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Expert: - 3/10/2010


Question
I just got a baby chihauha that is almost one month old. The mother could not nurse them becase some calcium problem. So the first 3 weeks he was fed puppy formula. Now i have him eating mainly soft dogfood and a little cows milk. The owner of the mother dog contacted me and told me the other two puppies died. And i am terrified that my puppy will too. He appeared a lot healthier and more blump then the other puppies. I have no money to take him to the vet at the moment ...do you have suggestions, and is it ok what i am feeding him? I heard you are supposed to give them cow milk?
Thank you,
Brianna

Answer
First of all, never give cow's milk to a dog or a cat. Cow's milk is for cows, not dogs or cats. Cats and dogs are lactose intolerant and will develop life-threatening diarrhea from drinking it.

Puppy milk formula is not made with cows milk or at least not whole milk with the lactose in it. It is specially formulated to support puppies with a formula almost identical to the real thing.

A four week old puppy should still be 95% on formula and very little if any soft food. If the puppy is eating it then leave that be but do NOT feed him cows milk anymore.

You need to get him some Esbilac or Nurturall from your vet or a pet store and start him on that along with his dog food. Make sure he is not eating any Purina Puppy food as it has cows milk in it also.

I hope that he does well and he should if you get him off of the cows milk. Because he didn't get mother's milk his immune system will be compromised so do not take him out into the public for a few months but he needs his vaccinations starting at 6 weeks. Then he needs one every three weeks until he is 16 weeks old. If you miss even one vaccination he will be left wide open for parvo or other viruses to attack him.

He can also start on heartworm prevention at 6 weeks.  

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

Organizations
Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

Education/Credentials
Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

Awards and Honors
Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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