Tips For Supplementing Litters When whelping a litter it is always important to be prepared for any situation that may arise. A common one is needing to supplement puppies. Ideally your puppies will be able to and want to nurse off their mother. Their ability to consume her colostrum (a special milk-like fluid that mother dogs produce for the first 24 to 48 hours after birthing) means that your puppies will absorb some very important nutrients that boost their immune system which allows them to thrive and resist illness until they are vaccinated. It is most important for them to ingest their mother’s colostrum within 12 hours after birth, as this is when the pup's intestinal lining can absorb it the best. However you may find yourself in a situation that requires you to supplement one or more of your litter. There are several methods by which you can do this: sponge feeding, bottle feeding, and tube feeding. It is important to be prepared and have the necessary supplies on hand if you have puppies that are not thriving. Be certain to keep daily weights on any puppies you are supplementing to ensure they are gaining weight.
Formula Three good options for formula are: Esbilac or Nature’s Farmacy/Dogzyme’s Puppy-Bac (follow the manufacturer’s directions for the latter two powders), or you can make your own by following puppy expert Myra Savant Harris’ recipe:
One 10 oz can of evaporated goat’s milk, undiluted. You can sub with evaporated condensed cow’s milk.
1/3 cup of strained, fresh, strong liver broth made from boiling a piece of liver in one cup of water and then cooking the liquid down to the needed amount.
One cup of whole fat yogurt. Use the best quality, freshest you can get.
2 raw egg yolks.
1 tablespoon of canola or olive oil. Mayonnaise is also an option but it is acidic.
1 teaspoon of Karo syrup. Either light or dark.
1 dropper of baby vitamin that don’t contain iron.
Place all the ingredients together in a blender and blend well. It keeps in the refrigerator for 7 days -or- can be poured into ice cube trays and frozen. Once frozen the ice cubes can be stored in a plastic bag and used/thawed as you need for up to a year. When you thaw the formula it should be warmed to about 100 degrees. If you are going to use it for bottle feeding or sponge feeding technique you may need to thin it with a little bit of Pedialyte. The advantage of this formula is that it has been formulated to contain 3-4 times the calorie content of mother’s milk. The reason for using the evaporated milk without diluting is to get extra calories, same with the full fat yogurt and the oil. It is all about calories. Your puppy will gain weight on this formula beginning about 48 hours after beginning to feed on the formula. For every ounce of the puppy's weight, give 1 cc or ml of the milk replacer every 3 hours or so. A puppy’s stomach capacity is 18 cc/lb but you are safer to underfeed and feed more often than overfeed. Your puppy’s stomach should be slightly rounded (full) when finished. Always be sure that the equipment you use for feeding your puppy is clean and has been sterilized when applicable.
Sponge Feeding It can be challenging to get a newborn puppy to bottle feed so in the beginning you may opt to sponge feed them. For this you will need a wedge type makeup sponge and a 3ml syringe. You simply cut the narrowed end of the sponge into a size/shape that fits your puppy’s mouth and you will also make a small hole in the wide end of the sponge in which you will ultimately insert your syringe full of warmed formula. You can start by soaking the narrow end into formula so it primes the puppies. Once you have encouraged your puppy’s sucking reflex on the narrowed end of the sponge you can then insert the syringe and slowly push the formula through as the puppy continues to nurses. It is helpful to use some towels to help prop your puppy’s chest and front feet up to encourage a normal nursing position.
Bottle Feeding There are lots of options for good bottles and nipples for feeding newborns and young pups. You can even find nipples that attach to syringes for when you’re first starting out or if you are only supplementing one pup. It is important that you select a nipple with a smaller hole as you do not want your puppy to aspirate. When puppies are newborn it is helpful to have a smaller bottle as you don’t want the formula to cool too quickly or to have to throw out your leftovers. You also need to be certain the formula isn’t too hot (or too cold) when you feed. You can always test a drop on the inside of your wrist. Be sure to position your puppy in a way that is natural for them to nurse and support their head with your hand so you can help create better suction on the sides of their mouth with your fingers. Angle the bottle when you feed so there are no air bubbles and burp your puppies afterward.
Tube Feeding
This option should be reserved for puppies that need immediate nutrients and/or for puppies that cannot nurse on their own. Before tube feeding for the first time do lots of research so you understand the process. There are several good videos available on You Tube, including one by the aforementioned Myra Savant Harris.
To begin you will need the following: a 5-10ml luer syringe, a size 5 French feeding tube, and a permanent marker.
Before you start tube feeding you will need to measure the length of the feeding tube so that you are certain to insert the right length into your puppy to reach their stomach. You will do this by holding the narrow end of the tube in your left hand at your puppy’s last rib and follow along the outside of their body with the tube in your right hand until you at the end of the muzzle. Mark your feeding tube at that point with the marker. That is the length of tube you will need to insert into your puppy to correctly feed them. The stomach is behind and slightly under the last rib so if do not get to that mark when you are feeding you are likely in the lung and can aspirate your puppy.
Start by setting up an area at a table or desk where you can sit and there is enough smooth surface for your supplies and the puppy. Have some towels under your puppy for warm, support and to keep the surface clean. Make sure you have your formula ready and warmed to the right temperature.
Use your syringe to suck up the milk replacer. Draw the milk up until you have the measured amount of milk, plus some extra to ensure you don’t feed your puppy any air by mistake. Then press down until a tiny drop comes out of the syringe to prime the syringe and get the feel for how much pressure you need to use. Then attach the feeding tube to the end of the syringe. Place the puppy on your work surface, stomach side down. Position with head slightly extended as they nurse, not with their head straight up in the air. Hold the puppy's head firmly in between your index finger and thumb so that your fingers are located at the corners of the puppy's mouth. Hold the end of the tube on the puppy's tongue and let it taste a drop of the milk. You can also dip the end of the tube in milk. Doing this will stimulate the puppy to swallow and will also draw the milk from the syringe into the feeding tube. As the puppy swallows you will guide the tube across the tongue, along the roof of the mouth if you can, toward the back of the throat and feed the tube gently but firmly until your mark is at the outside edge of the muzzle. Secure the tube with your fingers for the whole feeding process so the length doesn’t change. Gently administer a little bit of milk to make sure the puppy doesn’t cough and no milk comes out of the nose. If either occurs remove the tube and try again.
Feed one cc at a time and pause for a few seconds in between to ensure your tube is still placed correctly. When you have fed the entire amount gently and slowly remove the tube while holding the puppy’s head. You can then stimulate the puppy to go to the bathroom and then burp.
Mom gives probiotic to babies when she cleans them. If babies do not have mom for care, add probiotic to the milk once daily. Diarrhea at one week when on a supplemental feeding is often from lack of good bacteria for digestion. Putting in the milk replacer will solve this.
A chilled puppy should never be fed formula or milk unless its rectal temperature is between 96° and 99°F. If you notice a puppy whining or crying and refuses to nurse, they may be chilled. Relocate them to their own smaller area with its own heat source. You can use wool bedding as it retains heat well. Warm the puppy slowly and gently. A chilled puppy can take up to an hour to completely warm. Once warm they should be fed slowly and with small amounts. They may need warmed subcutaneous glucose fluids.
A hypoglycemic puppy should never be fed formula or milk. A puppy with low blood sugar is too weak to suckle and will often stiffen up and go rigid. In that situation you should immediately administer glucose (karo syrup) and a few drops of brandy from a syringe on their tongue. Warm the puppy as described above and gently stimulate them to encourage circulation. You can repeat this process every 20 minutes. They may also need warmed subcutaneous glucose fluids.
