hi all
i have a litter of 11 medium size pups , i have 3 runts in the litter who arent putting as much weight on as id like.
they are nearly 3 weeks old and are putting weight on most days around 20grams each, where all of the other pups are putting on around 50-60 grams daily.
i have purchased some nutri-cal for the three pups that are lagging behind and wondered if anyone else had used it and what sort of ammounts did you administer .
thanks ;)

I'd simply have the pups on solids by now. 

Any pups that are slow at gaining or the rate of gain is flattening out would mean I'd start introducing puppy food mixed with puppy milk to a porridge.

I have started pups as early as the eyes are open at around 12 days.

In the normal run of things I offer my pups their first taste of puppy mush at 18 days, offer it twice next day so by three weeks they are on whatever amount they will eat 4 times a day.

If Mum is doing them well then the amount they eat is small, but as son as they need more they eat more and I always make up a bit more than they will eat, and Mum finished up, and at the same time Pups get a top up from the milkbar.

i havent needed to introduce food as yesterday one of them helped themselves to mums food which is raw.
i plan on getting them all on solids around now but was going to add the nutri-cal to the smaller pups food to see if it would help them gain a little extra.
i was just unsure how much to give , it says around 1 tablespoon per 10kg of weight but the smaller pups are only 600grams at the moment.

If your weaning onto a complete then I would not add any supplements.

Once pups are on solids they soon make up for any weight difference if fed to appetite at least 4 times a day.  You might give an extra meal if you feel those need it.

I can only tell you that I DO give nutrical if I feel that a puppy needs a quick, strong build-up.  I have never had the slightest problem as a result.

Well I'm another who is NOT for supplementing but to use a good quality puppy food which usually has all the extras a growing puppy needs, in it.   I'd be very careful re supplementing - more isn't necessary better and can sometimes do more harm than good.    And I'm struggling to accept the result of 'too much too fast', with my boy who is coming up to 7 now, with a spine that's 'shot' and hips that are not good either.   Yes it might have happened, but he was a huge puppy when we had him at 4 months and had been on a food way too high in protein (and so probably also calcium) for the breed.   Again from a breeder I'd known for as long as I'd been in the breed, and who has always been about 'size and weight'.   If you saw his x-ray plates, you'd weep.   My bet is these puppies who are lagging behind right now, may well blossom.   I appreciate that we all want to do the best for our puppis/adults, but again I'd be aware that maybe these three (three 'runts'?) may just be smaller than their other siblings at the moment.

thankyou all for your replies, my pups are weaned onto a raw diet , we did this with our last litter and they are doing great.
i think its more a case of me being a worrier , when it comes to my pups i just want the best for them..
the nutrical was mainly to give the 3 little pups a tad more energy to feed as they seem to feed for a couple of minutes and then fall asleep.
also as its high in calories its supposed to be great for putting that extra few grams on them and helping them catch up to their siblings.

>its supposed to be great for putting that extra few grams on them and helping them catch up to their siblings.

That's it, and that's why - when and if I give nutrical - it is only for a matter of a few days, not more.

That's what I plan on doing,  just wasn't sure of how much to give, I've given them a tiny bit on my finger once a day and they absolutely love the stuff. I'll give it a few days and see if they pick up an put on some extra weight.

I don't know how big your puppies are, but mine, at 3 weeks, were really small (under a Kilo).  I gave each about as much as would stick on an upturned little finger.  And more than once a day.  But only until they were out of the woods (a couple of days or so).

Just noticed you said your pups are around 600g.  So more or less like mine were.

thanks for the advice ill give it a go at twice a day for a few more days on the 3 small pups.
im quite happy with the other 8 as they are all thriving :)