Here’s a quick summary of what to do with a neonate that won’t latch on and eat right away. I’ll try to go more into detail in a later post. This assumes no cleft palate or other glaring issues. When in doubt or if something here is beyond your skill or comfort level, call your vet immediately.
Blend the ingredients and strain. Pour into an ice cube tray and freeze, then store frozen in a baggie. This recipe has about 10-12 calories per cc.
We are advocates of products as natural as possible, but for tube feeding unless you are able to pump moms colostrum, we recommend a commercial puppy supplement like Esbilac over plain goats milk (the Esbilac goats milk formula is fine—it has been balanced to avoid nutritional deficiencies). We like the powder, we can make only what we need and the powder lasts 6 months if stored in your freezer. Goats milk is great for goats but is lacking in several nutrients needed for puppies. Its fine for very short term but not suitable for more than a day or two. Long-term use of goats milk as a main food can cause amino acid deficiency for eye development that can cause nutritionally mediated cataracts.
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How long after birth do puppies need to feed?
12 Hours. It is crucial for newborn puppies to receive milk courtesy of their mothers within 12 hours after birth. If they fail to take in her milk within this brief time span, they can’t get her colostrum, and therefore can’t get passive immunity.
What do you do when a newborn puppy wont eat?
If he won’t eat, try stroking him. Tilt the bottle up slightly to prevent the puppy from inhaling too much air. Do not force the puppy to nurse, or allow him to nurse too fast. After each feeding, the puppy should be burped.