Last week my lab had pups, she died three days later from
what was sited as rat poisoning. She jumped the fence
after she had them. We are now bottle feeding 12 pups. Any
insight on when we can get rid of the pups and how the new
families can feed them? You may not like my reply to your
questions, but since you asked.......these are MY opinions.
Dr. DeMichael: First of all, you have the responsibility
as the breeder of those pups, to provide them with a comfortable
home until such time as they can be adopted by their new
families. Since the mother has died, those pups are dependent
on you alone to raise and feed them. For more detailed
information regarding raising orphaned pups and the proper
nutrition for them, I would refer you to the IAMS Co. for
a more detailed discussion. Call their Customer Service
Dept. for further information at (800) 525-4267.
Not knowing where you are located with respect to the
climate in your area, one of the most important things
to consider for young pups is to maintain a warm environment.
This may mean that you will have to use heat lamps as a
source of warmth. Just be sure they are raised high enough
as to not "burn" the pups. You need the air around them
warm, not hot.
There are various milk replacer formulas available. Don't
use regular table milk as a substitute. One product that
we have used is made for babies and is called Similac.
It's not inexpensive, but it is a good source as a supplement.
When the pups get several weeks old, you may be able to
switch them to a "puppy weaning formula". We use the one
manufactured by the Iams Co.
If you are lucky, you might be able to check with your
local veterinarians and locate a bitch who may have just
lost her pups for some reason or other that would serve
as a surrogate mother to yours.
As for when you can "get rid of the pups", and let the
next family feed them, I submit that you should not have
bred your dog in the first place if you were not willing
to accept the responsibility of raising them. And should
you be thinking that the mating wasaccidental and not planned,
I say to you that your female should have been spayed and
this would not be an issue today.
I hope you will take the responsibility of raising these
pups untilthey are old enough for you to find a loving
family that will feed and care for them.
