6week old flashy brindle puppy

[cali]

I currently blend Nutro Large breed Puppy kibble to a fine consistancy in a blender then I add water but just enough so thats its thick and let her eat this.lso giver her 3 tspoons of esbilac(milk replacer for puppies). feed her @ 5am, 12am, 5pm
My questions are:

1. Should I stop blending the Nutro?(Im afraid she would choke on a piece of kibble, maybee im too worried)

2. Should I add something else to her food like low fat plain yogurt?


3. When should I get her off the milk replacer?

Note we took her to the vet so she could get checked. The Vet said she was very healthy and looked great!

[JulieM]

At 6 weeks (in my former life as a kibble-feeding breeder ) we fed whole kibbles, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes before feeding. We had a few choking scares - but we did not let any of our pups leave the litter that early so it was more of a competition thing.

(In my new life as a natural-rearing breeder, at 6 weeks I'll probably be feeding minced raw meat and perhaps some veggies, and the pups will still be nursing for as long as mom lets them....)

We were also feeding 4x per day until 16 weeks. I wouldn't add anything else to her food - introducing a large variety of protiens too early is a large cause of allergies and other immune disorders. We didn't give a milk replacer then, but it might not be a bad idea at this point to continue it for a few weeks (raw goat's milk would be even better).

Also, be sure to read everything you can about socialization - 6 weeks is too young for her to have learned proper dog-dog etiquette, so you'll need to be the momma dog for her. This will help you avoid all kinds of problems later on.

[cali]

Thanks Ms julie


I have to say Im very impressed & gratefull with your reply's to my questions!


well hers some more ?'s for you guys

1. How do I and my family become "the Mother" as far as teaching our new pupp socialization?

2. Where do I get Raw Goat Milk and why is it better than milk replacer?



Today she goes in for her second Vet visit and some shots, weigh in! I'll let you guys know what the vet says once my wife call me @ work and gives me the results


Ever since I started her on Nutro large breed puppy she poops little logs and less of them which is great because the less cleanu-up thje better!
Also she is doing very,very good on her potty training, she lets us know when she has to go and we take her to her spot and she lets them go. What a puppy!

thanks!

[Krikkit]

Originally posted by cali
1. How do I and my family become "the Mother" as far as teaching our new pupp socialization?

Hi Cali, the more quality time you spend with your baby the better. You might like this article which does cover this type of thing "It Takes a Pack to Raise a Puppy' http://www.flyingdogpress.com/puppack.html

2. Where do I get Raw Goat Milk and why is it better than milk replacer?

We are able to get raw goats milk from the health food shop here, and one of the supermarkets is stocking it now. Probably contacting your nearest health food shop will give you some leads. Goats milk is less likely to cause a reaction in a dog than cows milk (but I'm not sure why). The biggest benefit with goats milk is that we can buy it 'raw' so many of the best properties of the milk have not been destroyed by processing.

Your puppy sounds wonderful Have you got any pics to share?

Sharon

[JulieM]

Sharon answered admirably I just wanted to add, many people also recommend the book, "Mother Knows Best" by Carol Lea Benjamin, for helping with young/unsocialized pups. I haven't read it myself yet, so can't recommend it personally.

[Donna741]

Dogs and cats bodies do not digest cows milk well. It's kind of the equivalent of human lactose intollerance.

Goats milk is much easier for them to digest. I have raised about 9 pups and 4 kittens on goats milk (all orphans) and never had any prolbems. They all turned out very healthy and happy.

Here in So. California I get goats milk at Vons grocery store. It's Myenberg (sp?) goats milk and it comes in a carton as well as you can buy it canned.

[cali]

i will take every ones advice and use it.


I gots to say that having the new puppy is way too cool. My daughters absolutley lover her to death! The one thing that is really is funny is that my wife can make her howl almost on command, its so funny to see a 7wk pupp do that.

The other thing is that one I feed my other Boxer "Jake", Nola (means little belle in spanish) loves to jamm as fast as she can acrosss the floor and get into his kibble, & he totally lets her.

We are starting to weanher off the milk replacer and just let her eat the Nutro large breeed puppy food kibble. As soon as we develop the pics I'll post her on the web.


Thanks again everybody!