3 Week Old Puppy Food Recipes

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What Is Evaporated Milk

How to Make Puppy Mush Food for 3 Week Old Puppies

Simply put, evaporated milk is unsweetened condensed milk. It is obtained by removing 60% of the water content from regular cows milk. This gives it a slightly thicker and creamier consistency and a more caramalized color compared to normal milk.After removing the water content, evaporated milk is homogenized to uniformly mix the fat into the milk. The concentration of the milk makes it more nutrient-rich and ensures that it remains shelf-stable for longer.

Typically, evaporated milk is available in the following variants:

  • Whole evaporated milk

So, what makes evaporated milk such a useful puppy milk substitute. Let us find out.

What Are The Available Raw Foods For Puppies

A diet of raw meaty bones or biologically appropriate raw food is an increasingly popular way to feed dogs. While RMB is pretty self-explanatory, you may wonder what exactly BARF means.

The BARF diet encompasses feeding 60% raw meaty bones and filling the remaining 40% with other raw foods. These may include grains, vegetables, legumes, and other animal proteins as we will see.

Just as there are risks and benefits to feeding on kibble, there are undoubtedly the same for raw feeding. So you might find it helpful to read about the pros and cons of raw food for puppies before going ahead.

Today, though well focus on the HOW of raw feeding, rather than the IF or the WHY. Lets just first recap why we might choose to use raw food for puppies.

Ideal Milk Formula For Puppies

To evaluate and better understand the nutritional needs of a puppy, we can look at the nutritional makeup of their mother’s milk.

1 liter of a mother dog’s milk will provide between 1,200 and 1,300 kcal and contains the following nutrients:

  • 80 g protein
  • 35 g fat
  • 45 g carbohydrates
  • 1.3 g calcium
  • 0.8 g phosphorous

Looking at the nutritional values of the two formulae, we can see that the composition of cow’s milk is half that of dog’s milk. If we think we can just double the portion, then it is unfortunately not as simple. The puppies can only stomach so much milk in their small bodies. Getting the right level of nutrients takes a little more effort. We can give some cow’s milk in an emergency, but we can cause damage to the puppies if we use it in the long-term.

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How Should We Feed Newborn Puppies

Before we administer the homemade puppy formula to the newborn dogs, it is essential to weigh them. This is ideally done with a kitchen scale as they will be very little. It is difficult to discern the age of a puppy, so we have the following calculation to help us:

  • 1st week of life: 12 a 13 kcal/100 g/day
  • 2nd week of life: 13 a 15 kcal/100 g/day
  • 3rd week of life: 15 a 18 kcal/100 g/day
  • 4th week of life: 18 a 20 kcal/100 g/day

To understand the above calculations, we need to get an estimate of a puppy’s age. For a test case, we can look at a Golden Retriever weighing 500 g. If we look at their belly, we can see there should be traces of an umbilical cord. We should also see they are crawling and not walking on their own properly. These details mean the puppy is likely in their first week of life and will need 65 kcal per day .

If we are using the first homemade puppy formulae recipe, we can work out that there are 20 x 65 kcal servings in 1 liter. This means each daily serving is 50 ml. A puppy in their first week of life will suckle from their mother about 15 times per day. When feeding artificial formula, we should feed them about 8 times per day or every 3 hours. This means the puppy should get about 6.25 ml of formula from recipe 1 every 3 hours. We can use the above formulae to calculate the amount they need for each week depending on the recipe.

If you want to read similar articles to Homemade Newborn Puppy Formula, we recommend you visit our Lactation category.

What Human Foods Are Dangerous For A French Bulldog Puppy

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Certain human foods may not be safe for your French Bulldog because they contain compounds that are toxic for your puppy.

Chocolate is the most dangerous food for your puppy because it contains theobromine which can cause seizures, tremors, abnormal heartbeat, or even death.

Other foods not suitable for a French Bulldog puppy include garlic, onions, chives, leeks, candy, baked goods, fruit drinks, and cereals.

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Safely Using Raw Food For Puppies

Before we go any further, lets talk a moment about safety. Because whichever way you decide to feed your dog, it makes sense to reduce any risks to an absolute minimum.

One way to do this is to buy an off-the-shelf raw food.

But many raw feeders want to make their own food at home. So lets look at what you can do to feed raw in the best way.

It is a good idea to follow these feeding practices if you are going to raw feed your dogs. This is doubly important with puppies.

Summer Melon And Fruit Dog Treats

This is a great combination, provides lots of great hydration from the juices as well.. I have simply taken this recipe and converted it to use it in my pups Kong. You can literally use any pet safe fruits in this also. I generally puree all the ingredients together. Then stuff into the Kongs and freeze until solid.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Strawberries
  • 3 cups Watermelon flesh
  • 1/2 cup Cucumber
  • 1 cup cantaloupe flesh

Blend on puree in a food processor or mash with a potato masher until well mixed, some chunkiness is okay.

