Bottle and Tube Feeding Puppies

Bottle / Tube Feeding Puppies

Some of this information has been shared from our amazing partners, Save the Clefts!

• Pups can eat Puppybac Formula  or a goats milk recipe (see end of this section)

• Pups need to be stimulated to go to the bathroom after or before they eat (see video)

• Deworming is extremely important, please see the deworming schedule for puppies under 4 months old and contact your foster coordinator for these medications. 

• They should eat at a 45 degree angle

• Once they reach 4 weeks they should be able to go 4-5 hours between feedings and you can start to introduce mush (ground up puppy kibble soaked in water to form a mush). They should also be going to the bathroom on their own

• By 5 weeks they should be on all mush and no more bottle (if they enjoy the bottle, one at night)

• By 6 weeks you should wean pups off of the bottle completely. At this point you can stop grinding kibble and instead soak it in water to get the kibble soft

• 6 weeks old should get their first vet apt, they should get their first DHPP, microchip, fecal and over all look over. Ask your coordinator for this apt.

• By 7-8 weeks they should be able to eat hard kibble

• Weigh the puppy often, it’s important to know your puppy is gaining. Record it!

Set Up

• They should be kept warm and away from drafts

• We suggest putting the pups in a small area, such as a larger plastic tupperware container. Put a heating pad under one side of the container, and keep the other side with no heating pad. Cover the container with a towel and keep a small slit on one side. If that still doesn't keep it warm, then add a space heater. Don’t let the area get too hot or the container get hot. See incubator set up, PIPs has makeshift incubators that you can use. 

• It is very important you keep your puppy warm AND also very important to give your puppy an option. Have half it’s area heated and the other half unheated, as this gives the puppy the ability to wiggle away from the heat if it gets too warm. A heating pad that does NOT automatically shut off and a 26qt.- 44qt. plastic tote, can be used. You may choose to place the heating pad inside the tote or set the tote on top of the heating pad. Either way, make sure only half of the base of the tote is in contact with the heat so the puppy can move away from the heat. You will need to position at just the right height and still also supply an area where the puppy can get away from the heat. The chart below is easiest to use when you have an ICU unit for a controlled environment.

Temperature to keep the environment, you can purchase a room thermometer to make sure the pups are warm enough

• Newborn - 7 days old - 85-90 degrees fahrenheit

• 8-14 days old - 80-85 degrees fahrenheit

• 15-21 days old 75-80 degrees fahrenheit

• 22-28 days old 70-75 degrees fahrenheit

Incubator Setup 

• Use the temporary incubator provided to you by the rescue.

• This consists of a plastic tote container, a heating pad, and a thermometer.

• Set the incubator up with the heating pad outside the tote, and the tote sits on top of it. The heating pad should not cover the entire base of the tote so the puppies can move to a cooler area if needed.

• The thermometer is already installed inside the tote and it should be visible so you can monitor the temperature at every feeding. See temperature requirements above.

• Bedding:

  1. Use a thin layer of clean, soft towels or fleece blankets. Having the bedding too thick can prevent heat from entering the incubator.

  2. Ensure bedding is changed at ever feeding to maintain hygiene.

• Heat Source:

  1. Use a heating pad set to low (this may need to be altered depending on the temperature inside the incubator).

  2. Provide a cooler area in the incubator for self-regulation.

• Cleaning:

  1. Remove and replace blankets at every feeding and wipe any messes out of the tote.

  2. Once per day, remove everything from the tote and clean everything with Rescue Wipes.

2. Formula

PIPs will provide you with Puppybac Formula. You will be given formula when you pick up your puppies and need to advise PIPs when you need more as it takes about a week to be delivered.

The formula comes in a powder and even before mixing with water, it should be stored in your refrigerator to help the longevity of it.

Mixing formula should be done by following these steps:

• Lift the powdered formula out of the fridge about 5 minutes before you need to mix it.

• Using a digital scale mix the required amount of formula by weighing out very warm water, and then adding the correct amount powder to the water. Puppybac formula should be mixed to a 3:1 (water:powder) ratio for neonates. (Please note that the package shows a mixing ratio of 4:1, but you must mix to a ratio of 3:1).

What “3:1” Means in Practice

For every 3 parts water, you add 1 part powder by weight.

So if you want:

• 30 g water → 10 g powder
  
  

• 45 g water → 15 g powder
  
  

• 75 g water → 25 g powder
  
  

Any number works, as long as the water weight ÷ powder weight = 3.

• Using a hand whisk mix the water and powder for a full 5 minutes. Don NOT stop mixing when the formula looks mixed together, you must mix for the full 5 minutes to prevent dehydration of the puppies. Do not use a blender or electric whisk as this can damage the compounds of the formula and also add too much air to the mixture.

• Once the formula is mixed you should store it in the fridge. It is not ready to be consumed by the puppies for 8 (eight) hours after mixing. Once that 8 hours has passed, the formula is good for an additional 72 hours in the fridge.

For example, if you mix the formula at 9am on Monday, it will be ready to drink at 5pm on Monday. Stored in the fridge it will be good to use until 5pm on Thursday.

Making formula this way requires you to estimate how much you will need for three days, and requires you to plan ahead. Please ensure to do this.

The reason for using this protocol for mixing formula is that if the powder is not mixed correctly, and then left to absorb water correctly, it can actually dehydrate the puppies because tiny pockets of powder will enter their stomachs and draw water from there.

Use this chart to determine how much EACH puppy should eat at each feeding.

Neonatal Feeding Guidelines (Puppybac 3:1 Concentration)

Caloric assumptions

• 0.703 kcal per ml of formula (when mixed at 3:1 water:powder ratio)
  
  

• 3.773 kcal per gram of powdered formula
  
  

• Average neonatal requirement: 23 kcal per 100 g of body weight per day
  
  

Feeding Schedule Overview

• Week 0–1: Every 2 hours (12 feedings/day) including nighttime.
  
