Puppies should be weighed daily (with any who aren’t making expected gains receiving additional supplements) during this week. Furthermore, their eyes should begin opening around this time.
At four weeks of age, puppies should receive gruel consisting of milk replacer and softened puppy food in water as an early food source in a low heavy dish such as a flying saucer, pie plate or ashtray. Puppies should savor this nutritious treat!
Contents
1. Water
Water is essential in providing your puppy with its daily nutrition, so make sure they have access to clean drinking water by placing a bowl near their food or bed. Add flavor with low-sodium chicken broth added directly into their water bowl!
Puppies can become dehydrated quickly, so it is vital that they follow a regular feeding schedule with breaks for water. Keep in mind that puppies may require additional water intake due to wet or raw foods in their diet, or in hot temperatures or during physical activities.
If you are bottle-feeding your puppy, use a milk replacer designed specifically for puppies that should never be refrigerated and should always remain at room temperature. Never give cow’s milk because this could be dangerous to their health and growth. In addition, make sure to periodically weigh them using an accurate kitchen scale so as to monitor their development and growth.
2. Milk Replacer
Newborn puppies rely heavily on their mother’s milk for all of the essential nutrition they require to thrive and if she stops producing milk or the litter becomes sick, they could quickly perish within hours if their nutrients don’t arrive on time. Milk replacement services are the only sure way to ensure orphaned puppies receive all of the essential nutrition they require in order to survive.
Commercial puppy milk replacers can be purchased from veterinarians or pet supply stores and should be fed according to your puppy’s body temperature and the label instructions.
Puppies should be fed while lying on their stomachs due to lack of an effective gag reflex and thus inhaleing too much milk, potentially leading to pneumonia. Bottle-fed puppies are better off not refrigerating as their bodies cannot regulate temperature as easily. Prior to feeding goat milk is best as its fat and protein content do not meet a puppy’s nutritional requirements; powdered puppy milk replacer specifically tailored for orphaned puppies is often best.
3. Solid Food
At this age, puppies have gained strength and are beginning to socialize with their littermates while becoming increasingly curious about the world around them. If possible, nursing should occur as often as their mother allows; otherwise a milk replacer formula with water should be provided accordingly to meet nutritional requirements (as instructed by your veterinarian).
Puppies must be fed on their stomachs because they do not possess an effective gag reflex and could choke. Bottle feeding poses several unique challenges; depending on how it’s held and which top type it uses can affect whether the puppy takes to their meal willingly or not.
Check that the milk replacer you choose provides all essential nutrients, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid crucial for brain development, which should be found on its food label. Weigh your puppies regularly using an easily-cleanable scale (like a kitchen scale), recording weight daily.
4. Biscuits
Puppies at this age require several meals of food designed for their specific needs every day, especially if introducing new food such as transitioning from wet to dry or switching brands of food. To minimize upset stomach, transition should occur gradually over a 10-day period.
At this stage, a mixture of milk replacer and canned or dry puppy food blended to a thick paste should be put into a flat saucer and offered four times per day to the puppies to lap and feed from.
Puppy food should contain high levels of protein and calcium for proper development and should also be nutritionally balanced, so it’s wiser to feed your pup quality puppy food from day one instead of feeding titbits from your table, which could lack essential vitamins. It is also wiser to avoid feeding bones such as T-bones or large sawn bones which could potentially cause tooth damage or internal obstructions in their system.
