Another Milestone
Yesterday morning, when everyone's eyes were open, it was time for the puppies to start a new phase of their lives. They were introduced to puppy mush.
Puppy mush is regular puppy food, soaked in water and mixed with a little yogurt and put thru the blender. Some breeders don't even think about starting their pups on anything like this until they are over 3 weeks old. Typically I try it right around the time their eyes open. Why? Because I usually have puppies that are getting fed too much and have runny stools. Once they get on solid food it helps "solidify" things a bit.
These pups have had runny stools, but I'm not sure that Raven is feeding them too much, in fact, I'd like to see a little bit faster weight gain on them. It seems every time Raven settles in to feed them, she gets "distracted" and leaves part way thru the meal!
Little Black Girl has been eagerly sucking the yogurt off my finger each day so I thought she'd take to the food really well. She did! So did Green and Purple. Yellow and Red were not quite as enthusiastic.
But the real test was when I set them down next to the little bowl of food. Only Green stuck his head in and clumsily ate a bit on his own. Black thought about it, Black sniffed it and licked the edge of the bowl but ultimately she didn't take any. So Green earns the honors of being First To Eat Solid Food!
Puppy mush is regular puppy food, soaked in water and mixed with a little yogurt and put thru the blender. Some breeders don't even think about starting their pups on anything like this until they are over 3 weeks old. Typically I try it right around the time their eyes open. Why? Because I usually have puppies that are getting fed too much and have runny stools. Once they get on solid food it helps "solidify" things a bit.
These pups have had runny stools, but I'm not sure that Raven is feeding them too much, in fact, I'd like to see a little bit faster weight gain on them. It seems every time Raven settles in to feed them, she gets "distracted" and leaves part way thru the meal!
Little Black Girl has been eagerly sucking the yogurt off my finger each day so I thought she'd take to the food really well. She did! So did Green and Purple. Yellow and Red were not quite as enthusiastic.
But the real test was when I set them down next to the little bowl of food. Only Green stuck his head in and clumsily ate a bit on his own. Black thought about it, Black sniffed it and licked the edge of the bowl but ultimately she didn't take any. So Green earns the honors of being First To Eat Solid Food!