My 4 or 5 week old pitbull will not eat. I have to force feed babby milk and it won't touch dog food. What should I do?
Sharon from Beaumont, TX
Typically pups are weaned from the mother at 6weeks. this is a very young pup to be weaned off mother but it can be done with a healthy pup and alot of patience . I'm assuming you are using a baby bottle and nipple to feed. check that there's not a cleft palate. You should be using some sort of puppy formula(store bought) or a homemade formula with syrup and egg and pwd milk mix (you can look that up) A trip to the vet would not hurt.
Your puppy is way too young to be taken away from mama -you will probably have to get a pet bottle feeder, and please call your vet for the proper food to feed him, WHY in the world did whoever you got the puppy from let go too early, Puppies should be at least 6 weeks and 8 weeks is preferable . PLEASE contact your family vet !
First, your puppy may need a thorough check-up by a vet. It's expensive, but well worth the price if you want this puppy to live and be happy. Before the vet expense though, I would try cooked oatmeal. The puppy is not yet old enough to be eating solid dog/puppy foods. The oatmeal has nutrients that are good for it. If the pup still won't eat, then it's best to let a vet check it to determine the cause.
Yes this puppy is way too little to be away from its mother and siblings but don't freet you can do it and the puppy can be just fine it's just gonna take awhile for it to adjust you must give it attention and take to the vet ASAP! I breed Blue Pitbulls and I would recommend that you buy a really good puppy kibble and a good milk supplement/ puppy formula which can come in powder form or in liquid for puppies. Get the milk supplement and mix it according to the directions on the label then with a blender chop up some of the puppy kibble and add the puppy formula to it you can also mix some canned puppy food to the mixture as well. Feed this to your puppy hopefully it'll help put some weight on him/her.
Make sure if you rescue your puppy you need to make sure you know what food they were eating previously to you owning them. A change in their diet can make them very sick. If they are not eating trying putting them on a low residue puppy food. I know IAMS makes a really good one.