# Feeding a 3 pound 8 week old puppy



## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Okay, I should be able to figure this out, but I am having trouble with feeding this puppy. He came here eating primal nuggets. I couldn't find them so I got Natures Variety pre-made nuggets to transition him. 

1. He is skinny. The breeder fed the pups all at once and the parti-colored pups took a lot of the food. They were a lot bigger and fatter then the black pups so I guess he is used to fighting for his meals. 
2. He INHALES his food. He worries me because he eats so fast and my last pup that inhaled food died from bloat. 
3. I have him currently on 1/2 Natures Variety and 1/2 ground chicken quarters. The ground chicken is really pretty chunky and not fine at all but he doesn't have all his puppy teeth in yet so I'm not sure how much chewing he can handle. 
4. He gets 2 ounces per meal, 3 times a day. (1 pre-made nugget and an equal amount of raw chicken). He inhales it in seconds and looks ravenous for more food. This is about twice what the breeder was feeding him but he still acts starving. 

I did the 2% of future body weight (he is suppose to end up at 10 pounds) and he is theoretically getting enough food I think. It looks like so little and he eats it so fast! Is this enough for him? Is there a way to slow him down so he doesn't get sick? 

Thanks!! He LOVES his raw chicken by the way and goes absolutely crazy at mealtime. I just wish he wasn't so food obsessed right now. He gets frantic when he smells the pan and dives head first into it.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

I'm feeding the fosters chicken right now and I'm not weighing or measuring at all. Probably should be but it's been 10 days since I brought them home and their weight is fine. They were a tad thin when I got them so I've been feeding them 4 times a day. Today will be the first time I've taken it to 3 meals. I just have a bunch of chicken cut into small pieces and am using neck for the bony part. I spoon out 5 heaping spoonfuls and try to monitor who is eating what when I put it down. I did weigh the food the first meal and it was about 8 oz all together so they're getting approx that each meal to share. They weigh all together around 9 lbs so it's working fine so far. I'm sure this wasn't helpful at all but I guess what I'm saying is I'm not sweating every little thing. They chow down immediately and keep looking for more but they're healthy so I must be doing something right!


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I guess I'm just not used to puppies that inhale raw food like that. Rocky ate kibble as a pup and he has always been a really slow, picky eater. He is still a slow, picky eater with raw. I had one pup that inhaled food and he actually bloated at 5 months so I tend to worry a lot. 

This little guy really likes to eat but only meat. I offered him a piece of a grain free biscuit to keep him busy and he totally snubbed it.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Chowder, Congrats on having your new puppy home. When we have tiny ones (the shelties) i pretty much free feed and if I notice very loose stools i cut back a little bit until they firm up. Some puppies especially small breeds need more than 2%. My smallest eats 10-12 ounces per day and her mom who is about 6 pounds heavier only gets 6 ounces. Go by body more than numbers with your little and watch stools. I also use one or two meals for a little training and it helps slow them down and tire them out a bit.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Another suggestion to slow him down. You could get one of those little puppy kongs, stuff it with his ground chicken meal and freeze it. That should keep him both mentally and physically stimulated for at least 20 mins or so (depending on how good he is at it)...If he is struggling with it or if he's uninterested, you could thaw it for a little and try again...


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Donna Little said:


> I'm feeding the fosters chicken right now and I'm not weighing or measuring at all. Probably should be but it's been 10 days since I brought them home and their weight is fine. They were a tad thin when I got them so I've been feeding them 4 times a day. Today will be the first time I've taken it to 3 meals. I just have a bunch of chicken cut into small pieces and am using neck for the bony part. I spoon out 5 heaping spoonfuls and try to monitor who is eating what when I put it down. I did weigh the food the first meal and it was about 8 oz all together so they're getting approx that each meal to share. They weigh all together around 9 lbs so it's working fine so far. I'm sure this wasn't helpful at all but I guess what I'm saying is I'm not sweating every little thing. They chow down immediately and keep looking for more but they're healthy so I must be doing something right!


I want to see more pictures of your babies as well!!

