Almost 7 week old pup

carfiosaoorl

I got a new puppy yesterday. According to the ad which was placed on the 14th of Feb the puppy was 2 months old which would make her 9 weeks now. Only when I got home I read her vaccination card and it says she was born on the 6th of Jan which would make her only 6 1/2 weeks. I know this is too young to be away from her mother and I'm worried now.
Yesterday when we got home she refused to eat or drink. I was up all night with her crying (her not me) but today thankfully she ate a good bit but is refusing water or milk.
Im not sure how much she should be eating at this age so any advice would be great. I was worried about her yesterday and this morn because all she wanted to do was sleep and cry but thankfully this evening she has been very lively and playful.

bubbuz

Try her on readybreak mixed with milk, about 3-4 times a day, she'll get all she needs from that for the time being.

carfiosaoorl

Thanks bubbuz I would never have thought of readybrek. I have been giving her royal canine puppy mushed with milk and water. She is peeing fine but only pooed once and it was very solid. Should I continue as I am or would readybrek be better?

Whispered

You should ask your vet when you bring the pup for it's vaccinations. In the meantime you can feed puppy food. If she's not taking water then consider a wet food - I wouldn't usually recommend it but at least you'd know she was getting some liquid into her. I'd avoid milk as dogs should not have too much cows milk, but if it encourages her to drink a tiny drop mixed into her water might be ok. I would totally avoid things like readybrek.

The crying is normal so don't worry. She is missing out on a socialisation period with her mother and littermates so you will have to fill that gap. You can expect nips and unacceptable play . (can anyone more experienced tell me if pups taken young tend to be fatter when older, I've noticed it in a few terriers but it could be coincidence)

Really you should return her, obviously the breeder is shady and you could have unknowingly bought an unhealthly bred puppy. But of course you most likely don't want to do that, to be honest, despite knowing what I "should" do I wouldn't either. But do call the breeder to tell them that you're unhappy and I would report them to the website.

Best of luck with her!

SingItOut

Don't give her milk on its own as it upsets their stomachs and can cause diarrhea (dangerous in young animals) but if your mixing a small amount in with her ready break then she should be fine. Try her with a little wet dog food mixed with the royal canin (i'm assuming its dry nuts? & if you go to the vets you can buy royal canin wet food to mix in) and leave a small bowl/saucer of water out for her, she'll drink it if she wants it

bubbuz

Whispered wrote: »

I would totally avoid things like readybrek.

I have to disagree with you as my lab had a litter of 10 pups and by 5/6 weeks she was exhausted with their demand on her, I spoke to various breeders and my vet and was advised to feed them readybrek, every single pup ended up fit and healthy.

The crying is normal so don't worry. She is missing out on a socialisation period with her mother and littermates so you will have to fill that gap.

Definitely agree with you here.

mikemac1

I was always told a rule of thumb for the crying was three nights

With the pups we've had over the years it's been more or less accurate

Whispered

I could be wrong but I'd imagine that readybrek holds no nutritional value for a pup , maybe as a suppliment when they are weaning and getting all the nutrients they need from their mother it's ok, but as their only food I think it would be a bad idea. I personally would avoid it totally.

You can get porridge type feed developed for puppies as well as puppy milk which I think would be much more suitable, but at the age they are at I think mashed up puppy food, with puppy milk would be fine.

I do think OP should get advice from their vet on this as good nutrition early on is so very important.

What about Milupa? I used to rear pigeon chicks on milupa from a syringe. Pretty sure it'd work for the pup. Had to feed the pigeon 5 times a day so I don't know about a pup.

