hi as i have had to take the pups off my girl i would like to know how i should feed the puppies over night. they have done well today on the puppy porrige and puppy milk all fast asleep now with full tummys. they are 3 weeks and 3 days old now. how offten do i need to feed them in the night? and should i just give them milk or the porrige too? any help would be great. thanks Scarlet

It should tell you on the packet/drum of milk powder, at birth it is every 2 hours.  At 3 plus weeks if you offer them milk at about 10.30 (last feed) then at 1.30 a.m.. then at 4.30 a.m. should be okay.   If they are hungry they will cry, I would not offer them porridge in the night, just milk.

Thanks dogsdinner i will do as you say. this has all happened so fast i dont know if im coming or going at the moment lol Scarlet

You may well find that they will go through until 2.30/ 3 a.m if the last feed at 10.30 has porridge added., and then you can do the next feed for their breakfast with their porridge added, but better to offer it rather than having them hungry.   Difficult to know what amounts/times mum has been feeding them through the night.

It should tell you on the packet/drum of milk powder, at birth it is every 2 hours.  At 3 plus weeks if you offer them milk at about 10.30 (last feed) then at 1.30 a.m.. then at 4.30 a.m. should be okay.   If they are hungry they will cry, I would not offer them porridge in the night, just milk.

I have always done as dogsdinner says, except that l used to give the last feed at about midnight. At just over 3 weeks of age, l think that they can safely be fed every 3 hours. Josie

Yes, midnight would be better, but us oldies go to bed earlier but rise a lot earlier :)

Thanks guys for your help. I have forgoten what my bed looks like anyway so not botherd about how late ill be up or how early. Puppys seem contented sleeping again now. Mum is very distressed though as she wants to be near her babies so just have her on my knee comforting her all the time. This is scary and heart breaking im sorry i put my girl through this and will never breed again. I just hope she pulls through, she seems a little better this evening she is eating and drinking for the first time in days on her own instead of me forcing her i hope this is a good sign. thanks again for your help. Scarlet xx

Hope all goes well - keep an eye on mum and if you are at all worried with her pop her back to the vet for a check over.

Hi dogsdinner we are back at the vets in the morning. Her mammary gland has completly ruptured now with huge gapping holes in it and is weeping loads of muck. But she is eating and drinking for the first time in days without being forced so im hoping this is a good sign. Thanks again for eveyones help will keep yous posted. Scarlet xx

Scarlet, I have been following your thread, and I am so very sorry to hear of the nightmare you've been going through.

I've never seen it in a bitch, only in large livestock, and it's awful.  I am pleased that your girl has started eating, and, as the antibiotics help her, she will go from strength to strength.

Good Luck!  {{{{  HUGS  }}}}

Hi Jeansw thank you for the hugs xxx it has been tough and we are not over the worse yet but im tryiing to keep my chin up that all gos well. I am so proud of my girl shes coping really well.

The hardest thing for her is not being able to have her babies which is just breaking my heart but giving her loads of cuddles and treats which is all i can do at the moment. We are at the vets tomorrow so i'm hoping they will do more for her i'm really worried as at the moment she has these huge open wounds.

I have never seen this before but then again i'm a reptile zoo keeper so never delt with livestock. I hope everthing soon gets sorted.

Thanks again for your kind words and i will post tomorrow after we'v been to the vets. Scarlet xx

Hi all well we were back at the vets this morning. Mistys mammary gland is hanging off now all the skin has gone black and rotten but were it has come away its nice and pink and starting to granulate so we just have to wait for the dead tissue to fall off then the vets can stitch it together. Misty is feeling much better today she is even wagging her tail again.

I am having real trouble getting the puppys to suckle from the bottle though. They love the puppy porrige and lap this up no problem when they have finished the porrige i have been putting some milk in the plate which the have a go at lapping too but im not sure their getting enough this way. over night i used a syringe to feed them milk, has anyone any tips to get them to drink from the bottle or can i just keep syringe feeding or let them lap up the milk any thoughts much appreciated thanks again. Scarlet

They should be able to lap at nearly 4 weeks of age.  To make sure that they get enough let each one lap individually, I have never got the hang of a syringe.   Possibly when you tried to bottle feed them they were not hungry, try the bottle inbetween the feeds with puppy porridge, express some of the milk from the teat so that they realise that there is milk there.

Pleased to hear that mum is making progress

Hi Scarlet, sorry about your awful experience. I have pups of that age and they can lap now. I think you would be better letting them lap from a small coffee saucer than using a syringe or bottle. Feed them one at a time so you can make sure they are all getting some. Yesterday  I started giving them a small amount of raw beef, scraped from a piece of steak with a serrated knife. Warm it in your fingers and put it in their mouths they will eat it and really love it too, I gave them about the size of a marble, they are a large toy breed.
I am giving them meat once a day, milk twice a day, plus mum's milk when she chooses to feed them.

Poor you, big hugs.

Liz

your poor girl :( im so sorry to read this xxx
your pups will be able to lap now, at this age if their not ues to a bottle youve got no chance them taking it, i had same problem with the milk i just kept putting fresh milk down and they would drink what they wanted and sleep ,so i knew they were getting enough ,i had to stop mum feeding her pups because she wouldnt eat herself and became ill ,the best of luck with your pups, my last pup goes in the morning :( ,but i am now ready for a rest im shatterd! xx