General Question Not sure????

[PapaSmurf2]

I just received the paper work for Gracie in the mail. It says her birthday is November 26th. The breeder (who I THOUGHT I checked out thoroughly) told us when we picked her up she was six weeks old. Turns out she was almost five. When we took her to our vet the following day she weighed just over four pounds. The breeders recommendation for food was one half cup a day, once a day. I've always fed my puppies (over six weeks) about a cup a day, split up to quarters, four times a day, which is what I've been doing.She's just about eight weeks today and weighs in at eleven pounds even. I feed her Science Diet since that was what the breeder had her on. Does her weight sound about right, and is there anything else I should be doing?

Thanks.....

 

[mer55]

Wow, the breeder let her go pretty young! Usually it is at leas 8 weeks and some won't let them go until 10-12 weeks! As for her weight now, that sounds about right. I have never heard of feeding a young pup once a day! You are doing the right thing by splitting the meals up, and you could even go to 3 times a day. I was feeding 1/2-3/4 cup three times a day at eight weeks. When I picked up our pup at 8 weeks, he was 10 pounds, so she is a healthy size. As for the food, well, check out the food ratings on this site. It will give you a ton of info, and there are many knowledgeable food gurus here to help. As for the breeder, doesn't sound like he or she was very reputable. Even at 6 weeks, that is a little young to be given away. But, Gracie is lucky to have you as her papa! Good luck! There will be others along soon to give some good advice! Gracie is beautiful by the way!!!

 

[Sandy]

We just picked up Harper Monday and had his vet visit today. He is 9 1/2 weeks and was almost 9 lbs. I feed him (per breeders advice) 1 cup Taste of the Wild Puppy w/ cottage cheese in the morning and then he does raw/w steamed veggies in the evening. Gracie is precious!!

 

[Meggs19]

Not sure about the proper weight...but I (and others) here will tell you that Science Diet is NOT a great food option for puppies (especially bullies). There is a ton of great info. on the site for picking a quality food for your puppy that you should check out. Vets will also try to get you to go the Science Diet route sometimes but be wary of that food...it's got lots of fillers and dyes. I'm sure others will be along to help as well but just wanted to add my 2 cents on the food!

 

[Meggs19]

Here are some good readings on dog food from this site!


http://www.englishbulldognews.com/forums/content.php?r=227-Frequently-Asked-Dog-Food-Questions

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/f...g-Dog-Food-Labels-and-Finding-Bad-Ingredients

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/forums/content.php?r=219-Dog-Food-Ratings

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/forums/content.php?r=203-Our-Top-5-Recommended-Dog-Food-Choices

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Shame on your breeder for letting the puppies go too early! But for you for following your own instincts. Sounds like she is on her way..:D

While Science Diet isn't a high rated food..I probably wouldn't mess with it if she is ok with it. When she gets ready for an all stage food you can mke a slow switch then!

 

[2BullyMama]

WOW... that is young to be away from Momma. I tagged a few members that could give you some insight on food and puppies

 

[Davidh]

Well as far as I'm concerned your breeder should not be breeding bullies as it is clear they are only in it for the money and don't care about their babies. A pup should never leave until they are at least 8 weeks old, 12 weeks is better, so they can learn and get a little more socialization from mom. Now the food. I would get your pup off Science Diet, as it is not a very good food. You want your pup on a high quality food so they have the proper nourishment to develop. We feed our pups FROMM Puppy Gold. Feed at least 3 times a day, and around 1/2 to 3/4 cups at a time while they are young and increase the amount as they grow and gain weight. We give them as much as they can handle amount wise. You can gauge it off their poop. If they start having soft serve poop, back the food down a bit until it hardens up some, if it is hard already then add a little more food. Do this until they are about 6 months of age then you will have a better idea of how much your baby needs. At 6 months of age you can cut back to twice a day, but the same amount you were feeding with the 3 times a day. Plus you can switch them over to a good quality adult food if you like. We usually wait until they are about 8 months old before switching to adult. But there are a lot of good adult foods that are "all stages" food, so that will be OK. Enjoy your pup and I'm looking forward in seeing pics of your baby.

 

[PapaSmurf2]

Thanks to all who have answered If I had known she was that young I would have waited a few weeks....but even then the puppies were separated and eating solid food. I'm going to keep researching the site and find a good food to do the slow switch. I know soy isn't good for them. We live on a farm so we have natural beef, chicken, venison, pork, home grown veggies, fresh eggs, and milk. I'm sure with help from EBN Ill be able to come up with something lol

 

[LynnA]

Rob, Grace is just beautiful - can not wait to see her grow.

 

[Sherry]

Shame on your breeder for letting the puppies go too early! But for you for following your own instincts. Sounds like she is on her way..:D

While Science Diet isn't a high rated food..I probably wouldn't mess with it if she is ok with it. When she gets ready for an all stage food you can mke a slow switch then!

Absolutely agree with this lovely lady !!! the poor little thing didn't have much of a chance to socialize with her siblings. Not right, and could cause problems down the road, getting along with others. If you have another dog at home it will help to socialize her. If not , I would be very careful until she has all her vaccines as to who you expose her too because of Parvo
[MENTION=7909]PapaSmurf2[/MENTION]

 

[Sherry]

Thanks to all who have answered If I had known she was that young I would have waited a few weeks....but even then the puppies were separated and eating solid food. I'm going to keep researching the site and find a good food to do the slow switch. I know soy isn't good for them. We live on a farm so we have natural beef, chicken, venison, pork, home grown veggies, fresh eggs, and milk. I'm sure with help from EBN Ill be able to come up with something lol

.

 

[PapaSmurf2]

We have a teacup yorkie and a standard yorkie (both are up to date on all shots and have yearly physicals). Gracie gets along fine with both of them (even though the teacup likes looking down her nose at Gracie lol). In fact, the standard has kinda taken on a motherly role. Where can I get Fromm gold?

 

[robertbrewer]

Shame on your breeder for letting the puppies go too early! But for you for following your own instincts. Sounds like she is on her way..:D

While Science Diet isn't a high rated food..I probably wouldn't mess with it if she is ok with it. When she gets ready for an all stage food you can mke a slow switch then!

I agree....we couldn't pick up Bauer until about 10 weeks...


Robert

 

[robertbrewer]

We use Purina Pro Plan...Puppy


Robert