Puppies, from birth to two months of age, must be fed by their mother. She will provide them with the very nutritious mother's milk, which is the only truly natural food for the little ones. But sometimes she is either not present, or cannot take care of feeding her little ones because her human is in a hurry to get rid of them. What to do in these cases?
If you have met or adopted some newborn furry and do not know what to feed them, then I will explain you what should be the feeding of puppies from birth until they are one year old.
Feeding orphaned newborn puppies
Newborn puppies that have been orphaned should be fed substitute milk that we will find for sale in animal stores, both physical and online, as well as in veterinary clinics. This milk is sold in powder, which depending on the brand and the concentration, you have to add more or less amount to water. Then, we will put it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it up. In the case of not finding anywhere, we can give them pasteurized goat's milk.
This food must be given in a bottle, also for sale in veterinary clinics and pet stores, so that it is much easier and more comfortable for them to suck the milk.
How often should they eat?
During the first three days of life you have to give them almost continuously, every 2 hours both day and night. From the fourth day and until the month of life we will give them every 3 hours. If any of the little ones were sleeping all night, and as long as they were healthy, there would be no need to wake them up; But yes, during the day he has to take his bottle every three hours.
Puppy feeding during weaning
From the month of life the puppies will have already passed the most critical period and will be able to start eating solid and soft food, like cans of wet food specifically for them. As the normal thing is that they do not find it very funny at first, we will take a little with our fingers and we will introduce it carefully into their mouth and then close it gently. Thus, instinctively they will swallow, and from then on they will probably eat on their own.
Another thing we can do is mix it with the milk that we have been giving them so far, always a little warm (about 37ºC). The frequency will be every 4-5 hours.
Puppy feeding after weaning and up to one year of age
Once the puppies have already been weaned They can continue to be given cans, either dry feed or natural food (Barf Diet, Yum Diet) three or four times a day. It will depend on our budget and our interests, to give them one type of food or another. To make it easier for us to decide, let's see what the main characteristics of each are:
- Cans: they have more smell and taste than dry feed. In addition, they contain 70% water, so it helps them stay hydrated. The price of quality cans - without cereals - is about 30 euros per kilo.
- Dry feed: with this type of food you can always have the trough filled. If it is of quality, it contains all the vitamins and minerals that furry babies need, helping them to have good growth. The price per kilo is 8-15 euros.
- Natural food: if we want to give natural food, the ideal is to consult with a canine nutritionist, or give them the Yum Diet, which is meat mixed with a low percentage of vegetables that are very nutritious for animals. The price per kilo comes to about 10 euros more or less, except if we give it Yum, which each 6kg box costs about 20 euros.
I hope it has been useful to you 🙂.