June 23, 2012 Passing the two week hurdle!!

Hi all,

Sorry, it's been a while but puppies and life obligations get in the way.

Last night was amazing..... fed the kids, tucked them in at 2300 hrs and off to sleep they went until 0830 am. Yahoo!!! a nights sleep. How the little things start to really matter.

But on to the stories of the last few days.....

Group 1 all happy after a meal ;-D

Group 2 after the same meal ;-D and then there was silence and sleep for all.

Single shots of each of the kids. I haven't had them on the scale but Tony has been dutifully filling their mosquito like bellies many times a day while I was away. I think I should be able to hire him out as a puppy nanny. Perhaps his next calling?

Puppy pile on Devon. He has been asking to see his puppy all week

A big lazy yawn from a puppy.

Devon helping me feed the puppies

Family photo? or close to it. Devon is showing his new brother Ryder a potential future family member.

A kiss good-bye for this week.

Bobi has been challenged both by her spay following her c-section delivery and the number of puppies she has to feed. We have been supplementing her diet with several calcium rich foods (yogurt, raw ground chicken and bone, and puppy dog chow). She has also been receiving Fenugreek to help increase her milk production. This product is available in health food stores and makes the urine smell like maple syrup. Odd, I know, but true.


Bottle feeding is not an easy thing to do successfully. It often becomes trial and error to find the right nipple, bottle, temperature of the milk and holding technique and it takes a great deal of patience.

The formula recipe I use is:
3 parts goat milk
1 part whip cream
.5 part Pacific canned milk
tsp of high fat, high calcium yogurt after day 14 (to kick start the puppy gut enzymes in preparation for pablum and puppy food)

For example: a 9 oz bottle would be 6 oz goat's milk, 2 oz whip cream and 1 oz canned milk.

Microwave heat in desired amount of formula in a glass cup to the right temperature and then pour back into the plastic bottle. Never heat in the plastic bottle or with the nipple attached.

Nipples tend to be more of a challenge. They come in many shapes, sizes and textures. Through trial, error and expense I have found that silicone nipples seem to work the best. Not sure if there is a taste component to the latex that they do not prefer.

Nipples also come in a variety of suggested age usages. (who knew???) 0-3 months has 1 small hole and allows the milk to trickle a little slower until they develop their suck-swallow reflexes. Once they have been on the  bottle for 10-14 days I graduate them to the 3-6 month nipple. This has more than 1 hole and milk is pulled out much quicker. Caution a puppy that is not ready for this size nipple may aspirate (breathe milk into their lungs) and may develop aspiration pneumonia. This can be vet costly and possibly lead to puppy death.

Both these bottles and nipples work. The puppies prefer the nipple on the right.

This nipple I found worked better for the smaller  Miniature Pincher puppies because it had a shorter nipple and a natural stop point

Bottle feeding has been an important part of this litters survival.  

I have used these normal baby sized nipples with great success even on Miniature Pincher puppies. I am careful to place my fingers in the way to prevent the entire nipple entering their mouths until they have developed a suck-swallow response and grown a little.

Another important thing to remember is that puppies feed on their feet. When holding a puppy it's important to support their bodies (held in position with my left hand) and their heads are cradled in my right hand holding the bottle. My palm (on the opposite side and you can't see it in this picture) is pressing against the puppy's cheek and my fingers are pressing the opposite corner of the puppy's cheek. Then, pull the bottle slightly away (it's really not much) from the puppy. This action simulates puppy feeding competition and encourages the puppy to latch and suck for all it's might.

You will know the puppy has latched by the suck-swallow rhythmic gulp and the rigid body stance. Puppy's tail will be sticking straight out behind and wagging. Puppies will also kneed with the front paws. Much like a cat when it's happy.

I hope this was clearly explained for those that will be rearing their own puppies in the near future.


On another note, we took out Bobi's sutures yesterday. Her incision is looking good and there are no signs of infection. Yeah for Bobi, she's on the mend.


I can't believe how quickly it's going and puppies will be heading home soon. Crate training is as important as house training once a puppy goes home. Please visit our blog series starting July 17, 2010 as a resource on what to expect when puppy is crated for the first time.

So many things to consider, so many things to learn.

I hope this makes up for not being able to get to the blog in the past few days.  Have a great evening.