Spoon into your pups Kong and freeze until solid. All theres left to do is give to your furbaby to enjoy!

Thanks to SayHelloNature for a wonderful recipe idea!

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What Human Foods Can A French Bulldog Puppy Eat

Certain human foods are safe for your French Bulldog puppy to eat. Fruits and vegetables such as apples, broccoli, bananas, mango, and blueberries are safe for your puppy.

Yogurt has active bacteria which helps improve the digestive system of your puppy.

Other safe human foods for your puppy include cheese, chicken, turkey, salmon, tuna, sweet potatoes, rice, and pumpkin. All these foods contain the essential nutrients that your puppy needs to grow strong and healthy.

What To Watch For When Feeding Homemade Dog Food

3 week old puppy food

It’s important to monitor your dog closely when changing to homemade dog food. Stay in contact with your veterinarian regarding any changes you notice, whether good or bad. For best results, keep a record of your dog’s weight and body condition over time. Weigh your dog at least once per week and contact your vet if you notice unintended weight loss or gain. Watch for vomiting or diarrhea that may occur if your dog is sensitive to one or more ingredients. Note and report these or any other signs of illness to your veterinarian.

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Which Supplements To Add To Homemade Puppy Food

This is the most difficult part of creating homemade puppy food recipes.

Experts disagree on exactly what supplementation is necessary, how much of each vitamin/mineral puppies need, and which sources you should get them from. It’s a bit of a minefield!

If you’re feeding a well-balanced raw puppy food diet supplementation isn’t necessary because your pup can get all the nutrients he needs from his food.

Heat destroys vitamins, minerals, enzymes and probiotics, so if you’re cooking your puppy’s meals you need to estimate what is being lost and replace it.

Here are some of the supplements that are generally recommended to be added to a homemade diet for puppies and dogs:

When Should Puppies Begin To Eat Puppy Mush

In the beginning, puppy mush will not be the only food your puppy is eating. They may not get many calories from the puppy mush at first as they try and figure out how exactly to eat it. It can be more complicated than you might think, especially when youre a little puppy!

For this reason, the first introduction of puppy gruel isnt meant to provide many calories. Instead, its to introduce the puppies to solid food so they can begin getting used to it.

Usually, this should begin when they are around 3-4 weeks old. However, the timing will depend on the mother somewhat. Eventually, the mother will stop feeding the puppies as much as she begins to wean them. This is your sign to introduce solid food as in mush or gruel.

Some mothers will never initiate the weaning process, though. In this case, introduce the mush in week 4 anyway. The puppies will need to be weaned, even if the mother doesnt seem like she knows how to start the process.

After only a few introductions, you should encourage the puppies to switch entirely to puppy mush and stop nursing. The mothers milk will dry up around 12 or so weeks, so the switch needs to be made entirely before then.

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Homemade Puppy Food Ingredients

Choosing the right ingredients for your homemade puppy food recipes is hugely important and fairly easy to do.

As you need to buy natural, human-grade ingredients you can simply add little Rascal’s shopping list to your own and knock them both out at once.

Ingredients to buy for your homemade puppy food include:

  • Muscle meat

Optional ingredients to add to this list include:

  • Dairy
  • Eggs
  • Grain

Because heating and cooking ingredients kills off most of the vitamins and minerals in them you’ll need to add dietary supplements to make sure your puppy’s meals contain the full range nutrients he needs.

This is probably the trickiest part of the whole homemade puppy food creation process because the majority of canine nutritionists, researchers and veterinarians aren’t in agreement over what constitutes the ideal balance.

Luckily, you don’t have to stress over making every single meal perfectly balanced because the best way to make sure that your little Rascal gets everything he needs from his home made diet is to create a variety of different meal plans/recipes and rotate them.

Doing this means your puppy gets a wide variety of ingredients over a period of a few days, creating a natural nutritional balance over time.

We all know this works because it’s how we eat ourselves! I know that no individual meal I eat contains ALL the nutrients or ingredients that I need to stay healthy.

How To Wean Puppies

3 week Old puppies Eating Soft Food

As for a 5-week-old puppy feeding schedule, this is around when most people will start to wean their puppies.

  • For what to feed puppies who are weaning, use a commercially made, balanced food. Kibble should be softened with water or broth to a soupy texture, or you can add a little extra water to wet puppy food.
  • To get the puppies interested, dip your finger into the mush and then let them lick it. Puppies quickly learn to lap up the food.
  • Make sure each pup is getting their fair share. Separate dog bowls given under supervision is ideal.
  • While feeding puppies your weaning mix, there is no standard set of directions for how much a puppy should eat. Continue to weigh your puppies daily. You want pups that are growing but not overweight.
  • If the puppies are still nursing a bit, figure on offering them three or four meals a day as a puppy feeding schedule. Toy and small breed pups may need some extra snacks, as they are susceptible to hypoglycemia .
  • Nutritional weaning is complete when the puppies are eating only puppy food and no longer nursing at all. When litters and moms are kept together, pups are usually eating only puppy food at around 8 weeks of age.

