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I have divided this section for ease of reference into the following sub-divisions:
Manufactured vs Homemade Formula There is a wide range of products available and my personal feeling is to not "reinvent the wheel" by playing around with homemade formulas. The manufactured formulas have been researched and specifically designed for neonate pups. Many people have had good results with homemade formulas, but I was not that brave! I used the Royal Canin Formula and the locally-made Milkopup. We had significant problems with the first litter with blood sugar levels, but I don't think this was due to the formula.
Amounts To Feed There is much varying information on this topic, but I found that the pups needed approximately 20mls/100g daily on a manufactured formula. A nicer indicator for me was the conversion of amount consumed vs body weight. This is reflected as a percentage and should be between 20% - 25%. Example
If the above equations are confusing, please email me and I will send you a spreadsheet with the formulas already inserted. With the example above, Dog A and Dog B are within range, but Bitch A would be cause for concern if she stuck to this pattern for longer than two days. There appears to be a surge on Day 3/4 and then the pups generally stick to a range of 20% - 25% until they are about 10 days old. After that they seem to hover around the 30% mark.
Feeding Schedule Most people will recommend a two or three hourly schedule to start with. To be perfectly honest I simply couldn't have managed this. By having a relatively long break during the night it also allowed me to get some sleep - by being relatively well-rested I was more alert to the puppy's needs and I coped better with any emergencies that arose. While I may have just been lucky it is worth remembering that growth hormones are only released when an animal is sleeping. I believe that constantly fussing with the pups and not allowing them to rest may in fact contribute to fading puppies. I also believe that allowing the pups to empty their stomachs resulted in stronger feeding behaviour - obviously this should not be done to the point that the puppy is weak and unable to feed.
*If a puppy feeds poorly and it not meeting their daily requirement, then an added feed may be required. All 13 Great Dane puppies that I handraised according to this schedule survived and are flourishing today. Methods of feeding - "The Glove" One of the main concerns is getting pups to accept a bottle. This becomes even more challenging if the pup is weak. I did not need to tube feed, so I cannot offer any advice in that respect. I would prefer for pups to nurse on a bottle as it provides them with much more sensory stimulation than tube-feeding and I think it is also safer than tube feeding. However if a pup is in dire straits and they require tube feeding please do not hesitate to do so! Please ask your vet for assistance in this regard. With the first litter the teats that I received with the milk formula were totally useless. They were too soft and collapsed when the pups nursed. They were also far too long. So I had to get very creative! I taped a catheter to my finger and ran it up my hand. I then placed a surgical glove on my hand with a couple of small slits on the finger with the catheter. The end of the catheter was then attached to a syringe. The pups would quite happily suck my finger, so I then inserted my finger into their mouths and controlled the amount of formula coming through via the syringe. This method helped a lot with fussy pups as I could position my finger properly into their mouths. This is a very time consuming and quite messy method, but after the pups being fed like this for two days I tried them on the bottle. Because they were strong enough they took to it wonderfully! My second litter were stronger from the beginning and they had the bottle from the very start.
Methods of feeding - Bottle A normal baby bottle was fine for my pups, but the best teats were the really cheap baby teats found at the supermarket. They were quite hard and the pups seemed to prefer this to the soft silicone variety. I bought countless teats until I found the right ones! I found that the best way of feeding the pups was to put a towel on my lap and have the pup lie across my lap facing my right. My left hand would go over their muzzle and my thumb and middle finger would seal any "gaps" in the corners of their mouths. The right hand would hold the bottle underneath and could also help to keep the pup's muzzle aligned properly with the bottle. My pups were very strong and I ended up having to re-position a number of times! Wriggling the teat and pretending to take the teat away would often bring about a stronger sucking reflex. Caution: While this method worked wonderfully, please be careful not to place too much pressure on the pup's eyes with the bottom of your left held. In the first litter I had one pup with an inverted left eyelid and another with a partially inverted right eyelid. Both pups were diagnosed with hereditary eye disorders by a specialist. When I thought that perhaps the pressure of my hand had caused this and I applied less pressure the problem resolved 100% in both pups within days. So much for a hereditary eye disorder!
Burping This was my least favourite part of having babies and I was quite distraught at the thought of having to endlessly burp 13 puppies! However the good news is that puppies are much easier to burp than babies! Before I started burping the pups they would appear uncomfortable and restless after a feed. Once we started burping them after feeds they would sleep "like babies". It is quite simple to do. The pup is held in one hand with one foreleg over your thumb and the other foreleg over your pinkie. Keep the pup's tummy against your warm arm and hold him upright. Lightly tap them between the shoulder blades with your other hand. There is nothing like the sound of a contented little baby having a good old fashioned belch!
Time Saving Tips One of the hardest things about hand-raising is that by the time you've finished feeding and clearing up it is time to start again! At the beginning it took me two hours to feed 6 pups, but after a couple of days it took 30 minutes. Here are some time savers:
Hygiene Obviously hygiene is important and all feeding equipment should be thoroughly washed and sterilised. It is however important not to go overboard as the puppy's immune system does require a teeny "kick start". There is bacteria all around us and it is impossible to have everything sterilised, so don't stress about sterilising blankets etc. A good wash in hot water and thorough rinsing will suffice. I have never had a problem with people visiting my puppies in the neonatal stage. Although it was tough I adopted the same approach with my orphan pups. They were at a distinct disadvantage due to not having received enough colostrum, but I knew that the risks of them picking something up from visitors was outweighed by the benefit of possible cross-immunisation. This was my approach - I may just have been lucky not to have a problem. Please play this by ear and if you are unsure ask your vet for advice. Supplements This is one area where my experience with the first litter played a massive role in the success and ease of the second litter. The pups in the first litter all developed terrible constipation after only two days. From day six they also developed blood sugar problems with hypoglycemia. One minute the pups would be fine and the next minute they would by hypothermic, weak and listless. I nearly lost each pup to this condition. We could not get to the bottom of the problem, but thankfully each time a pup became hypoglycemic I knew what to do. It was still however very stressful! When the first litter was two weeks old I started giving them the EcoVet Homeopathic Large Breed Puppy Colostrum. This product also contains insulin growth regulators. Overnight the hypoglycemia disappeared. Needless to say the second litter received this product from their very first feed and we never had one pup develop hypoglycemia. There were a couple of things that I changed with the second litter, so while I cannot say with 100% certainty that the EcoVet solved the problem I honestly believe that it played a large role. The dosages were given to me by the EcoVet Managing Director, Dr. Alex Niven. The other supplement I gave the second litter was Protexin. This is a probiotic and I firmly believe that this was the reason that the puppies from the second litter never had any constipation problems. Each pup received about one match head of Protexin powder in every single bottle. At one stage there stools became very loose and I cut back on the Protexin, which produced an immediate effect.
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