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Expert: - 11/15/2011


Question
My friends dog had a litter of 6 puppies, the mother has stopped caring for them and i will be taking them all in and bottle feeding them. They are just under 4 weeks old. My question is, how often and how much should i feed each puppy and when should i start introducing them to solid foods? I know that starting on solid foods i must make it super mushy. Any advice would be great! They are lab mixes. Thanks you.

Answer
At four weeks being large breeds you should start them on some puppy food now mixed with canine milk replacer.

Get them some Science Diet puppy growth and mix it with the replacer- be it Espilac or Nurturall milk replacer.

Feed them the food three or four times a day. You can feed them one bottle at night but they are pretty close to weaning age now. By five weeks they should be eating mostly food and at six weeks they should be weaned from all milk.

Make sure that each puppy is eating enough to make their little tummies slightly round. They should be defecating etc on their own now, so you don't have to help them.

I hope that your friend will get her dog spayed since she isn't cut out to be a mother and she is having mixed breed puppies.

Good luck with the litter!  

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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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