Bottle Feed Puppies
It may seem daunting to bottle-feed orphaned puppies, but it is necessary for their survival. Puppies need to be fed to stay alive, so don’t worry – you can do this! Reading this article will help you learn how to feed your pets. The article has nine sections that answer common questions about pet food. After reading this article, you will know as much as a veterinarian does about pet care.
What Should You Feed Newborn Puppies?
There is a big difference between what you should feed newborn puppies and what you have available. Puppies should eat their mother’s milk. It is a fact that is not disputed, even by intense marketing campaigns from puppy milk replacers.
Colostrum is a nutrient-rich fluid that female mammals produce soon after giving birth. This fluid is essential for feeding newborn puppies the necessary nutrients to grow. Colostrum contains large amounts of components that help to fight infection. It helps prevent or treat diseases that may occur in a puppy’s gastrointestinal tract.
Many newborn puppies do not have the luxury of receiving their mother’s milk. If the mother does not have enough milk, is dehydrated or stressed, or has infected glands, you may need to find other ways to feed her puppies. The solution to your puppy feeding problems may be commercial puppy formula. So what are your options?
Different Types Of Puppy Formula
To make it easier for you, we’ve created a list of the most popular types of puppy formulas: powdered and canned.
Powdered Puppy Formula
Powdered puppy formula is a popular replacement for mother’s milk. Most brands add vegetable oil to make the formula more palatable and digestible for puppies. The formulas are also fortified with colostrum, which helps compensate for the lack of essential vitamins and minerals puppies lose when they don’t have their mother’s milk.
Remember that any leftover formula should be discarded within 24 hours after reconstituting the powder. Although it may be tempting to save it, resist temptation. Puppies have a high mortality rate, so proper hygiene is essential for keeping them safe.
In addition to colostrum, look for powdered newborn puppy milk that contains goats’ milk. Goats’ milk is packed full of vitamins such as B, E, K, and D, which can help digestion for young puppies.
Canned Puppy Formula
Canned puppy formulas are already pre-mixed. It means that they must be refrigerated from the time of purchase. However, canned puppy formulas are more convenient than powdered ones because you do not have to mix them. Canned puppy formulas are also more expensive than powdered puppy formulas.
If you are looking for a powdered or liquid form of puppy formula, our review will help you decide.
Bottle Feeding Vs. Syringe Feeding
Bottle Feeding
Bottle-feeding puppies is a way for them to drink milk from a rubber nipple. It’s good news that bottles and rubber nipples are easy to find at pet stores or veterinary hospitals.
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Syringe Feeding
Syringe feeding differs from bottle feeding because you put the food in the puppy’s mouth to swallow it. To do this, suck up the milk replacement with the syringe and then put the tip of the syringe in the corner of the puppy’s mouth. Push down on the plunger slowly so that small amounts of food are deposited on their tongue.
Pros
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How to Mix Up Puppy Milk Formula
Making a puppy milk formula usually is not complicated. You want to make sure there is the right amount of powder to water, and this mixture will depend on the age of your puppies:
- Puppies between 1-10 days old: Mix one scoop of powder with two scoops of water
- Puppies older than ten days old: Mix two scoops of powder with three scoops of water
This water shouldn’t be sparkling but either tap or bottled. Now that you know the correct ratio, it’s time to give it a good stir. If you don’t feel like stirring manually, we have some good news- you can use a mixer until the formula is smooth.
Now that your pup’s nursing bottle is clean, you must pour the liquid inside. Be sure to clean the bottle by sterilizing it with boiling water before and after each feeding.
Gently warm the liquid inside the bottle by placing it in a pan of lukewarm water. Ensure the water is not too hot, harming the delicate puppies. Another way to warm up the water is to hold the bottle against your body for a few minutes before feeding it to the puppies. After that, you can provide them!
Simple Guidelines to Bottle Feeding Newborn Puppies
You must stay calm when feeding your newborn puppies. It will help them feel comfortable and confident. Handling an infant puppy is very important!
