5 week old puppy - advice needed!

samboette

Hi there

I have already posted but in a different section by mistake, anyway!!

I work for my Local Authority and on Sunday, my colleagues had a call from a member of the public saying they had found a box with 4 abandoned puppies in it.

As normal with our County the Dog Warden wasn't on duty, the duty kennels weren't willing to take them saying they were too young to go into kennels and there wasn't anyone to look after them, so lastly my colleague tried the RSPCA and was shockingly told the same thing, only they added they would be "euthanased." Needless to say my colleague left the office and collected the puppies from the person that found them and brought them into the office, they were kept warm, fed and watered and checked out by a duty vet and were given a clean bill on health.

I came into work on a nightshift and totally fell in love with one of the puppies and now he's living with us and is called Alfie!! Just to say, all the other puppies have good homes, with colleagues!!!

Anyway, we took him to our vets for another quick check as wanted to make sure he was ok, again they said he was fine and we're taking him again on Monday for a follow up and then to book him in for his injections. On their advice we're feeding him Science Hill tinned Puppy food which he eats but doesn't seem to enjoy much, we feed him 3 times a day and give him some puppy milk at night (which he loves). Today we mixed in some Eukanuba Puppy complete biscuit food (came in a trial pack bought at P@H) with his tinned food and he ate quite a bit.

So I was just wondering what any of you guys on here would recommend/suggest we try him on and also how to get him to drink water? As I said above he will drink milk? Was thinking of watering the milk down for during the day and just letting him have the full version at night? Any ideas?

Apart from that, he's settling in well, he's going to the toilet as normal, his coat is lovely and glossy and he's a joy to have!! Any suggestions as well as food recommendations welcomed, anything to give him a better start!!

trudij

Blimey - BLESS them !!!! So young to be dumped, and very well done you and your collegues for taking them on.

No idea about the milk/water thing with one so young, mind you - the only thing Ive ever had to persuade to go from teet to bucket is calves,so that wouldnt help you much I doubt !!!

Im sure others will be along to help you out with that, I just wanted to say well done, good luck and we NEED pictures !!!!

sarabe

Just make sure he has access to water all the time and he'll drink it if he is thirsty. Probably best if it is a little tepid.

If he is only 5 weeks old then he really needs more than 3 meals a day, at least 4 I'd say in addition to the puppy milk.

The most important thing however is to find someone who has an adult dog who is proven to be safe with puppies for him to spend some time with to ensure that he doesn't miss out on everything that his Mum should still be teaching him.

Fire_Fox

Congratulations on your little bundle of joy!

Raw meaty bones (e.g. chicken wings) are good to give to dogs as they help keep the teeth clean. It might be best to check with the vet that he is old enough, tho kittens can have raw bones as soon as they weaned. Any changes of food should be gradual to avoid the runs! I would also suggest you consider pet insurance, especially as you don't know the puppy's history.

foreign_correspondent

Glad he has a safe home! Any idea what variety he is yet?

raebhoop

Nice to see the RSPCA are keeping to their usual standard....I wouldn't give 'em a brass farthing...there are plenty of dog charities to give money to that aren't so quick to slaughter innocent puppies.

Mutter_2

sarabe wrote: »

Just make sure he has access to water all the time and he'll drink it if he is thirsty. Probably best if it is a little tepid.

If he is only 5 weeks old then he really needs more than 3 meals a day, at least 4 I'd say in addition to the puppy milk.

The most important thing however is to find someone who has an adult dog who is proven to be safe with puppies for him to spend some time with to ensure that he doesn't miss out on everything that his Mum should still be teaching him.

Failing that, keeping all four together until at least 8 weeks, better 10 weeks old for same reason. They need to learn when a playful bite hurts for instance.

sarabe

Mutter wrote: »

Failing that, keeping all four together until at least 8 weeks, better 10 weeks old for same reason. They need to learn when a playful bite hurts for instance.

Yes, I should have mentioned that, definately let the pups have some time together. I'm guessing one person doesn't want them all but as much as possible they need to still be together.

lowis

well done on rescuing this little soul

if you are going to keep him may i suggest pet insurance - they can be very expensive little things you know x

Becles

If he likes the dried food, it's best to wean him completely onto dried food. Dried is much better than tinned, especially if you buy one of the better brands such as the Eukanuba you are using. Crunching biscuits cleans their teeth as they eat, and there is more goodness and less fillers in dried compared to tinned food. You only have to feed a little amount of premium dried food per day so although a bag seems expensive, it actually works out comparable to tins and cheaper sacks of dried food.

I recently bought a puppy and we've been feeding him goats milk rather than cows milk. The breeder told me goats milk has different protiens in compared to cows milk which makes it easier for puppies to digest. It's also higher in calories and nutrients which puppies need when they are growing.

Hope all works out well for all the puppies. They've been very lucky.

Frugalista

Becles wrote: »

If he likes the dried food, it's best to wean him completely onto dried food. Dried is much better than tinned, especially if you buy one of the better brands such as the Eukanuba you are using. Crunching biscuits cleans their teeth as they eat, and there is more goodness and less fillers in dried compared to tinned food. You only have to feed a little amount of premium dried food per day so although a bag seems expensive, it actually works out comparable to tins and cheaper sacks of dried food.

I recently bought a puppy and we've been feeding him goats milk rather than cows milk. The breeder told me goats milk has different protiens in compared to cows milk which makes it easier for puppies to digest. It's also higher in calories and nutrients which puppies need when they are growing.

Hope all works out well for all the puppies. They've been very lucky.

Agree with the above, but would suggest that at 5 weeks the food should be soaked for a while to soften it. This will make it smell more enticing and allow him to eat more easily. By 8-10 weeks you can gradually cut down the soaking time until he is eating it dry. In the meantime you could make one or two of his meals up soaked in the puppy/goats milk. Do bear in mind though that (had he still been with his mum) he would be fully weaned by 8 weeks and really doesn't need milky foods beyond that. HTH .