The American Beagler Forum

I was wondering if anyone could give me any information on bottle feeding a puppy. How often does it need to eat? How much does it need at each feeding? I take the puppy away from the mother and feed it then I put her back in with the mother, the reason I am bottle feeding is the mother has no milk. The pup is One week old today I have been feeding it every two hours and she drinks about 1oz to 1 1/2 oz each feeding, I was just wondering if thats enough. Any information is greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance Amanda Lyons

Sounds Like your on the right track Amanda
Is momma Relieving her? The amount sounds like it is right Without looking it up. We always fed them till they stopped eating and We also were doing it Every 2 hours all ours survived ( 7) our momma dog was out of it for the first 4 days due to a botched surgery after that the milk was slow comming on but it did come on finally. Is the pup trying to feed on Momma at all?

yeah she tries nursing on the mother, but there is no milk, I have seen her lick the pup some to make it go potty, i normally go ahead as soon as the pup gets done eating i take a warm wash cloth and rub her to make her go. I havent had any luck with the pup going number 2 but I have had her go pee. I just wanted to see if I was doing the right thing lol, Thanks for the advice and if you have any more it would be greatly appreciated Thanks again TC.

Sounds like your doing a good job as a surrogate Mom LOL One thing is To just keep rubbin the pup with a Warm wet Wash rag to get her to go Number 2 just keep stimulating she will go...You Might also try Some Milk aid for the momma along with Rubbin her teets down with a warm rag also it just might help to Stimulate her to drop Some more milk down..The big thing is gettin the pup the colostrum the mom should produce this the first week or So and will be somewhat clear or light in color if the pup can get a little of that all the better!!! Dont give up on the momma she may start to produce yet..i Dont Envy Your Delima a bit it is A long hard haul Feeding every 2 hours like that BUT it has been my Experience that this pup Will be a Mommas Girl..

Yeah it is like the pup already knows, when I go to pick her up for feeding time she starts whining and moaning like she knows its feeding time lol. I just love her and want to do the best thing for her, and if she makes it she will definitely be a mommas girl lol. Thanks so much for the information TC. Thanks again Amanda Lyons

How many other pups is the mama feeding?
Milk is produced by the amount of demand put on the mother (if your feeding the pup, the mama don't have to and her milk production will decrease or stop if the pups not sucking on her enough).
If only one pup is nursing on 8 teats, it usually don't look like the mama has much milk. The pup will show by growth whether it's getting enough or not.

Thanks S.R Patch. There is just one puppy and it is trying to suck, I took a warm wash rag and wiped her tits down and now when I squeeze on them a little milk comes out so the puppy has been nursing some. Thanks for the advice. Amanda Lyons

Hows it going with the pup?

The momma dog has no milk again so I am back to bottle feeding, I have been giving her the yougurt and the ricotta cheese so hopefully it will come in again. The pup seems strong and healthy and is turning in to be a mommas girl lol. She is gaining weight and looking good so hopefully I can pull her through this. When do their eyes open? She was born on January 6, 2010. I was just curious when their eyes are supposed to open. Thanks Amanda Lyons

AMANDA & RUSTY LYONS wrote:The momma dog has no milk again so I am back to bottle feeding, I have been giving her the yougurt and the ricotta cheese so hopefully it will come in again. The pup seems strong and healthy and is turning in to be a mommas girl lol. She is gaining weight and looking good so hopefully I can pull her through this. When do their eyes open? She was born on January 6, 2010. I was just curious when their eyes are supposed to open. Thanks Amanda Lyons

Milk doesn't come and go as long as the pup is nursing.
Eyes and ears open at 10-12 days.

I think your mothering instinct is stronger than the mama's, is the problem...

Amanda,
Sounds like you are doing a good job keeping the little girl going, yes as Patch says the pups eyes will open in about 3 to 5 days from now. Ours peepers are just about fully open now, however there is so much fat on their heads I think it is weighing down the eye lids LOL... they still look like pepsi cans with little nubs for legs due to all the eating they are doing. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help ya out...

S.R.Patch wrote:

AMANDA & RUSTY LYONS wrote:The momma dog has no milk again so I am back to bottle feeding, I have been giving her the yougurt and the ricotta cheese so hopefully it will come in again. The pup seems strong and healthy and is turning in to be a mommas girl lol. She is gaining weight and looking good so hopefully I can pull her through this. When do their eyes open? She was born on January 6, 2010. I was just curious when their eyes are supposed to open. Thanks Amanda Lyons

Milk doesn't come and go as long as the pup is nursing.
Eyes and ears open at 10-12 days.

I think your mothering instinct is stronger than the mama's, is the problem...

Lol you are probably right, I just worry about her and I want to make sure that I am doing all I can for her.

TC wrote:Amanda,
Sounds like you are doing a good job keeping the little girl going, yes as Patch says the pups eyes will open in about 3 to 5 days from now. Ours peepers are just about fully open now, however there is so much fat on their heads I think it is weighing down the eye lids LOL... they still look like pepsi cans with little nubs for legs due to all the eating they are doing. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help ya out...

I will thanks again for all your help.