supplementing pups - Page 1

Has anyone ever used Purina Mills Pro Nurser milk replacement to tube feed puppies?  Is this a good milk replacer?  How did it work for you?  I have a litter of 9 2 day old pups that's mother doesn't have enough milk to feed all the pups.  Thanks in advance.

Mysti

Mysti,

Why do you say she doesn't have enough milk? If she's a first time mom her milk could be just coming in now. I would concentrate on increasing her milk supply with plenty of protein and fluids. It's better for the pups for Mom to feed them. If you start supplementing the puppies they won't nurse as vigorously and she'll never have enough milk-do you want to feed 9 puppies for weeks? She will need alot of food and buckets of fluids to feed a family of 9.  My bitch had 9 puppies in her first litter and at the height of nursing, 3-4 weeks old, she was eating 4 meals a day and emptying several quart buckets of water a day. I feed raw so high protein wasn't a problem.

Jo Ann

The first to the third day following the birth of the puppies is the most important period, because this is when the colostrum is present in the mama's milk. If you need to supplement the puppies, a good commercial formula will help. I have never used the product you mentioned. The Borden's Esbilac is a great formula for newborns.

http://www.petguys.com/-020279994980.html

All the puppies were losing weight and when they ate they would complain quite frequently so I have had to supplement them and have been using Esbilac but found this Purina milk replacement and thought that I might give it a try.  Since I have started tubing them they have all started to gain weight instead of losing it.  I have been giving them 3cc's every 4 hours and still letting them nurse all day and all night whenever they want which is pretty much non stop.  This is what my vet recommended me to do so that is what I am doing.  Thanks.

I posted a note like this a few days back, but some friends of mine who have been breeding for 35 years always supplement the mom with goats milk, they said it seems to help her replenish her milk faster!

When the puppies are starting to eat at about 3 weeks or so, they also are given the goats milk, and all of their puppies always look great!!

Good luck!

KariM-good post. I will follow that I also supplement the dam with goat's milk long before the puppies get any. She can quickly convert the nutrients to milk herself, and the fluid keeps her hydrated.

One does not need to buy the canned and condensed milk, and goat's milk can be found as a dry powder in most grocery stores as many people are lactose-intolerant (just like all dogs) and want to drink milk.

For babies, I tend to use the condensed goat's milk right from the can, save for the fact it is warmed a bit. The only time I do this is during a large litter of say, ten (10) or more puppies. For a normal litter of five (5) to seven (7) babies the dam can normally make enough milk. Of course even though she has twelve (12) teats, one (1) or two (2) of them may not produce milk.  I tend to keep a case of canned milk available just in case there is a problem, and over the years bottle-fed but one (1) female because she was so tiny and was pushed away by her larger siblings.

Stay away from cow's milk, as the puppies cannot digest it and it can cause diarrhoea.

Best Regards,

Bob-O

Mysti,  I would CAUTION that you don't CHANGE what your doing too much,  these are VERY young babies with VERY sensitive tummies.... BE Very careful in changing things up too often,  and when you do be sure you do so SLOWLY meaning mix it up 3/4 of one mix and 1/4 of the new then go to 1/2 and 1/2 then 3/4 of the new and 1/4 of the original finally 100% of the new,  BE sure to do these types of food changes VERY slowly !!!   

I wish you the best,  I have not used the product you mention,  in the shelter when we HAVE to,  we also use the goat milk...

By the way my friends feed the moms 1 quart of goats milk a day. They buy it by the case, I don't think it's too expensive, can't be more than puppy food, and this way it just helps to replenish mom, and the puppies are still drinking from mom!

Again, good luck!