weaning pups from bitch to food -

[Guest hpool_hunter]

what would you say through experiance is the best way to wean pups from mother to solids? would you say from 3 weeks start weaning them? anybody give a quick guide?

 

HH

[spiderfly 111]

start to give soft bread with milk and warm it in the mirco wave but do that for a week and a half then when they are 4 and a half weeks start something a bitter more soild like cat food with bread and milk still and increase it ever day then at 7 weeks take away and feed them soilds!!

 

i hope that help mate

 

best of luck with the pups!!

[Guest hpool_hunter]

its a guide for my mate , , as when i had my litter i started them on weetabix * soaked* but then someone told me not to , then others said it was fine* , so i dont want to give the lad wrong info , so thought best to ask here .

[earth&hounds 94]

start them 4 weeks on puppy food soked or fresh mince soon get it down them i always feed fresh meat

[samba 534]

meat all the time rabbits/hares/deer cost nothing just mince them up

at early age them from 4week just throw the lot in hole

[Guest ESS]

start to give soft bread with milk and warm it in the mirco wave but do that for a week and a half then when they are 4 and a half weeks start something a bitter more soild like cat food with bread and milk still and increase it ever day then at 7 weeks take away and feed them soilds!!

 

i hope that help mate

 

best of luck with the pups!!

 

 

Bollocks

[dfee 1]

if you give them normal milk it will give them the sh@ts.

[Guest ESS]

The bitch will usually at 4 \5 weeks will start to get a little hesitant feeding them as the little ones have teeth you should get a good dry puppy food mixed with a little water or a good puppy milk formulae to supplement the bitches milk ..Also fresh clean water should be introduced.at feeding times..Cows milk is not good for dogs though some dogs can tolerate it pups should not be given it putting it simply there is not enough nutrients in it.Keep it bland and simple try keeping the bitch out of the way when introducing the food...

Tell your mate to buy the Book of the bitch it is and always will be a valuable reference guide to anyone with a dog bitch pup or someone thinking of breeding.

Edited September 23, 2008 by ESS

[skycat 6,173]

start to give soft bread with milk and warm it in the mirco wave but do that for a week and a half then when they are 4 and a half weeks start something a bitter more soild like cat food with bread and milk still and increase it ever day then at 7 weeks take away and feed them soilds!!

 

i hope that help mate

 

best of luck with the pups!!

 

 

OMG! Bread and milk!!! Puppies need PROTEIN: protein is found in MEAT> that is the best form of protein for a dog. If you can't get meat (though for the life of me I can't see how anyone can't get hold of meat) then a good quality puppy complete food will do.

 

And CAT FOOD! no way: far too rich: and tinned cat food is mostly water anyway............AND what's the point of spending a fortune on something like that when beef mince, butcher's trimmings (chicken carcases etc) cost next to nothing AND is much better for them.

 

Yes, pups will survive on bread and milk<but in the same way as it has now been proved to do a ferret no good, a dog won't grow to its best or thrive or do very well on bread and milk.

 

I can't believe anyone in this day and age honestly believes that bread and milk is the best food for pups.

 

Yes, please go and get the Book of the Bitch: it will tell you almost everything you need to know.

 

I'm now really going to have a rant! There are loads of pups advertised on here all the time: sometimes the litters are obviously really well reared, but just as often I see pups with staring coats, tucked up or pot bellies, bulgy eyes and stick thin legs with not enough bone: all signs of a diet lacking in protein, calcium or both, or a heavy worm burden. Cheap shit complete dog foods which are cereal based are NOT the right food for a puppy.

 

I don't for one moment think that rearing a litter well is rocket science: just common sense. Feed the best quality food available: rearing a litter doesn't come cheap unless you have permanent access to whole carcases which you can put through a mincer, though you'll need to add some extra animal fat if you are only feeding rabbits.

 

And NO, I haven't had a bad day: I just see red when I see someone asking for help, and being given ridiculous advice like feeding bread and milk to puppies.

[skycat 6,173]

Some pups reared purely on meat, carcases and mother's milk.

[marky r 25]

fantasctic skycat iv got a bullx pup and this has been the most well reared pup iv had. The others iv got had pot bellies wormy and iv been to visit a few litters and they have been less than eight week with rock hard biscuits in the dish and you can just tell buy looking at them there a cheap brand.

 

All my dogs get now is the odd meal of biscuits and the rest are off cuts of meat and chicken necks from the butcher next door and we get cockerals at 16weeks which are surplus to the breeders requirements all for nowt! you can get meat quite easily just put a bit of thought into it.

[marky r 25]

Skycat how would you add the animal fat to the diet if you just fed rabbit?

[skycat 6,173]

Sorry, forgot to add: chicken or beef mince, or minced rabbit (no bones to begin with) served at body temperature and made a bit sloppy with warm water is as near to how a wild dog would regurgitate meat for her pups: take the bitch out when you give this to the pups and leave them for half an hour with the food. Let bitch back in to finish the rest. Weaning can take several weeks and should not be hurried unless the bitch is unwell or won't feed the pups herself< but that is a whole different subject.

[skycat 6,173]

Skycat how would you add the animal fat to the diet if you just fed rabbit?

 

We've got an electric mincer and we put butcher's waste fat (lamb and beef) through at the same time. If you haven't got a mincer then it all takes a lot longer: pups of 4 weeks old can't cope with bone fragments very well so you'd have to cut the meat off the bone, chop it up very finely and do the same with the fat<which is of course solid and white like suet.

 

You can use vegetable oil, but I never think that is going to be as good as animal fat which a dog's digestive system is designed to make better use of.

 

Once pups hit 5 to 6 weeks old then they can digest bone fragments: our mincer is only small and we have to smash the bigger rabbit bones up with an axe to get them into the mincer: if you don't have a mincer then just smash the rabbit and all its bones to a pulp with the axe and the fat at the same time: about 15% fat to meat and bone. Obviously winter rabbits have a lot more fat on them, but spring and early summer rabbits are pretty lean. That's how we did it before we had the mincer.

[Almateus 2]

goats milk and readybrek starts them lapping , then slowly add minced meats over a week or so untill the meat is the main diet. i like to give pups a supper of goats milk and readybrek untill they leave , it's not actually much nutritionally but it settles them to bed.

 

chicken carcass is good for them to suck on and eventually they will chew and devour them, chicken wings are brilliant too.. wish i could get hold of rabbits but i can't grrrrrr...