Pomeranian Puppies

Feeding a Puppy

If the number of puppies in a litter is small, if the mother is vigorous, healthy and a good milker, the puppies up until their weaning time may require no additional food over and above the milk they get from the mother. If the litter is large and if the mother's milk is not sufficient in quantity, it is recommended to begin to feeding the puppies artificially as soon as they are able to accept food.

As soon as teeth can be felt with the finger in a puppy mouth, which is usually at about seventeen or eighteen days of age, it is safe to begin to feed them. His first additional food should be scraped raw beef at body temperature. The first day he may have one teaspoonful, several hours apart.

The old advice about feeding puppies "little and often" should be altered to "much and often". each puppy at each meal should have all the food he will readily clean up. Food should not be left in front of the puppies. They should be and after 10-15 minutes the feeding bowls should be taken away. .

He will not require to be taught to eat this meal: he will attack it and lick his chops for more. The second day he may have two helpings. By the twenty-fifth day he may need finely ground meat. At about fouth week, some cereal(thoroughly cooked oatmeal, dried bread) may be either moistened and mixed with the meat or be served to the puppies with fresh warm water. calcium phosphate and a small amount of cod liver oil should be added to such a mixture. at the fouth week, while still on their mother's milk, they may be fed three or four times a day on this extra food.

At about eight or nine weeks the number of meals may be reduced to four, and at three months to three large meals per day. After six months, the meals can be safely rediced to two per day. Time between meals should be allowed for digestion, but puppies should never be permitted to become really hungry. Water in a shallow dish should be available to puppies at all times after they are big enough to walk.

The puppies should normally be completely weaned at five weeks, although you start to feed them much earlier. As the puppies grow up the mother will go into the pen only to nurse them, first sitting up and then standing. To dry her up completely, keep the mother away for longer periods; after a few days of part-time nursing she can stay away for longer periods, and then completely. The little milk left will be resorbed.

Do not feed your puppies pork. According to the latest research on dog nutrition, cow's milk is not a desirable dog food. It differs considerably from the mother dog's milk and many dogs are unable to get much benefit from it. In addition, many puppies develop loose bowels from cow's milk.