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weaning the ONE litter
Hi All,
I got a question from a friend who knows I feed raw asking how I was going
to go about weaning the "One" litter. So I thought I would share this with
all of you:
First I don't know who in the ONE families is considering feeding
raw? Lofty goal here but it's my hopes that each of you (the entire list)
would consider at least educating yourself on raw feeding and consider at
the very least some inclusion of whole foods in your dog's diet, if not
going whole hog so to speak...
A little history: Bogey and Diablo the "sports' litter of just two boys
the whole enchilada.. (Lori S. and Patty O.) Were the first puppies I fed
a semi raw diet. I was in the midst of switching all the dogs when these
two wonderful boys came to be. I thought then oh no problem I can do this
with litters, feed raw that is,,, go whole hog... <sure...>
Then along came the Moon babies (Scarlette) and Spice litter (Sprite) I
had 12 puppies... I started out ok but by week 6 I was noticing problems
which I thought were diet, which they were not. The pup's had giardia our
first bout of it in a litter... Anyway other problems noted with these
puppies were not apparent till after go home. One major problem was food
aggression, note Hunter's story... I feel as though the competition for
the food (RMB's) was part of the reason here. Come to find out it's best
to feed RMB's to puppies in isolation. So now onward:
Some of you might have some suggestions here and of course I am all ears...
I do not (I hate that phrase) have the where with all to separate each
puppy for feeding. This could take all day... I have however decided past
the first week of eating food I will group the puppies in small groups of 3
in this case and feed them that way. By week 7 I hope to be able to feed
each puppy at least one meal a day by themselves, to combat food aggression.
What are the "One" puppies going to eat and when:
Starting at week 4 I will offer food to the litter: The first few meals
will be one per day (they should still be nursing a lot) and that meal will
be goats milk with egg yokes. By the end of week 4 they will be eating 2
times per day and still nursing and I plan to mix slightly cooked meats
with kibble (Canine Caviar Lamb and Rice Adult Formula). They will have
avial to them "soup bones" for toys. By week 5 I will start introducing
raw veggies, fruits yogurt ect too. Your puppy will go home knowing whole
foods.
I would really like to be able to go total raw with litters, but at this
time I am not educated enough on how to do this and I will need to learn as
I go and progress as I feel more comfortable and find solutions to
mechanical problems.
Now On Canine Caviar: Contact Stacy> caninecaviar@yahoo.com< if you live
in the Portland area for delivery or a retailer close to you. This food is
home delivered in the greater Portland area. Others can find it on line
at Petopia ect... Jump in here guys!!! Katherina you can get this in
Anchorage too. Deb Mc Fail can help you there.
I will send home some CC with each of you about a pound. If you are not
planning on staying with Canine Caviar It's my suggestion that you at lest
keep the puppy on this for about a 20 pound bag, and start to mix in your
new food 1/2 way through that bag which you will find at:
http://www.briergoldens.com/links.htm go to the list under: Pet Food
Manufactures. I can have avail here 20# and 40# bags of Canine Caviar for
those interested, but please post me privately if you want food so I can
give Stacy a good heads up.
I will write more on dog food later, but in short please refer to:
http://www.briergoldens.com/puppyinfo.html for some slightly out of date
but still good info on feeding puppies. We do not ever use anything but
adult formula's with puppies. I don't subscribe to the new improved
formula's for large breed either and I suggest you follow my lead
here... <smile> if your going to feed dog food... Jump in here too guys!!!
I gotta zip!
Gina :-)