DBB

OP, Ready Brek is entirely inappropriate for a pup, of any age, and I'm cringeing that the advice is up here. There is very little of canine-appropriate nutritional value in it, and in fact the ingredients in it are more likely to cause an upset tummy. It is also way too high in sodium... You may or may not remember a number of years ago there was a general warning circulated that Ready Brek and Weetabix were potentially dangerous for human infants due to the sodium content? Well, if it's dangerous for a human, who it is manufactured for, how could it be good for a pup?
I can only think that anyone who recommends feeding this stuff to a pup is confusing it with Puppy Porridge, which looks similar and is prepared in a similar way, by adding warm water to it. But Ready Brek ain't Puppy Porridge, and at 6.5 wks pup is beyond the Puppy Porridge stage.
Cow's milk is also a no-no. At 6.5 wks the pup is okay without mother's milk, but if you must, you can by puppy milk replacer in pet shops. Cow's milk will upset pup's tummy.
Many pups get a bit funny about eating when taken from their original home with mum and siblings. Steep dry puppy food in warm water, mash it up with some tasty meat or tinned fish (eg sardines in mineral water), and only expect pup to eat small amounts regularly. Ask the breeder what pup's used to, and replicate this until you can gradually wean her off it. That's assuming the breeder was feeding her an appropriate food.
I'd also bring her to the vet asap as if she was given away as young as 6.5 wks, chances are she hasn't been appropriately wormed, and a heavy worm burden can affect appetite.
For general puppy rearing and development advice, click on the Training Textbook tab of www.dogstardaily.com.
Good luck with her!

andreac

Please do not feed your pupr eady brek, as DBB said, it is absol not suitable for dogs or growing puppies.

Im involved in owning and breeding dogs and know a lot of very experienced breeders, none of which have ever fed ready brek.

Also, you should not feed your pup milk as dogs are lactose intolerant and it can make them very sick.

Go to the pet shop and get a good quality weaning food for puppies and soak it in warm water to make a mash type food and feed that at least 4 times a day.
At nearly 7 weeks your your pup should be able to eat puppy food so make sure you get a good quality one in your local vets or pet shop.

If you want to add something, scrambled egg is something you could add, but stay away from ready brek, milk etc, its not good for them.

carfiosaoorl

Thank you all for the replies. The breeder told me she was feeding her dry food mushed with milk and water and occasionally scrambled egg. I bought nature diet wet puppy food in the pet shop this morning. Can anyone tell me if this is good food?

Mikemac-Fingers crossed you are right, she actually slept 5 hrs straight last night which was great

andreac

If the breeder was feeding this then its not a very good breeder im afraid.

What kind of dog is it?

The pup should be on a good quality weaning puppy food, can you not get some of this from the pet shop or vets?

Wet puppy food isnt great, so i would look for a good quality starter weaning food. Its so important your pup gets a good start in life so you need to try and sort this asap.

player101

unrelated to the age issue,

two easy ways to stop the crying is

1. wrap a clock that has a tick in a towel, the pup will associate the ticking as mothers heart beat and will sleep easier through the night.

2. wrap a towel around a hot water bottle, again the pup will believe that the towel is mother and should fal asleep easier.

woudl never advise sitting up with him all night if he cries, he is like a child and will keep crying to get your attention at night.

best of luck

DBB

Naturediet is pretty good, as wet foods go, and certainly a good route to take to encourage pup to eat. I'm no fan of most dry foods but you could get pup eating the Naturediet, then start adding mushy dry food. Gradually dry the food out! But for now, get her eating, and a visit to the vet would be good.

TooManyDogs

Totally agree with feeding advice from DBB and Andreac.

Only thing I'd say is off topic but gave me a scare this morning as my 2 year old was demanding Rotabix (weetabix!)

DBB wrote: »

OP, Ready Brek .... It is also way too high in sodium... You may or may not remember a number of years ago there was a general warning circulated that Ready Brek and Weetabix were potentially dangerous for human infants due to the sodium content? Well, if it's dangerous for a human

The scare/warning was about 12 years ago and the salt content in both Ready Brek and Weetabix are now really low. It's still completely inappropriate to feed a puppy, but is ok to feed your child. Just in case anyone else had horrors of poisining their child like I did

callmekenneth

do what they said ^^ but also post some pics

wetdogsmell

i've taken plenty of litters away at 6 weeks and never had a problem, but i would have been feeding them since they were 4 weeks old, i've tried plenty of different foods but you can't beat mince mashed up with hot water, just make sure you worm the pup every two weeks while its young

andreac

Its fine to wean pups at 6 weeks from the mother, but they shouldnt leave their littermates and mother until they are at least 8 weeks old.

By 6 weeks they should be off the mother and feeding themselves, but they shouldnt leave for their new homes until at least 8 or more. Its not recommended to do this, 6 weeks is far too young and those two weeks are crucial in a pups development.