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puppies' feeding
Energy and food needs are heavily higher for growing dogs than for adult ones. Puppy demands a lot of nutrients to provide fast grow and really unlimited energy and mobility so much characteristic of puppies. First two weeks of life when puppies just eat and sleep, all their energy needs are supplied by mother. Right after giving birth bitch's nipples express foremilk which shall be got by every puppy, as foremilk contains immunoglobulin to protect newborns from infection, as well as microelements (magnesium) favoring forming and dejection of meconium. So foremilk «launches» puppy's digestive system. Though intestine peristalsis is too weak, as well as bladder muscles. So bitch always licks puppies' bellies massaging them and eating excrements. Normal puppy's excrements are fawn-colored, pastelike. If a bitch doesn't busy herself with puppies enough, softly massage their puffed bellies. Daily rinse puppies' anal area with cotton wet with warm water as dry excrements may obstruct an anus. Also keep an eye for bitch's milk efficiency. If she has enough milk, puppies suck without breaks, smacking and not jerking their heads.
Full puppies sleep away of nipples. If a bitch lacks milk, puppies try nipples, cheeping. To increase lactation give her milk with a tea, kefir, clabber, calcinated curd. Daily check puppies' weight grow. Average weight increase for as large dogs as rottweiler is shall be 70—100 g / 21/2—31/2 oz a day so that they doubled their birth weight by 8—10th day. One month old puppies shall have weight increased about 7 times against birth weight.
More details on rottweiler's puppies weight increase are here.
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CONTENT 
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ANIMAL
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Dog
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Cow
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Goat
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 Humidity —
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77,2
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87,6
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87,0
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Dry content —
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22,8
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12,4
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13,0
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Proteins —
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8,1
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3,3
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3,3
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Fats —
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9,8
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3,8
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4,5
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Minerals —
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4,9
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5,3
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6,2
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Lactose —
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3,5
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4,7
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4,0
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Calcium —
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0,28
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0,12
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0,13
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Phosphor —
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0,22
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0,10
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0,11
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Caloric content kJ / 100 g (31/2 oz)* —
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565
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270
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293
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table 1
Content and nutricient characteristics of different kinds of animals milk (%)
* Caloric content is calculated considering caloric content coefficient for
protein — 3,9 kCal / 16,72 kJ / g,
fats — 8,9 kCal / 37,62 kJ / g,
lactose — 3,9 kCal / 16,72 kJ / g.
1 kCal = 4,184 kJ
If a bitch has insufficient or no milk to feed puppies, they shall be bottle-fed. Puppies lacking mother's milk have two vital needs: appropriate environment and wholesome nutrition. Pay great attention to environment temperature and stimulation of urination and defecation of every puppy. Ideally temperature shall be kept by incubator, etc. After feeding provide imitation of mother's tongue for puppies missing mother to stimulate defecation and urination reflexes. Use wet tampon or just stroke along abdominal wall by pointing finger.
Puppies grow very fast so need a lot of wholesome milk substitute or any other formula nutrition. Milk substitute shall serve concentrated source of nutrients and get as close as possible to normal bitch's milk contents. The table shows milk contents for different kinds of animals. Goat or cow milk can't be normal substitute of milk for growing puppies as contains too little proteins, fats and calcium. There are many fine substitutes of wholesome bitches' milk sold. Their content is usually based on cow milk modified to achieve the most similarity with dog's milk. Use syringe or dropper to feed puppy by this product. Dry milk nutrition shall be prepared daily, feeding temperature shall be 38°C / 100,4°F. We strongly recommend to check expiration date and quality-test choosing any conserved food.
Warm food shall be fed slowly, not «pushed» to puppy's mouth. If you bottle-feed, enlarge nipple hole to improve food flow to puppy's gullet so that one wouldn't glut air. When the puppies start to examine world they can be fed by high-caloric food for puppies.
If you have no ready product for puppies bottle-feeding, you can prepare it by yourself.
Thoroughly mix 200 ml / 6.75 oz of cream with raw egg, while stirring add 800 ml / 27 oz of cow milk. Dissolve 4 g / 1/10 oz of citric acid in a table spoon of water and then stirring pour in milk mix by thin trickle. This «artificial milk» may be stored in a fridge for a day. Good mix for puppies can be prepared of 800 ml / 27 oz of fresh cow milk with 200 ml / 6.75 oz of cream with one yolk and two drops of oil solution of polyvitamins. If puppies get only artificial feeding, daily norm of «artificial milk» shall be as shown below.
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Age (days)
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Relation of food mass and puppy weight, %
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Number of feedings
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Till 4 days —
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25
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8
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Till 10 days —
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25
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6
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10—12th days —
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20
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6
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table 2
Daily norm of meal for puppies' bottle-feeding
Approx. from 14th day one quarter of the mix is replaced by curd pressed with milk, liquid milk manna meal with yolks and small amount of butter and sugar. If puppies still suck mother, baiting may be less.
Litters with 8 and more puppies shall be additionally fed from 4—5th day after birth. In small litters puppies may start to get additional food from 12—13th day.
By 18—20th day puppies already can stand on their four paws. From that time they shall be fed from a plate. Every puppy shall be fed separately, otherwise the strongest will be overfed, while weaker and shyer ones will stay hungry.
At the age of 18—21 days puppies start to show congenital positive reaction to raw meat. Earlier transfer to meat meal has no sense as their organism isn't ready to digest it yet. Scrape lean meat and give a meat ball of pea size to each puppy. Scraped meat is to be given to each puppy twice a day. It's also good to add a bit of butter to the meat.
All other puppies' meals shall be sodden milky cereals.
From 18—19th day calcined curd may be given.
From 20th—21st day lean bouillon with creamed carrot and cereal is to be added to the ration.
From 20th day twice grinded meat may be given. Amount of meat is to be gradually raised so that it would be 100—150 g / 31/2—5 1/5 oz a day per puppy by 30th day.
Average norm of additives is about half of a glass per puppy at 14—15 days, 2/3 of a glass by 16—20 days old age, and whole glass from 21st to 30th day (glass capacity is 200 g / 7 oz). Puppies shall be supplied 3—4 times a day before they suck mother. On indigestion baiting shall be ceased, and puppy shall get mother's milk only till total recovery.
By 30th day puppies already have milk teeth so nursing becomes painful for a bitch. By that time puppies shall be able to consume different food by their own.
Since 25th day vitamin D oil is introduced to puppies' ration 1—2 drops daily and a drop per day of vitamin A. From this time it's recommended to give daily 8—10 tablets of calcium gluconate or lactate in 2—3 splits.
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