Sorry for the slight thread jack--


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

AHH!!! im having this same issue with Chimera as well!! im freaked out about feeding her her first raw meal, the breeder sent me with taste of the wild kibble, i didnt purchuse any because i wanted her on raw right away, well the first time i seen her eat was like OMG! she scarfs and nearly choked on the kibble, she swollows the bits WHOLE!
im starting her on chicken necks and hammerd them to a pulp, will see how it goes


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

xchairity_casex said:


> AHH!!! im having this same issue with Chimera as well!! im freaked out about feeding her her first raw meal, the breeder sent me with taste of the wild kibble, i didnt purchuse any because i wanted her on raw right away, well the first time i seen her eat was like OMG! she scarfs and nearly choked on the kibble, she swollows the bits WHOLE!
> im starting her on chicken necks and hammerd them to a pulp, will see how it goes


That's how Brisco is with his raw. He just inhales the food! Since Brisco is eating raw pre-made and ground, I've started kind of mashing it around in the pan so at least he has to work to get it out of the bottom of the pan. The real chicken is fairly decent sized pieces compared to how itty bitty his teeth are, but the premade is like a paste. 

I did get him a little puppy kong but so far he has zero interest in it, even when I put a little something on it. But I just smeared the end of it. I didn't want to put food in it and then have to try and get it out again if he couldn't get it. Even the tiny puppy kong is as big as his whole head! 

I will increase his food just a tiny amount. So far his poops are just fine so I don't want to mess that up by overfeeding him.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

What if you stick a bunch of golf balls in his dish, then he has to work around them to eat. This only works if he doesn't just remove all the golf balls from his dish. We did this with Tess for a while, but my parents are no good at sticking to my suggestions...She's 9 years old and still eats wayy too fast, darn little dogs.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

I can't help with the feeding but just wanted to say Congrats on the puppy!


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Both ground meat and kibble is SUPER easy to inhale. When my Mum got Jazzy home(at 8 weeks/4.5lbs) she was a major food hound..she was the smallest of the litter and seemed to be shoved out of the way by her brother and sister...it freaked my Mum out to have her eating so quickly. I convince her to give her larger chunks, let HER rip and shred the meat off...hammer some bone so she would be able to eat it...but ONLY mess with it that much. WHAT A DIFFERENCE that made, in just a few days!:wink: She is still a major food hound, will eat anything and everything, and is far faster then Hubbers...but it doesnt freak my Mum out so much any more because she has seen what she is capable of!:thumb: 
Now with Keeva(9.5 weeks/12lbs) I didnt limit her...started her right off on backs, leg quarters and moved quickly onto turkey, etc. She actually didnt get her first ground meal until she was on raw for a few weeks and ready for beef!!:thumb: She is a fast eater, and also VERY food driven, but doesnt inhale...because she has no reason to!:wink:


IMO, by feeding ground(and kibble to Kim)you are enabling their want/"need" to inhale...and giving them a big reason to. Just get them to real raw chunks(for Mr. B. I can understand bashing bone....Miss C. No, she is big enough to not need it...then if she TOTALLY will/can NOT eat the bone you can lay a hammer into it for a second.) But give them a chance to be real dogs!!:thumb:


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Scarlett_O' said:


> Both ground meat and kibble is SUPER easy to inhale. When my Mum got Jazzy home(at 8 weeks/4.5lbs) she was a major food hound..she was the smallest of the litter and seemed to be shoved out of the way by her brother and sister...it freaked my Mum out to have her eating so quickly. I convince her to give her larger chunks, let HER rip and shred the meat off...hammer some bone so she would be able to eat it...but ONLY mess with it that much. WHAT A DIFFERENCE that made, in just a few days!:wink: She is still a major food hound, will eat anything and everything, and is far faster then Hubbers...but it doesnt freak my Mum out so much any more because she has seen what she is capable of!:thumb:
> Now with Keeva(9.5 weeks/12lbs) I didnt limit her...started her right off on backs, leg quarters and moved quickly onto turkey, etc. She actually didnt get her first ground meal until she was on raw for a few weeks and ready for beef!!:thumb: She is a fast eater, and also VERY food driven, but doesnt inhale...because she has no reason to!:wink:
> 
> 
> IMO, by feeding ground(and kibble to Kim)you are enabling their want/"need" to inhale...and giving them a big reason to. Just get them to real raw chunks(for Mr. B. I can understand bashing bone....Miss C. No, she is big enough to not need it...then if she TOTALLY will/can NOT eat the bone you can lay a hammer into it for a second.) But give them a chance to be real dogs!!:thumb:


I tried bashing the drummette and I think I bashed it too much. The bone pieces seemed too big and hard for him so I kept bashing away and then they ended up really splintered and sharp. Then I ended up with a mess! I just worry too much about this little boy. If I hadn't lost two chows in one month, I wouldn't panic so much with a puppy. Then Rocky was sick the first month I had him as a pup with coccidia and diarrhea and the vet giving him medicine he was allergic too. 