  

• Week 1–2: Every 3 hours (8 feedings/day) including nighttime.
  
  

• Week 2–4: Every 4 hours (6 feedings/day) Include nightime. As they get closer to 3-4 weeks,  just one nighttime feeding is good as long as they are eating well.
  
  

It is important NOT to let the puppies free feed (i.e. do NOT let them eat until the stop). They will overeat and exceed their stomach capacity – this will result in pain, distended bellies, and diarrhea, which can be fatal to neonates. Puppies are not able to self-regulate.

Note: Monitor weight daily to ensure appropriate growth (10–15% body weight gain per day). PIPs will provide you with a tracking chart to help you monitor this. You should weigh the puppies at the same time every day, and do it before the feeding.

4. Bottle Feeding

• Bottles to Use: We will provide you with bottles to use for your puppies. We use Pigeon PP Nursing Bottle Wide Neck, Anti-Colic, Streamlined Body, Natural Feel, (0m+)

• Feeding Steps:

1.      Warm the formula to body temperature (95–100°F / 35–37°C). Warm the bottle but using a bottle warmer or standing the bottle in hot water until the formula is heated. Test the temperature of the formula – it should feel neither hot nor cold on your inner arm.

2.      Position the puppy belly-down on a soft towel, in your hand or on your lap.

3.      Gently insert the nipple into the puppy’s mouth, ensuring a proper latch.

4.      Allow the puppy to suckle; do not ever squeeze the bottle. The milk should only be entering the puppy’s mouth because they are latched and sucking.

• Post-Feeding Care:

• • Burp the puppy by gently massaging its back.

  • Stimulate urination and defecation using a warm, damp cotton ball.

  • Puppies should be wiped down with a baby wipe at each feeding, and any time they get feces or urine on them. When pups are with their mama she cleans them constantly, but our orphan pups do not have that care – so we need to ensure we step in. Urine and feces will burn the puppy's skin, which can lead to sores, and even staph infections so hygiene is critical.

5. Monitoring and Health Checks

• Weight: Record daily weights to monitor growth.

• Feedings: Record every feeding, noting the time and amount in mls consumed by each puppy.

• Eliminations: Record urination and stools (noting consistency of stools).

• Hydration: Check skin elasticity by gently pinching the skin.

• Signs of Illness:

  • Lethargy

  • Vomiting or diarrhea

  • Lack of weight gain

• Immediate Action: Contact Nicole or the foster team

6. Supplies Needed

• Bedding: Multiple sets of towels or fleece blankets.

• Sanitizers: Puppy-safe disinfectants for cleaning incubators and feeding equipment. We will provide you with wipes to clean the incubator and Dawn dish soap can be used for cleaning bottles etc.

• Hand Sanitizer: This is used before and after handling puppies.

• Waste Disposal:

  • Disposable puppy pads.

  • Plastic bags for soiled bedding and pads.

• Sterilization Tools:

  • Boiling water or a sterilizer for bottles, nipples, and feeding tubes.

• Bottles

• Incubator (Tote, heating pad, and thermometer)

• Puppy pee pads

• Heartbeat Dog

• We want you to still supply a heat source as a choice for the puppy up until you consistently no longer see them using it. This means when you transition the puppy to a playpen & crate combo we want you using a heating pad within the crate (crate must be attached to playpen so puppy has a choice to get away from heat). Note: If you are not using an incubator you should ALWAYS give the puppy a choice to get away from the heat source for safety reasons.

• A newborn puppy can't regulate body temperature and needs the warmth of its mother and littermates to stay at a stable temperature. The normal temperature for a newborn pup is between 95 to 99 F. A temperature lower than 92 F or higher than 106 F can indicate a health problem. During the second and third weeks, a puppy's body temperature will range from 97 to 100 F. In the fourth week, a puppy will have the usual normal body temperature of an adult dog, from 99.5 to 102.5 degrees F. Since normal body temperature varies between individual puppies, it's a good idea to know what constitutes your puppy's "normal." Taking your puppy's temperature at home also gets the dog used to being handled so that when the veterinarian does this, your puppy won't be scared or object to this normal part of its puppy care routine.

Tube Feeding Links

Save The Clefts Rescue knows EVERYTHING about tube feedings, we follow their protocols for the most part. If you have questions about anything, please contact us! https://sites.google.com/view/savetheclefts/home

• Caring for Cleft Puppies https://sites.google.com/view/savetheclefts/home

• Tube Feeding Step by Step https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-q6LQuhq9_Khw6Z_RH6qxfSsFg_2rtoh/view

• BEEF LIVER REMEDY FOR FADING PUPPIES https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HZ83bbQzwTwrrFpVVZXelJJER72v4672/view

• Digestive Resets and switching formula https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bd7yZAFrzkfweqXxn83go3dm7h0MUVoM/view

Bottle Feeding Recipe

• 10 oz. of canned whole goat's milk

• 3 oz. sterilized water (baby water OR boiled water that is then cooled). This is NOT needed if using whole goat's milk

• 1 raw egg yolk

• 1 cup of plain yogurt (avoid skim or fat free if at all possible).

• 1/2 tsp Karo Syrup or Corn Syrup (NOT HONEY!)

1. Place ingredients in a blender and blend or use a wire whisk. Be careful to not overblend and create a milkshake full of bubbles and then feed bubbles into the puppy. Keep cool and discard leftovers after 7 days.

2. Warm formula to body temperature (dogs are around 101 degrees). Discard any unused formula. This is a thick mixture - use a stomach tube to tube feed or enlarge the hole in the nipple for easy access for the pup