Feeding Month old Puppies

By the time the young are a month old, begin adding to the milk beef broth from which all fat has been skimmed. Make the change from milk to broth gradually. When they are six weeks old, add ground cooked beef. Some breeders give scraped raw beef at about the end of the first month. This is good for the puppies, provided the steak can be obtained from which to make the scrapings. Each puppy should have a teaspoonful or more, depending on the breed.

If meat, either raw or cooked, is to be fed, it is a good plan to mix it with other food. Otherwise the puppy is apt to become "choosy" and to expect meat for all his meals. Small portions of boiled fish may also be given to him, but extreme care must be exercised in removing all the bones. At this stage begin giving him large bones to chew on. This not only affords a lot of pleasure, but it aids greatly in developing teeth and jaws. Some scraps of meat may be left on the bones, but not enough to upset the puppies; it should adhere tightly, so that they have to work to get it off.

Weaning is an important time in the lives of all puppies, and care must be taken that their digestive systems do not suffer. All changes in routine should be made gradually lest vomiting result. If this should happen, put the litter back a step or two and make the changes more slowly.

By the time the average puppy has reached the age of six weeks, he should be independent of the bitch. From now on, his feedings must be sufficient to supply all his nourishment without any help from her, and they must be increased in size as he grows older. He should have four feedings a day until he is three months old. From then until he is six months old, he needs three, and from six months to one year he should get two. If desired, the feedings may be varied by using breakfast cereals or dry toast, fed with milk or broth. I always keep a large carton of thoroughly dried toast on hand, and both the puppies and grown dogs enjoy it. This bread is obtained by the carton and is dried out completely in the oven.

Dried bread makes an excellent addition to the diet and is a big aid in reducing the cost of feeding, but bread alone is not sufficient for dogs, even when fed with broth. Use it in conjunction with prepared foods, meat, and broth, and never forget the cod-liver oil. Prepared foods contain a certain amount of this oil, but puppies benefit from receiving more of it.

<< Previous    1...   4  5  [6]  7  8  ...13    Next >>