Homemade Emergency Milk for Newborn Puppies
Knowing how to make homemade milk for newborn puppies could save an animal’s life. It wouldn’t be the first time someone has found a bag full of puppies or opened a container because they heard a dog whimpering inside. There’s also the possibility that the mother of the little ones may die before they finish breastfeeding.
In case you ever have to deal with an emergency like this, we’re bringing you a basic guide to making homemade milk for newborn puppies until they’re able to take solid food. Don’t miss it! It could be the difference between life and death for a little puppy!
The importance of breast milk
There are times when, despite the efforts and hundreds of hours dedicated to the cause, puppies fed with artificial milk die. It’s heartbreaking and reminds us that the mother isn’t only a source of food and protection for her offspring. In fact, mother’s milk provides much more than you might think:
- Enough energy to keep puppies alive: A mother’s milk provides 1200-1300 kcal per liter.
- Essential nutrients for the correct development of their offspring: One liter (1.75 pints) contains 80 grams (just over 3 oz) of protein and 90 grams (just under 4 oz) of fat. It also contains calcium and phosphorus, essential for bone and muscle growth.
- Antibodies: The mother, through the colostrum (the puppy’s first feeding), transfers her own antibodies to her offspring. In this way, she protects the puppies from any disease that she is immune from.
As you can see, it’s an irreplaceable food. This doesn’t mean that you can’t raise an orphaned puppy or puppies that haven’t finished their breastfeeding period, but it will be a lot more difficult than the natural way.
A recipe for homemade milk for newborn puppies
Many people choose to give cow’s milk to the little puppies they’re looking after. However, cow’s milk has a nutritional formula adapted to calves, not dogs. Therefore, to make homemade milk for puppies you must add certain ingredients to it. The components of this food are as follows:
- 250 milliliters of whole cow’s milk
- 250 milliliters of water
- 2 egg yolks (i.e. without the white)
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Note that the recipe may vary depending on the age of the puppy and its size. Some experts recommend multivitamin complexes instead of oil and changing the proportions of milk and egg.
The goal is to make cow’s milk reach the levels of calories, fat and protein that a puppy dog needs.
How to feed the newborn puppy
To find out how old the puppy is, ideally, you should weigh it and look at details such as the umbilical cord, closed eyes, etc.. Depending on this, the amount of milk they need varies as follows:
- Week 1: 12 to 13 kcal/100 grams (4 oz) of weight per day
- Week 2: 13 to 15 kcal/100 grams of weight per day
- Week 3: 15 to 18 kcal/100 grams of weight per day
- Week 4: 18 to 20 kcal/100 grams of weight per day
The number of milk feedings ranges from about 8 a day (every 3 hours) to 4 a day. From the fourth week onwards, you can start introducing porridge and water.
To feed them, place them on their belly, as if they were suckling from their mother, and never on their back, as they could choke.
The importance of the vet and commercial formulas
An important point to bear in mind is in the title of this article: this recipe for homemade milk for newborn puppies is for emergencies. So, if you find a newborn puppy and you don’t know how long it hasn’t been eating, the first thing to do is to feed it with the recipe above.
However, this should only continue for as long as it takes you to go to a specialized store. There you’ll find specialized formula milk for dogs, which is what you should continue to feed the puppy with. These preparations are much more complete and guarantee that the little one has the right amount of nutrients according to its age.
As soon as you have stabilized the puppy, the next step is to go to the veterinarian for a health check-up. The vet won’t only help you with how much milk to give and when, but will also give you useful advice about other care. Puppies need warmth, stimulation to defecate and urinate, certain feeding positions, etc.
If you have come this far, it’s probably because you’re looking for a recipe for homemade milk for newborn puppies. That means you are currently looking after a puppy, or are willing to do so if necessary, and that you’re willing to sacrifice time and effort to do so. Take pride in your actions, because you’re saving lives!
Check out the article below, which has a whole host of information regarding a puppy’s other needs!
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All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Puppy Development: Stages from Birth to Two Years Old. (s. f.). Best Friends Animal Society. Recuperado 8 de agosto de 2022, de https://resources.bestfriends.org/article/puppy-development-stages-birth-two-years-old
- Caring for Orphaned Newborn Puppies: Basic Care, Feeding and Disease Prevention. (s. f.). Best Friends Animal Society. Recuperado 8 de agosto de 2022, de https://resources.bestfriends.org/article/caring-orphaned-newborn-puppies-basic-care-feeding-and-disease-prevention
