we recently lost our labrador retriever she was 10 years old, when she was a puppy we fed her solely weetabix and milk until she was about 6/7 months -then changed to pedigree adult food.
has anyone else fed a pup on the above? (weet and milk)

we were woundering if it is generally good for growing pups?
we are thinking of getting a retriever puppy soon, but are confused what the best food to feed them is, surely its milk?

thanks
Ms Alice Garder

No, milk is not a good thing to rear a puppy on, and nor is Weetabix! Cows milk is designed for calves, not puppies, and even calves don't drink it after they are weaned. Without meaning to be harsh, your last dog survived into adulthood despite what it was being fed, rather than because of it. Meat (or even dog food!) is infinitely better for dogs.

Hi Alice, no weetabix & milk is not a good diet to rear pups on solely. However as part of a varied diet it might have it`s uses as part of the weaning process of pups :) I`m sure any reputable breeder will provide you with a diet sheet on which to rear your pup, so that should be your guidline. Why don`t you join the forum & then you`ll be able to ask us any more questions about diet/weaning pups/breeders etc?

Christine, Spain.

when my rottie was a pup i fed her weetabix,scrambled egg with pup food mixed in and then minced tripe and pup food, then slowly weaned her onto just pup food and then onto the stuff she is on now, (not all in one go!)just 4-5 tiny meals a day now she has 2 meals quite large ones

Duplicated, sorry.

On our girls diet sheet her supper was weetabix with warm milk and she still has it to this day! :) I don't know of any benefits it's just one of those treats i give i guess.

i thought maybe they gave weetabix and warm milk for two diffrent reasons, one being it can be made quite sloppy and the other it was gentle on their stomachs, oh i don't know it made mine poo an awful lot!

Gemerally, cows milk is not gentle on a dogs stomach - all my puppy care sheets advise that it not be given at all.  A quality puppy food, or a well balanced diet are far better for a growing puppy.
bye
Gwen

Hi,
I give my puppies a little milk with puppy food when I am weaning them. By the time they go to their new homes at 8 weeks, they will not be on milk, but will be fed a good puppy food diet. Like all responsible breeders and KC accredited breeders, I give every new puppy owner a diet sheet which explains what to give and when to give it. I also check up every so often by phone or if they live close by I drop in and ask if they are experiencing any problems with feeding, exercise or training. I think you will, if you find a good breeder, have no problems feeding or caring your puppy.
Some years ago I was looking for a puppy, one became available, of a breeding line I was interested in. I was surprised to be told by the breeder that he had only fed the pups bread and milk, up to that point. The pups were about 4 months old at that time. It did appear that to many people this was the correct way to rear pups, at this time. I bought my pup, and immediately changed it's diet to a good puppy food.
I really think guest that you will find that a good breeder will give you a diet sheet to follow and if you have any problems at all they will be pleased to help.

I always feed my pups weetabix & milk. But they also have scrambled egg (yolks only) , meat (tinned & fresh) and raw chicken wings & mixer. I always start them off on weetabix & milk as its the easiest way to start them off eating, but wouldn't dream of not giving them anything else. They are still on 4 meals a day & the new owners will be told to drop the scrambled egg meal first, then the weetabix. I find you only get problems with milk with adult dogs.

Dogs are born with teeth so that they can eat raw meat that is regurgitated by their mothers; they are not toothless invalids/babies that need to be fed pap. :)  Milk contains the milk sugar lactose which a lot of dogs cannot digest as they lack the enzyme lactase which is necessary to convert it.  Also many dogs are allergic/intolerant of the milk protein (casein); in either case diarrhoea and wind may be a consequence.

Weetabix itself really has little food value and is generally treated like fibre and can, in some dogs, not be used as dogs were again not designed to eat it.  No animals except man consume milk post weaning as there is nothing that is in milk that cannot be obtained in a more satisfactory way elsewhere.

Born with teeth? My pups have never been born with teeth - they start coming through at about 3 weeks of age ...

Sorry I meant by the time they are off the teat :D :D

Although I was born with teeth myself :D

I cant see any of my bitches regurgatating their meat for the pups they are all too greedy. My pups have weetabix and milk and scrambled egg and puppy food. ive got one bitch whos 6 and she goes mad if she thinks shes getting weetabix she loves it. all the best gwen

I know people who go mad for chocolate and ice cream! But it doesn't mean that is all they should be fed!
;)
PS - And yes, my bitches instinctively regurgitate their dinner for the pups - but they generally then refuse to let the pups have it! :rolleyes: :D

Both of my 2 girls regurgitated for their pups, not only them but also my spayed mongrel, Toffee, did it as well!
Christine, Spain.

Hi Alice

I wean my pups straight on to mince to eat and chicken wings to play with although within a few weeks they are eating these as well.  As others have said humans are the only mammals that consume milk after they have been weaned and grain is not a natural (large) part of a dog's diet.

If the bitch was left to rear her pups without our help she would regurgitate partly digested food for them and this would not even be minced up nicely for them (You can imagine what it would be like :D ) so they learn to eat lumps of food very early - whether it would be quite so early as we tend to wean I don't know.

By the time they go to their new homes I have them on AMP's frozen meat products along with breasts of lamb, raw chicken carcass's, eggs, pureed fruit and veg etc.  I tend to use AMP as I find that puppy purchaser's are not always willing (or now able with the inablity to get fresh raw tripe) to feed as I do and feel this is the next best thing as an introduction.

I dont understand the point of feeding weetbix(called weetbix in australia)other than the fact that some dogs enjoy it,but i can see no nutritional value in it and i'm not even a breeder,if my dog had pups weetbix would be the last thing to come to mind the first thing i would think to feed is meat,no i am not a barfer!I would want the best start in life for my pups and feeding wheat biscuits doesnt sound like a great nutritional start for any pups life??I'm glad this topic has been brought up as i have always been perplexed when i hear of "breeders" feeding this,it doesnt make sense to me,why????what is the point??

Christine :)

Weetabix can be a useful aid at weaning in teaching pups to lap, because it thickens milk very well, making it easier for the pups to take. As you know, when they start taking solid food they can become a touch constipated till their digestive system becomes used to the change, so additional liquids other than milk from the bitch is beneficial. But by 5 or 6 weeks they shouldn't need it any more.
:)
PS - Why "breeders" in inverted commas, Christine? If a person's bitch has a litter, they become a breeder, not a "breeder", just as when they have a child of their own they become a parent, not a "parent".
:)

Toa achieve the same effect I soak a tiny amount of a commercial puppy food and mix it with a bitch milk replacer and make it into a gruel, looking very much like Weetabix and milk would.  This gives the smae ease of consumption by pups and gradually it gets drier as I add more puppy food.  Once eating well I also introduce a variety of minced meats for one of their four meals.

I try to give pups a varied diet so that the new owners will be a ble to feed eithre complete, meat and biscuit combinations, or a natural Raw diet as is their preference.

When we got our puppy she was having weetabix for her breakfast (with instructions on the diet sheet).  For some reason (can't remember now) we didn't give her weetabix one day in her first week here, and the mad, hyperactive, teeth-baring aggressive puppy turned into a lovely, cuddly, sweet puppy.  I didn't feed Weetabix again the next morning, and then the following evening, I gave her Weetabix again (but at a different time of day) and she went hyper - had me cowering on the armchair whilst she tried to attack me!  I stopped the Weetabix for about five days, lovely sweet puppy, then just as a final try to be sure, I gave her Weetabix once again and yep, she went crazy.

Needless to say, I never gave her Weetabix again after that!