Me and my mum have just had an argument about feeding the pups. I phoned the breeder who we bred abs with and he said he feeds his pups by the time they are 4 weeks 4 - 5 meals a day for about 10 - 15 mins.
I know my mum thinks thats too much so i have been feeding them 4 times a day for 10 mins... they have lapped it all up.
They are not fat and dont have rolls or anything... but my mum thinks that 3 meals a day for 10 mins is adequate..

we are feeding them james wellbeloved dry food mixed with goats milk and blended up and adding meat in small individual bowls..

So how many times a day do you feed them

PS abbie has stopped feeding them

mine would squeak when ready for food (starting from 3+1/2 weeks on puppy porridge and meat juice) then they would just eat until they were full and were fed atleast 3 times a day depending on if minnie was being genorous on the milk sides of things at 4+1/2 weeks they ate the occasional bit of mushed chicken from my fingers but they were big pups for their age and ready for this

__________________

If mum has stopped feeding then I would be feeding 4-5 times a day too. I know when I picked up my first dobe he was being being fed 5 times a day and wasn't fat. They will usually eat till they are full at that age (in my experience anyway) so I would stick with the 4 times a day as you have been doing and then up the amount per feed as they get bigger. Does mum not feed at all now? not even the occasional feed, as that seems a little early to have stopped all together, but then you have a different breed.

With my litters i feed them 4 meals a day upto about 12 weeks and then reduce it to 3 a day but more food. My pups have got rolls and very chunky.

__________________
Heres my website, take a look.www.freewebs.com/shellies-shihtzu

Fat puppies is really, really bad. It's kind of acceptable for them to have slightly more weight than an adult do, so they have a kind of fall back n case they get ill, but while they are growing so quickly excess weight is a real, real no no and the amoun tof fat puppies I see makes me furious. It's funny how people think it's not too bad or cute for pups to be overweight, but if they were underweight by the same amount, everyone would see that as cruel. They just can't seem to compute that over is just as bad as under.

Right, now I've had a little rant, I'll try and be helpful.

I start weaning my pups at 3 weeks, (2 1/2 if I need to) and onto James Wellbeloved. A couple of mugfuls per meal at first, soaked, blended to a puree and then split into individual bowls, although they all share and swap anyway. I start them on one meal, quickly going up to 4 evenly spaced meals, so say 7am, 12pm, 5pm and 10pm. However, I am not totally convinced they need 4 meals, and they mostly aren't that interested in their last meal really.

I never bother with feeding them for a specific time, I just let them finish what they want, as some will be finished before others and the greedy ones will finish off.

It is a bit early for Mum to have finished feeding them. Does she have free access to the pups? Is she getting enough to eat?

I would, however, knock to the goats milk on the head. The whole point of weaning is to wean pups off milk, and that may be the reason they are getting too fat. It can also cause the runs. I never give any milk once the pups are on 'solids'.

By 8 weeks, the pups are on around 100g per meal for 4 meals a day, usually dry or just dampened.

Ok il stop with the goats milk, and abbie is getting 3 large meals a day and has completely free acess to the pups.. i think their teeth are hurting her.
And i never said they are getting too fat they arnt fat at all.. they have NO rolls and if they did i would definately reduce the food.. rolls are bad.

But thanks. i am also feeding on james wellbeloved

Are u havin a pop about fat pups????

Anyways gundoggal i fed my pups 4-5 meals aday including their mums milk, they was taken of mums milk at about 5 weeks old...thats wen mum got very fed up wiv them by that time.

mine was fed beef raw mince...they also had chicken as a treat and they loved ther breaky which was sometimes weatabix or porridge the breaky was included in the 4 -5 meals aday so that wernt an extra lol.

Apologies, it wasn't aimed at you, more a general rant, although prompte dby some comments on this thread.

Th epusp should be fine without Mum's milk now if she's not wanting to feed them. Are the pups' claws trimmed short? They need doing a coupl eof times a week at this age really, just a thought. Also, have you tried 'encouraging' her to feed them? (I am sure you have!) They are like pirahnas at that age, I don't blame herQ!

Good luck with the pups.

I think what I said was self explanitory.

rolleyes: