puppy milk replacer?

[jaybeeee Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close jaybeeee]

We adopted a dog from a shelter back in November. Much to our surprise (and the shelter's too) she was pregnant and gave birth to 7 pups 3and 1/2 weeks ago. Needless to say, we were not exactly prepared for that new development. We have been reading and asking as many questions as we can shove into our brains. Here's one question I wondered if anyone could answer for me. Everything we've read or heard says not to give the puppies cow's milk...but all the homemade recipes for puppy milk replacer have evaporated milk in them. Isn't evaporated milk from a cow? I'm quite confused, especially since many of these recipes come from long time breeders.

[celtechfarms Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close celtechfarms]

Your vet should have a puppy milk replacer you can buy. I'm uncertain as to where evaporated milk comes from, I'll try to remember to check one of the cans while I'm at work today. Personally, I would go with the vet brand stuff over homemade mixes however, its specially formulated just for this job, but if mom is producing fine, I would just leave mom to the job on her own.

[jaybeeee Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close jaybeeee]

Your vet should have a puppy milk replacer you can buy. I'm uncertain as to where evaporated milk comes from, I'll try to remember to check one of the cans while I'm at work today. Personally, I would go with the vet brand stuff over homemade mixes however, its specially formulated just for this job, but if mom is producing fine, I would just leave mom to the job on her own.

Thanks for your reply. The back of our cans of evaporated milk say "milk, dipotassium phosphate, carrageenan, vitamin D3". I assume that means cow's milk. The mom is producing milk just fine and we've let her do her job, but we were reading up on the weaning process and that's where all the puppy milk replacer recipes came up...they said to mix puppy food with the puppy milk replacer to make a puppy mush. Any idea what the commercial brands put in for the milk ingredient?

[celtechfarms Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close celtechfarms]

o idea, I have always left my pups to be weaned by mom and have never weaned on to wet food or milk replacer, simply water and a good quality dry puppy kibble, letting them eat it when they are ready. and I have never seen a puppy not wean.One of my mentors weans their dogs straight onto Raw food, un spoiled duck carcasses and the likes. They don't use replacer or wet food either. I've never heard of the process.

[jaybeeee Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close jaybeeee]

Oh wow! That would be so much easier! Thanks for the info. I wonder why all these other sources don't even tell you that that's an option. So, there's no danger of the pups choking on the dry kibble? Will they just spit it out if they aren't ready? I bet this will help with the teething too, am I right? Hope I'm not being to annoying, but just another question...do you have to be careful of the size of the water dish for pups...can they accidentally drown if it's too big of a dish? (They put this warning out for human toddlers...so I just wondered with puppies).
Thanks for your patience with my naivety. A person can hardly think straight with such a surprise change of plans. :shock:

[jaybeeee Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close jaybeeee]

:oops: Oh, sorry...too many questions...how long does it generally take to wean them completely off the mom with dry puppy kibble?

[celtechfarms Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close celtechfarms]

K, question one, I have never seen a puppy choke on dry kibble, puppy kibble is made very tiny espically for those little teeth and little throats. Question 2 If puppy is not ready to eat dry kibble, simply put, he wont, most puppies are eating dry kiddle before they're weaned and will suppliment mom with the dry food. Question 3 Yep, good for teething, I have actually found baby teeth in my dogs bones, kibble dishes and carpet, lol. Question 4 I have never seen a puppy drown in a water dish, however, that being said, your dish should be relitivly small so that puppy can drink easily without having to climb their front end into the dish, which makes a wet mess, thats not to say puppy wont climb in anyway, but its eaier for them to have a shallow and small dish, perferably a bit smaller then puppy as well at 6 weeks as they may try to turn it into a bed if given a chance.

And finally the last question, I have seen puppies begin eating dry kibble at as young as 4 weeks, but at this point they were still relying heavily on mom for the majority of nurtion. Weaning wise a puppy can techniquly leave mom at about 6 weeks assumeing a normal maturity and not a slow maturing puppy, which may take lonoger. However, taking a puppy from mom before 8 weeks is not recommended, puppies learn crutial behavioural patterns between 6 and eight weeks, this is when they are getting active, playing and rolling around. Its when they learn that biteing hurts and is not a good behavior, and learn to scoialise properly. So though the puppies maybe eating well, and mom is getting up and moving each time puppy tries to latch on, they're still not quiet ready to leave mom at the point.

Not too many questions better to be informed and its always nice to know people are trying to do the right thing by their 'babies'.

[jaybeeee Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close jaybeeee]

Thanks so much for your help! I'm sure I'll be trying to chew your ear again soon (just like a pup :lol: ).

[nelsonfobbs Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close nelsonfobbs]

Oh wow! That would be so much easier! Thanks for the info. I wonder why all these other sources don't even tell you that that's an option. So, there's no danger of the pups choking on the dry kibble? Will they just spit it out if they aren't ready? I bet this will help with the teething too, am I right? Hope I'm not being to annoying, but just another question...do you have to be careful of the size of the water dish for pups...can they accidentally drown if it's too big of a dish? (They put this warning out for human toddlers...so I just wondered with puppies).
Thanks for your patience with my naivety. A person can hardly think straight with such a surprise change of plans. :shock:

I completely agree with jay..I also think so..That would be so much easier!

[hershey20 Cub Find all posts View Profile Close hershey20]

However, taking a puppy from mom before 8 weeks is not recommended, puppies learn crutial behavioural patterns between 6 and eight weeks, this is when they are getting active, playing and rolling around. Its when they learn that biteing hurts and is not a good behavior, and learn to scoialise properly.