Re: [pyrnet] Birth Announcement

[Ingraminthegame@wmconnect.com]

Hi Betty,

I first bottle fed a pup from three-days-old back in 2000.  Rollie was born to Rajah who contracted mastitis.  The litter was fine, then late the second day some of the pups started acting a little funny.  Decided we'd go to the vet the next day but early that morning, three were already dead, two were sick and only one was acting alright.

Rushed Raj and the pups to the vet.  On his instruction Raj was put on antibiotics and I tried feeding the three remaining pups, but the two were too far gone.  Rollie took right to the bottle.

Formula was eight ounces of whole milk, one egg yolk and one tablespoon of light kero syrup, mixed in the blender and fed with a regular baby bottle with a stage one nipple every two to four hours at first.  Have to let the foam settle in the blender or you can make more ahead of time and keep in the fridge, just feed at room temperature or a little warmer, make sure it's not too warm.  This formula was given by our vet.

Oh, and when they're that young.....you get to clean their bottoms with a wet cloth so they can use the bathroom.....fun, fun.  {big grin  :-D  }

Even though we had a box with a heat lamp for him, he liked to sleep on my chest or in my sleeve.  He could find his way from our bedroom to the chair in the living room where I fed him before his eyes were open.

Anyway, the next was a litter of three out of Kayla.....she helped too, I did this because I was paranoid and was afraid she would squish 'em.

Next was a litter of six out of Rajah again.....this time she helped some but again because I was in the habit of it and wanted to insure they did not get crushed.  I am attempting to allow the mothers to raise their own now.

One thing, when a pup is raised by itself, it tends to be very good with people but not so good with other dogs.  Of course your boy has been with others for a few weeks.

You may want to bottle feed him some but if you prefer, a good quality dog food soaked in warm milk should be O.K.....his mom may have already started weaning him.  If you have other dogs who have had their vaccinations and de-worming, they can help him learn to speak dog.....if not you'll have to, you'll want to read up on this.....we found out a bit late with Rollie.  Once he's had his shots, let him interact with others.

Oh, this is controversial, but we usually give them some raw chicken/beef, etc. too but you might want to join the Raw Pyrs list (I believe they're called now) and see if this is something for you.

Chrissy