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Keep your dog healthy and fit with this easy peasy homemade recipe its cheaper than store-bought and chockfull of fresh veggies!

I never thought I would be one of those dog owners who made homemade human food for their pups. Not in a million years.

But when Butters recently fell sick with an upset stomach, our vet advised us to feed him a bland diet chicken and rice without any kind of seasoning. So thats what we did we poached a chicken, shredded it in a food processor, and mixed in some white rice and fed him this bland diet for 3 days.

Thats when I started to do some research on homemade dog food, and I have been so amazed as to how many different kinds of vegetables dogs can have. And with the help of Balance IT, you can create so many different recipes for your pup!

Now the best part about making homemade dog food just like making anything at home is that you know exactly what is going into the dog bowl, and not any of that questionable gelatinous gunk from the canned food.

But its important to note that dogs have different nutrient requirements than humans for their proportional body size, such as:

  • High-quality protein
  • Fat
  • Calcium
  • Essential fatty acids
  • Now this recipe here has a balance of 50% protein, 25% veggies and 25% grains, but the ratios can easily be adjusted to suit your pups breed and/or needs.

    How To Teach A Puppy To Eat Puppy Gruel

    Transitioning a puppy from their mothers milk to mush isnt a matter of teaching. Instead, the puppies typically figure it out through exposure. Your job will mostly be to expose the puppies to the food and ensure that the correct amount is available. You may also need to ensure that all the puppies get the appropriate amount, especially if some pups seem to be bullied away by their siblings.

    The most youll need to do is coax the puppy to try the new food. You may put some on your finger and then offer it to the puppy, who will likely try and suck your finger, consuming the gruel in the process.

    Understand that puppies will not quite understand how to eat effectively for some time. For this reason, youll need to prepare for plenty of clean-up. The puppies will likely get more on themselves than they actually consume. For this reason, youll need to ensure that you have plenty of towels and prepare to support their learning process.

    It may take a few times for some puppies to even try a little bit. However, you should continue to offer it regularly. Repeat exposure is exactly how puppies wean, even if they dont eat very much at first. Eventually, the puppy will recognize their new food and recognize it when you offer it.

    There will be little actual teaching when it comes to weaning the puppies. Instead, your job is to offer the right food and provide puppies with plenty of chances to eat it.

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    Homemade Dog Food For Puppies Recipe Healthy And Easy To

    Slow cooker recipes are especially good just for their time saving – since you may be making dog food each week. This is another simple recipe that you can create in just 20 minutes, using a combination of beef and anti-oxidants. If you want to lean things up a bit just swap the beef for chicken or turkey Homemade Dog Liver Bites. Rating: 5 stars. 6. This homemade dog food is so easy to make with only 4 to 5 ingredients. A blender, liquidizer, or food processor is a great bonus and saves too much mess . They freeze very well At 4-weeks-old, puppies can begin to start eating solid food. They still need canine milk at this age, but you can start introducing puppy kibble or wet food to their diet. The entire weaning process takes around 3 weeks. Remember that at 4-week old puppies can start eating solid food

    And remember to use these treats and snacks in moderation, especially when trying new foods with your dog. Some dogs have sensitive stomachs, and the addition of new foods can cause digestive issues. Here’s a list of healthy treats you can use for Kong stuffing: Apples Applesauce. Asparagus Put ¼ cup of the new dog food. Then put ¾ cup of the regular dog food. Slowly increase the substitution. And spread it over some days. Do this until you finally reach a 100% new dog food substitution into your puppy’s feeding. Conclusion. It’s important to have a schedule for solid dog food feeding. Do it once your puppy turns four weeks old

    What Happens If You Separate A Puppy From Their Mother And Litter Box Before They Turn Eight Weeks Old

    3 week old chocolate labrador puppies eating food for the first time

    Thats it for todays post. You should now know when to introduce your puppy to gruel. If you have any questions related to puppies eat gruel, them leave them as replies in the comments section down.

    If you have recently started giving your puppy gruel, what gruel recipes is your pup enjoying the most? If you are comfortable enough to share with us your gruel recipes, then feel free to leave them in the comments section as well!

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    Start With One Protein Source

    Regardless of whether youre preparing your own raw or are using a prepared raw food, its best to start with one protein source. Give that one protein for a good week. If there are no signs of digestive upset, start your puppy on a second source of protein, and so on.

    Muscle meat should make up about 35% to 50% of the diet.

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