I'm going to give him the drummie as it is and see what he does with it. I know he'll be able to at least get the meat off of it and he's already had two meals today so he's not going to starve to death. Fingers crossed.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

chowder said:


> I tried bashing the drummette and I think I bashed it too much. The bone pieces seemed too big and hard for him so I kept bashing away and then they ended up really splintered and sharp. Then I ended up with a mess! I just worry too much about this little boy. If I hadn't lost two chows in one month, I wouldn't panic so much with a puppy. Then Rocky was sick the first month I had him as a pup with coccidia and diarrhea and the vet giving him medicine he was allergic too.
> 
> I'm going to give him the drummie as it is and see what he does with it. I know he'll be able to at least get the meat off of it and he's already had two meals today so he's not going to starve to death. Fingers crossed.


Do you have access to necks or the actual wings? When my Mum first started Jazzy(at just over 4lbs) she took a wash cloth, wrapped it in it and hammered it down...then let her eat that. The bones dont shatter as much like the ones from drumsticks/drummie. Oh and Cornish Game Hen bones are MUCH softer then whole sized chicken bones...I would be willing to bet he could probably eat one on his own!;-)


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

He loved that drummie!! I can't believe how he attacked it. There was nothing left but the bone. I was really worried that he was going to pull a Snorkels and swallow it whole. He had the entire thing in his mouth so I swapped it for a bit of ground chicken and took it away finally. Then I had to completely bath him and wash all his blankets. We had chicken bits everywhere. I certainly hope he gets cleaner at this!


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

omg Chowder, is that your new puppy? What breed, sex and what's the name? So adorable!


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

I know you keep hearing this. He is freaking adorable.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

InkedMarie said:


> omg Chowder, is that your new puppy? What breed, sex and what's the name? So adorable!


He's a 3 pound, 9 week old (tomorrow), Havana Silk Dog named "Brisco". And he is totally spoiled rotten and I love him to death! He's the first puppy I've ever owned that has the men in our house down on their knees playing with him and carrying him out to 'potty' and playing ball with him and bragging on him. 

My neighbor has a litter of 5 week old shih tzus that she wants Brisco to meet and my husband won't let him go over there because he'll 'catch some little 'shih tzu' disease from them!' This is a rotten puppy!


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## nortknee (May 5, 2011)

HE. IS. SO. SWEET! That cuteness cannot be contained, chowder!!!

More puppy pictures! 

*squee!*


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

whoo hoo, welcome Brisco! He is adorable! I have heard of Havanese; is this the same breed or something different?


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Chowder be sure to check when the neighbor's pups have had vaccines. You don't want your pup around them for about two weeks after they get vaccinated because they shed it. Be cautious. After about 6 months old I have exposed mine to so much they have immunities and their immune systems are mature. I don't risk babies though. FYI


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Liz said:


> Chowder be sure to check when the neighbor's pups have had vaccines. You don't want your pup around them for about two weeks after they get vaccinated because they shed it. Be cautious. After about 6 months old I have exposed mine to so much they have immunities and their immune systems are mature. I don't risk babies though. FYI



I remember you telling me that and I was going to quiz her. I'm hoping that at 5 weeks old, the little things haven't had any vaccinations yet!! But, this is a lady who had a female and male and they just had a litter 8 months ago. She wasn't planning on having another litter but this was an 'accident'. She wasn't expecting the female to come into heat again so soon and didn't keep the two dogs apart. Not the world's most reputable breeder. She stopped me to let me know she had pups because she knew I had lost Chelsy and thought I'd be interested in one of hers. 

She was very disappointed when I told her that I had just gotten a puppy this week!


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