05 Apr The Best Method For Breastfeeding To The Puppy

How long does the puppy breastfeed? Most puppies feed on their mother’s milk for at least eight weeks; from then on, they can eat food. But what should we do if the dog becomes an orphan or her mother doesn’t breastfeed? If he’s big enough and can eat food, we must feed it with a bottle. Feeding puppies without a mother takes a relatively long time and requires enough patience and several devices, including appropriate bottles and special powdered milk. In this article, we will discuss how to breastfeed the puppy, how much the volume of each meal should be and other important points. Stay tuned to the end.

When do the puppies open their eyes?

The puppies’ sense of vision and hearing weren’t fully formed at the beginning of their birth. If there are problems such as blindness, inaccurate childbirth, etc., they can gradually open their eyes after two weeks. Of course, the view of the puppies after two weeks isn’t complete yet, and it usually takes a while to reach. Even if these sweet creatures cannot see their surroundings well and accurately, they are so intelligent and have a high sense of smell that they can quickly discover the world around them.

Choosing suitable milk

The best, most valuable and tasty milk for a newborn puppy is her breast milk. If feeding her breast milk is impossible, you shouldn’t give her Cow’s milk directly. One of the mistakes that have become commonplace in breastfeeding is to give low-fat milk, which is like water and has no high nutritional value. Due to the nutritional value of low-fat milk, the puppies don’t have suitable feed and will have to eat more, which can lead to diarrhoea. You can use baby milk powder, but with a higher concentration. Prepare it for the puppy or use the special puppy milk.

The amount of breastfeeding to the puppies

This description should have been written on it, but if it weren’t, do as follows. The amount of powdered milk for the puppy depends on his weight and age. Usually, a newborn puppy eats about 125 grams of milk powder for every kilogram of his weight, and you have to divide this number by the number of meals.

How many times a day to feed the puppy?

The puppies are growing and need more meals. It would be best to try to consider a specific diet for them. They should be fed their mother’s milk until one month, and if it isn’t possible to breastfeed the mother, use their special milk powder. It’s better to feed a newborn puppy every 2 to 3 hours. After the age of one month, in addition to the milk, start giving soft foods at different meals. A one-month-old puppy should eat 4 to 5 meals a day. After three months, you can use dry and wet puppy food. From the age of six months, the puppy’s diet gradually moves towards an adult dog’s diet, and you must be very careful about the number of calories they consume.

How to breastfeed a puppy?

Wash the bottle, cap, etc., with soap and water, then drain completely to ensure no soap. Then, sterilise it in boiling water for a few minutes (maximum five minutes). After that, add water to the powdered milk to the amount written on the package and stir. For some brands, you must heat the water to a specific temperature before adding the powdered milk. When feeding the puppy, keep his head straight because if his head is tilted up, the milk will go into his lungs. Keep the dog’s body horizontal, but let it remain in a natural position and don’t put it on his back like a baby. When you put the tip of the bottle in his mouth, you should also keep the bottle horizontal so that he doesn’t raise his head while eating.

Like a baby, you have to make the dog burp after every breastfeeding so that he doesn’t hurt. To hold the puppy, keep him upright and put him on your shoulder. Then gently tap his back. You should also help him to defecate after eating. Infant puppies can’t urinate or defecate alone; their mother has to stimulate them with her tongue. You can gently rub a wet cotton ball on the puppy’s genital area and anus. Pay attention to the dog’s faeces and see if it’s normal. The stool should be soft but not watery. Watch out for the symptoms of diarrhoea. Diarrhoea can also be a sign of overeating, so if this happens, you should reduce the amount of food a little and see if the problem is solved so that the dog doesn’t suffer from a digestive disease!

The duration of breastfeeding the puppy

Puppies urgently need milk in the first two to four weeks. Excellent and proper nutrition helps them survive. Breastfeeding strengthens the puppy’s bones; at an older age, he will suffer less from bone and joint diseases. Since the newborn dog needs to receive calcium and phosphorus for his organs to develop optimally, it’s better to drink milk from birth until one month old.

Breastfeeding a motherless puppy in an emergency

If you don’t have access to commercial formula, you can temporarily use homemade recipes, but remember that these things can’t meet the dog’s needs, and we don’t highly recommend them. To prepare homemade powdered milk, mix these ingredients:

• 1 cup of cow’s or goat’s milk that has not been separated from the fat
• One tablespoon of oil
• One pinch of salt
• Three egg yolks

Heat the milk slowly to 35-38 degrees so that it’s easier for the dog to eat. Be careful not to do this too quickly or too much. Otherwise, the egg yolks will cook. If you want to use a microwave oven, do it little by little in 5 to 10-second increments and stir well each time. Otherwise, some parts may get very hot. If you don’t have a special bottle, you can temporarily use a dropper or a syringe that can be washed and sterilised or a small spoon.

When should the puppy be weaned?

Weaning puppies is a big problem for their mothers. Puppies start teething when they are close to 4 months or eight months old, so that breastfeeding will be very painful for the mother. Therefore, they should be weaned and given solid food so that they can grow more with its help of it. When the puppy has reached the age of puberty and is ready to defend himself without the mother, it’s the best time to wean him.

Puppies who haven’t been fed their mother’s milk and grown up with powdered and pasteurised milk should be given unique and delicious foods instead of milk in their food bowl over time. These feeds also have a pleasing aroma and attract puppies. If the puppy is well-fed with milk at the right time and learns the necessary skills from the mother, he can show excellent reactions after puberty and has learned the skills needed. The best time to wean a puppy is when his teeth start to grow, and he can grow with the help of solid food. By cutting off the milk, the puppy may become a little violent, but by providing him with solid food and consuming food, the puppy will move away from milk over time and go to the same reliable food. 

Is powdered milk suitable for puppies?

As we have already mentioned, puppies should use their mother’s milk, but in the absence of their mother’s milk, you can also use powdered milk. This milk is one of the leading food ingredients to meet the needs of the puppy’s body, and it’s essential for the correct process and regular course of their growth. From the beginning of birth to 4 or 5 weeks old, puppies should consume milk or powdered milk alone, and after that, other complementary foods are gradually added to their diet.

Why doesn’t your dog drink milk?

The leading food of puppies is milk, but if a puppy can’t eat his mother’s milk, Cow’s milk alone isn’t good for him. Cow milk has less fat, protein, calcium and phosphorus than dog milk. Due to lactose, Cow’s milk may cause sensitivity in puppies and lead to diarrhoea, vomiting and allergies. As long as the puppy feeds on his mother’s milk, due to the presence of lactase in the body, he can break down the lactose in the milk sugar, and it won’t have any problems. So he can grow well. But it’s possible that after growing up from the infant stage, his body will produce less lactase and suffer from lactose intolerance. Eating milk will cause him diarrhoea, vomiting and allergies.

To wrap up

Breastfeeding a puppy with a bottle isn’t complicated; it just takes time. But knowing some points makes this work more accessible and takes less time. Try not to separate the puppy from his mother as much as possible, but if it happens for any reason, take the responsibility of feeding it yourself. To have a healthy and lively dog, you must pay attention to nutrition, activity, health, grooming, etc. In all these steps, you can count on the specialised team of MishkaGrooming. Our experienced and precise groomers have carefully and accurately groomed your dogs so they count the moments before the next session. In winter, keep in mind that the dog shouldn’t get sick.