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Topic Dog Boards / Breeding / Weight Gain
- By Bessiedog [gb] Date 09.12.15 12:23 UTC Edited 09.12.15 22:33 UTC
I have my first ever litter of nine lovely plump and very fast growing gundog breed puppies!  They were born on day 58 which came as a bit of a shock, but it's been suggested that ovulation occurred earlier than expected (despite progesterone testing!).  They were two weeks old yesterday.  They didn't look premature when born.

As a new breeder I'm concerned about weight gain.  Experienced breeders who are helping me seem to do it by eye!  I'm religiously weighing the pups each day (partly to get them used to being handled), and keeping the results on a spreadsheet.  Pups who are lighter than the others, or who haven't put on as much weight from the day before are given preferential treatment at the milk bar.

The pups were between 290 and 330 grams at birth, and last night weighed in at between 1150 and 1350 grams.  Three of the girls are the smallest.  That means in two weeks they are all 4 times their birth weight - they were double at day 8.  Does this seem about right?  Mum's being fed a diet of raw and puppy kibble - having been told emphatically by breeders and the vet that a raw diet wouldn't be sufficient to raise the pups on.  Goes against the grain to give kibble, but didn't want to risk the puppy's health.

Any info about the expected path of weight gain would be greatly appreciated!
- By Tanya1989 [gb] Date 09.12.15 13:52 UTC Upvotes 1
As long as they are all gaining roughly byte same and seem to be thriving, you don't need to be obsessive about weights.
And that bit about "the vet saying raw won't be sufficient" is bumph. Do what you feel is right. I reared 5 almighty giant puppies on raw only at the beginning of the year. They were monsters, even by when comparing to other puppies within the breed. They thrived solely on raw, and as far asbo know, each puppy has remained on raw to this day.
- By Bessiedog [gb] Date 09.12.15 14:22 UTC Upvotes 1
That's good to know!  I plan to feed puppy kibble and raw to the pups so the new owners can have a choice.  The pup I'll keep will be raw fed though.  I'm using Orijen's Biologically Appropriate puppy food which is supposed to mimic a raw diet with no grain fillers.  It was the only way I could salve my conscience to feed kibble at all.
- By Bootsies [gb] Date 09.12.15 14:55 UTC
I did the same as you! I introduced my pups to raw initially and then brought in the Orijen puppy mush. I know it Orijen or Nutriment (raw food brand) can't be bought from mainstream pet shops and supermarkets, but I needed the piece of mind that I was giving my puppies the best start in life (hoping the new owner would carry on). I haven't looked back, I encourage all my new owners to visit the all about dog food website. I think it helps them to make up their mind to feed quality :wink:
Topic Dog Boards / Breeding / Weight Gain

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