Weaning puppies the Angela Harvey way
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Back in 1978 when pregnant with my first child, I experienced an overwhelming desire to protect and do my best for its future. One day when perusing books outside a newsagents I found a paperback titled 'Breast is best', I bought it. After reading the book from cover to cover it became my breast feeding bible, because everything written inside made perfect sense to me. It taught me amongst other things to value my own human milk and it convinced me there is no real substitute.

I learned about the possible long term damage caused by feeding breast milk substitutes (baby formula) and how important it is to never introduce foreign proteins to the baby until the immature gut has 'closed' I took this advice seriously and breast fed my first four children for what was then considered to be an extended time frame (14 months). They grew quickly, and allergy free. The one exception being my daughter who developed eczema before leaving hospital, she had been given an 'extra' feed by bottle one night without my consent, thankfully she does appear to have outgrown it.

My fifth child arrived in 1988 just 14 months after heart bypass surgery. When I discovered I was pregnant I was filled with mixed emotions, fear mixed with joy. The over riding emotion being joy. On that very same day I discovered i had a life threatening heart arrhythmia known as ventricular tachycardia (VT). Cardiologists at Sheffield Northern General advised termination. I needed some serious drugs to control it which were unsafe for the growing fetus. I couldn't bring myself to terminate a life, life is sacred to me. They placed me on a less effective drug that was safer for my unborn child, and I took my chances. At birth Joshua had low blood sugar and a slow heart rate (Bradycardia). He spent ten days in an intensive care baby unit. I definitely couldn't breast feed, the life saving drugs I needed to take for life, would pass through my milk. I accepted the situation, I had no option and now found myself with a son that need to be bottle fed. Joshua showed signs of various food related intolerances from a young age, whilst still being fed milk. He is the only one of my five children to have such problems. However he survived birth and is an incredible human being, and he owns two Tofty. I am so pleased I made that decision to give him life.

From my experiences I felt the same or similar must be true regarding puppies.

The following is written from those experiences.

First lessons begin at birth

Mothers make milk that perfectly fits the requirements of their newly born offspring, relating to dogs each litter is different with different requirements. First lesson is do NOT separate mum from her puppies. Puppies need to suckle on demand, this stimulates milk flow. If milk flow is poor, puppies will grumble at the milky bar, they will pull and tog at the nipple squeaking their annoyance. This continuous sucking action increases tomorrows milk production levels. If you intervene with supplementary feeds the puppies won't need to suckle so much, and milk production will be slowed down. More importantly, by supplementing the milk drinks, you are introducing foreign proteins to the immature gut. It is extremely important you avoid this unless you are forced by a tragic turn of events to hand rear the litter. Mum also need to relax. The most nutritious milk is called the 'hind milk' it is held inside the body and new mums need to develop a 'let down' reflex that allows the milk to drop. To do this mum needs to relax. Constantly worrying her with attempts to 'feed' her babies will not help. Make sure she can relax alone, away from other dogs and household traffic, she needs to concentraste on her brood, and she needs to be trusted.

Some puppies are born huge and plump, some are small and stringy do not attempt to create a 'one size fits all' situation. Small puppies have tiny stomachs, tiny kidneys, tiny liver, they don't need very much food, their appetite will grow as they develop and grow. Mums milk will nurture them. They will grow in their own time, and with less weight on their developing skeleton they will be all the better for this period of slow growth. IF this slow growth has any grounding in a hidden health condition, then forcing more food won't help either, let nature takes its course, allow nature to teach YOU !

Why do so many breeders have a fixation for fat puppies...???? strong puppies (if born with a lower birth weight) will survive in the right conditions, they will survive if we keep them warm and dry and allow them to grow at their own rate, on the appropriate milk formula designed by their own mother. You will discover that when weaning time comes along, they will catch up. Heavier puppies are fine if they are heavier by nature, if the musculature develops in harmony with their skeletal development and weight gain. Such puppies are a joy to see. However if your litter is not filled with such puppies do not attempt to change this. Accept they will be slower. Giving additional feeds of formula milk with a plan to 'force them to grow faster' will certainly not create healthier puppies and could be responsible for some serious problems in the future.

WHEN TO WEAN?

Do your puppies have teeth? first rule is wait until the puppies have teeth. Wild candids know when to wean, and it certainly won't be before the whole litter have teeth cut through the gums. The action of those teeth on her teats will trigger a response and encourage a good mum to regurgitate semi digested food. Not all mums in a domesticated situation do this, but wild canids certainly do. She knows that milk is no long enough. In most dogs this happens around the start of the fourth week. It definitely doesn't happen before those teeth appear, they are natures sign that we can shorlt begin the weaning process.

In human babies the immature gut closes at around the age of four months. One month in a human gestation period equates to one week in a dogs, I therefore figured four weeks might equate with the closing of the gut in puppies. I recently discovered that scientists agree!

Until the gut 'closes' foreign protein particles can travel through the wall of the immature gut, where they can weaken the developing immune system and set up allergies in later life. It is of the utmost importance that this transference of foreign proteins does not occur. NEVER begin weaning (puppy milk formula is cows milk protein. Both cows milk and Goats milk are foreign proteins.) if you are wanting to do your best for the puppies you have brought into this world, respect their species by ensuring they receive only the species appropriate milk of their own mother, and no foreign protein, until the gut has closed.

Obviously hand reared and orphan puppies cannot follow this protocol.

We can only do our best

Written by Angela Harvey 'copyright'