Put the puppy in this position: on its stomach and head level with the ground. It is the same position they would be in if they were feeding from their mother. Do not feed a puppy on its back because it might choke. Puppies should be laid down on a soft surface to protect their belly.
Make sure to wash your hands before you open your puppy’s mouth. Use one finger to open the puppy’s mouth gently. Then, put the bottle tip on the tip of the newborn’s tongue. If that doesn’t work, stroke the newborn puppies to get them to eat.
When your pup starts to feed, tip the bottle up, so they don’t suck in a lot of air. Then wait 10-15 minutes for them to finish eating. You’ll know they’re done when they spit out the bottle on their own. Please do not squeeze the bottle to feed them faster because this could cause them to choke.
Even if your puppy is done eating, you still need to burp them. When you were tipping the bottle up while they were feeding, the puppy swallowed less air. But if you do not burp them, they may still have a bloated belly. To burp them, pick them up gently and hold them against your torso. Rub their sides to help release the air that was taken in while they were eating.
Can I Use a Baby Bottle to Feed a Puppy?
Using a baby bottle to feed puppies is not a good idea. Puppies don’t have as good of a sucking reflex as newborn babies, so that they might choke on the milk. It improves the chance that they will get pneumonia.
Suppose you have trouble finding a bottle designed specifically for feeding puppies and kittens. In that case, you can buy a baby bottle for premature babies. These bottles usually have a slow flow, which is safer for young animals. In addition, many bottles meant for premature babies have an internal system that prevents vacuum-free feeding. This feature has been linked to reducing colic caused by wind.
How Often to Bottle Feed Newborn Puppies
Newborn puppies must be fed every two hours in their first week. In the following weeks, they will need to be provided less frequently. We have outlined how often you should provide your puppies below:
- One week old – 8 feedings per day
- Two weeks old – 5 feedings per day
- Three weeks old – 4 feedings per day
- Four weeks old – 4 feedings per day
Before following the feeding guidelines detailed above, we encourage you to check the back of your puppy’s formula label. The policies may be different for different brands of puppy food.
How Long Do You Have to Bottle Feed a Puppy?
Once puppies are a month old, you can start transitioning them from bottle-fed to solid foods. You can help them transition by soaking their kibble in warm water or blending it. They should be able to consume dry kibble without difficulty by eight weeks.
How many formulae Should a Newborn Puppy Eat?
The amount of formula that a newborn puppy should eat is related to its weight. As soon as your puppies are born, record their birth weight. Weighing them each day after that is important, so you keep up to date on your puppies’ progress. Don’t worry if you notice that your puppies are gaining about 15% of their body weight every day. It is usual for healthy puppies at this age and stage.
You need to know how much formula to feed a puppy by finding out how much the puppy weighs. Puppies should eat one ounce of milk replacer for every eight ounces of their weight. You can figure out how much formula to give them each time by counting the number of times you should feed them each day and multiplying it by the amount they should eat each time.
If you’re scared of creating a long-term feeding schedule, don’t worry! You can always ask your veterinarian for help. They know what they’re doing and will be able to give you sound advice.
Read more: How to Introduce Pets to Babies
Frequently Asked Questions About Bottle Fed Puppies
Orphan puppies can be a lot of work to take care of, especially if they are bottle-fed and have no mother or siblings. Without proper training, they can be challenging to manage.
There are many reasons a puppy may not be able to feed from its mother. It can include being orphaned, the mother dog unwilling or unable to nurse, or the puppy too weak to nurse. If so, you will need to bottle-feed them with the formula for at least one month.
Puppies will generally need to drink from a bottle until they are about four weeks old. They should eat every two to three hours during the day, and you should wake up during the night to give them food if they haven’t eaten in a while.
Puppies raised by hand often have behavioral problems when they grow up. They missed out on essential skills that they learned from their mothers. To avoid these issues with your puppies, begin handling and socializing them carefully when they are four weeks old.