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puppy and health

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Puppy & Health Issues Section:
Breeding and Whelping Cherry Eye Puppy's First Clipping Docking Feeding Glove Inbreeding Line-Breeding Puppy Milk Formulas Reference Swimmer Puppy (off site)


THE BIGGEST PROBLEM PEOPLE HAVE WHEN RAISING AN ORPHANED PUPPY IS THAT THEY OVERFEED THE PUPPY.
There is several different kind of bottles for feeding puppies or you can use a feeding tube.  I have tried several different configured bottles and nipples and have used the feeding tube (which I don't like to use but sometimes it is the only way you can get a puppy fed).  What I use to great success is a plain disposable vinyl glove.  Not latex, the holes close up on them.
After I wash the glove out, they usually come with some kind of powder in them, thoroughly, I put the milk into it, filling the glove about half full.  I then using the thumb, tie the glove closed.
I puncture a hole in the small finger with a small needle.  If you can get an insulin needle use that because it is just the right size.
The one thing with using the glove is that it forms to the mouth of the puppy regardless of the size of the puppy.  This way there is no air that gets sucked in with the milk, which is a problem with the normal nursers that are on the market.
If the puppy does not want to open its mouth you can gentle force the finger of the glove into its mouth by squeezing a little of the liquid on its lips and when he opens his mouth a little you push the glove in.  By this time he is usually willing to take the glove.  It will take a few tries to get use to doing this.  But it is easy to get the hang of using the glove.
Each puppy is different,  it will take practice, as with anything, to get the feel for it.
Don't let the puppy overfeed.  When its belly right behind its ribs is rounded, quit.  I would rather see a puppy a little hungry rather than stuffed as this can cause him to have milk come out of his nose and breathe some into his lungs and this you don't want to happen.
BUT if milk does come out of his nose, hold him so his head hangs down and it stops coming out, making sure you don't squeeze is belly.  Wipe off his nose until there is no more milk coming out.
Pages:
Orphand Puppies:
Low Birth Weight Mother Pushes Pup Out Of The Nest The Loss Of The Mother Over Feeding the puppy Puppies allergic to mother's milk
 
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This page was last modified on: Friday, 12-Dec-2008 23:08:23 EST.