeing their siblings eat, they start in.
If it were me, I'd add a bit of yogurt too, for the good bacteria. Or some of that FasTrack stuff :)
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Postby katiek0417 » March 15th, 2006, 1:02 pm

Most breeders will start around 4 weeks of age if the puppies aren't on the mother, but I agree with msvette2u, add some of the milk (to soften it), some yogurt, and maybe warm it a bit....
"Rumor has it, compulsion is evil."

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Postby PITS4LIFE » March 15th, 2006, 1:47 pm

O-kay. I will do that. I was just wondering because when I was eating dinner yesterday, the pup I had, kept trying to get in my plate. I was trying to feed him and myself at the same time. Never do that again!!! Should I go ahead and try some soft puppy food with formula mixed in? They act like they are starving, but they are so fat! I have one brindle girl who has all of a sudden not take anything, not even the replacement milk. She just sits there and yaps non stop. I know she wants her mother, but Zoey will have nothing to do with them at all!!! I know part of the reason why is because of her condition and that they have teeth now.
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Postby Malli » March 15th, 2006, 2:08 pm

my dog's mother was not interested in her pups much past about 3-4 weeks either. The had to lock her in with them and as soon as they'd let her out she'd stay as far away as she could.
She is not a feminine dog at all and I don't think had much -if any- mothering instinct.
Who would want to sit with all those little demanding teeth :|

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Postby Patch O' Pits » March 15th, 2006, 2:10 pm

PITS4LIFE wrote:O-kay. I will do that. I was just wondering because when I was eating dinner yesterday, the pup I had, kept trying to get in my plate. I was trying to feed him and myself at the same time. Never do that again!!! Should I go ahead and try some soft puppy food with formula mixed in? They act like they are starving, but they are so fat! I have one brindle girl who has all of a sudden not take anything, not even the replacement milk. She just sits there and yaps non stop. I know she wants her mother, but Zoey will have nothing to do with them at all!!! I know part of the reason why is because of her condition and that they have teeth now.


Are you stimulating them to go to the bathroom? The poor thing may be all stopped up? If not Take a warm wet washcloth andrub her little bottom and try to help her go. Usually a puppy that is constantly crying is not a good sign

Get a high grade kibble and soak it in puppy formula not regualr milk until it is a mush and you can add a tiny bit of yogurt or cottage cheese . I didn't add anything to my mush but mine also nursed quite a bit longer than these pups.

You may also want to warm it up a tad to at least room temp the first few feedings.

Put a small amount on your finger and intro them to it. Some may take to eating on their wn sooner than others. Are you giving them water? If not start doing that as well?

The second week start substituting some of the formuka with water. Continue dropping the amount of formula used each week until you are only using kibble and water

At about 7 weeks they can eat regualr kibble with nothing added.
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Postby katiek0417 » March 15th, 2006, 3:22 pm

Also, at 6 weeks of age you'll need to de-worm them (for the first time) and do the first set of puppy shots. ALL puppies have worms (usually roundworm). The worms get passed from the mother. That could be another reason for big round belly (although if they're having trouble going, then it's also probable that they're stopped up).
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Postby PITS4LIFE » March 15th, 2006, 3:43 pm

She has been going to the bathroom, she just cries for her mommy. I believe she is just still dependant on Zoey and not interested in anything but mother's milk. Whenever she sees Zoey she cries even louder. I also believe it is a pacifier thing. When she was nursing on Zoey she would fall asleep within 10 minutes and if Zoey moved and she lost her nipple she would holler, find it again and go back to sleep. It was like she had to have something in her mouth to sleep, even though her belly would be full. When Zoey got up after all the pups were fed, the puppy would holler and whine and then look for Zoey. She would also suck on the other pups till she fell back asleep. But I will try what everyone mentioned. Slowly and gradually is the key here.
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Postby katiek0417 » March 15th, 2006, 7:56 pm

Sounds stupid, but they have these things at the pet store that are stuffed animals that have heating pads in them, and make a sound that sounds like a heartbeat....do you think that might help?

I had gotten my puppy at 6 weeks old, and she screamed...I put the warmer in there with the stuffed animal that makes a heartbeat sound, and she went right out....
"Rumor has it, compulsion is evil."

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Postby msvette2u » March 15th, 2006, 8:08 pm

I fostered a baby once, from 1-4 weeks, and I slept with him, and carried him close to my chest where he could hear my own heartbeat.

You can make up the formula as if you're going to feed the puppies, then mix it instead into the kibble. We then mix the yogurt in after the food is softened.
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Postby JCleve86 » March 16th, 2006, 3:40 pm

When I overnighted a transport puppy (who was supposed to be 8 weeks but was closer to 4) he would scream and scream if he wasn't right next to me. All he wanted was to be next to someone I think...so I'd put him under the covers, right next to me when I was sleeping, and he did just fine.

An old trick my parents did when we got our Malamute puppy way back when (at 5 weeks?) was to put a clock in the sleeping area...the ticking sounds like a heart beat to the little ones...
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