Bottle Feeding Puppies
&
Hand Raising Puppies

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By Ed Frawley

This is the kind of bottle we use at Leerburg
Be sure to poke a bunch of holes in the nipple

I have bred over 350 litters of GSD's in the 30 plus years of my breeding career. Over those years we have done our share of caring for newborns that need help. We have also come up with our own newborn puppy formula that I think is the best we have seen.

You can make our formula at home and it has 11 calories per CC.

The problem with commercial formula that you buy at your vet is that it only has about 1 or 2 calories per CC. In my opinion this is not enough nutrition to provide for for adequate growth.

We have used this formula many times and it works better than any others that I have tried.

If you are hand raising puppies and they develop medical problems you will need to contact your vet. Please do not email me and ask what to do. It would be inappropriate for me to guess at the medical needs of your sick puppy.

Stainless Steel Feeding Saucer

Here are some general rules for bottle feeding puppies:

Always boil your water before using - allow time to cool.

Burp your pups after feeding.

A pup may have little bubbles by his mouth but there should not be milk running out of his mouth.

When the bottle is held upside down the milk should drip out - NOT FLOW OUT in a stream - pups that get milk in their lungs will get pneumonia and more than likely die.

Calorie intake needs to be adjusted according to growth of puppies. A general rule of thumb (unless someone has a better idea) is 1 CC per OZ. of body weight every 3 hours.

You must have an accurate scale to weigh pups if you are going to get the best success. Use a kitchen food scale. The ones with grams is what we use in our kennel. It is easy to see any weight gain or loss. Keep a record that you can easily refer to.

Another article to consider - Save Your Puppy's Life

Heating Pad

Bottle Feeding Recipe

11 Calories per CC

1. 10 oz. of canned evaporated milk or goat's milk (not pasteurized cow's milk - this will cause scowers - dogs cannot drink normal cow's milk) Goats milk is by far the best to use. Wall Mart sells it.
   
   
2. 3 oz. sterilized water (baby water or boiled water) this is not needed if using goat's milk
   
   
3. 1 raw egg yolk
   
   
4. 1 cup of whole yogurt (avoid skim or fat free if at all possible)
   
   
5. 1/2 Tsp Karo Syrup or Corn Syrup (NOT HONEY !!!)
   

   ****If you cannot find Karo or Corn syrup where you live, you can do a Google search for “substitute for Karo syrup” and get some options.****

When I Googled “substitute for Karo syrup" here is what I came up with- 1 c Karo can be subbed with 1 c white sugar and 1/4 c hot water (cook it to dissolve in the water best you can get it to. Depending on the recipe, if you need the sugar to be completely dissolved you might need to add a bit more water).

Place ingredients in a blender and blend or use a wire whisk. Be careful to not over blend and create a milk shake full of bubbles and then tube bubbles into the puppy.

Keep cool and discard leftovers after 7 days.

Warm formula to body temperature (dogs are around 101 degrees). Discard any un-used formula. This is a thick mixture - use a stomach tube to tube feed or enlarge the hole in the nipple for easy access for the pup.

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Weight Conversion Chart for Tubing Puppies

1/2 ounce formula = 15cc
1 ounce formula = 30cc
1 ounce = 28.3 grams

*NOTE: USE 1/6 OF DAILY FORMULA AMOUNT PER TUBING. PUP SHOULD BE TUBED ABOUT EVERY 3 -4 HOURS.

Leerburg's Puppy Tube Feeding Kit $4.50+s&h

Raising Orphaned Puppies

Chilling

Newborn puppies cannot regulate their body temperature very well. They quickly become chilled, or hypothermic, if their mother, their siblings, or their environment does not keep them warm. It will be necessary to provide a heat source for your puppy for the first few weeks of life. Suitable heat sources include hot water bottles, incubators, and heat lamps. Whichever heat source you use, make sure the puppy doesn't become overheated or burned. In addition, avoid drafts by placing the puppy's box away from windows, doorways, and air-conditioning vents.

During the first 4 days of life, aim to keep the air temperature in the box at puppy-level between 85°F and 90°F. Gradually decrease the temperature to about 80°F degrees by days 7-10. If you are raising a litter of puppies, the temperature can be a little lower, as the puppies will huddle together and keep one another warm.

The normal rectal temperature for a newborn puppy is 95-99°F. If its rectal temperature is below 94°F degrees you are dealing with a potentially life-threatening case of hypothermia. The puppy needs to be warmed immediately. Take care not to overheat the puppy or warm it too quickly; this can be fatal in a weak puppy.

An orphaned pup on day 1 of using the above formula.

The same orphaned pup on day 10 of using the formula.

Dehydration in puppies

Newborn puppies quickly become dehydrated very quickly if they are not nursing. They can also become dehydrated if their environment is too hot and dry.

Two indicators of dehydration are loss of elasticity in the skin (the skin stays tented when gently pinched up) and decreased saliva production (the gums and tongue feel tacky or dry).

In addition to providing adequate nutrition, you may need to humidify the puppy box or whelping room if the puppy is small or weak. Be careful not to make the box too hot and humid; this can also cause respiratory distress.

A home humidifier should be adequate.

In some cases you may have to do sub-q fluids. But that is a topic covered for another article on my web site titled SAVE YOUR PUPPY'S LIFE.

Hypoglycemia in Puppies

Hypoglycemia quickly develops in a newborn that is not nursing frequently.

As hypoglycemia worsens, the puppy becomes progressively more depressed and weak.

Without treatment it may develop muscle twitches or seizures and then it will become unresponsive and comatose.

If it is showing any of these signs place a few drops of corn syrup on its tongue. This simple procedure is often sufficient to revive a hypoglycemic puppy. Also watch for signs of hypoglycemia over the next several days, as you adjust your puppy's feeding schedule.

Feeding puppies

I am not a fan of baby bottles made for puppies. Rather I prefer human baby bottles.

If the pup has a good sucking reflex try those.

Take time to check the hole in the nipple before using the bottle the first time. The hole is the right size if, when you turn the bottle upside down, milk replacer drips from the nipple with only a gentle squeeze of the bottle.

If, when you upend the bottle, you must squeeze it firmly to get milk to drip from the nipple, the hole needs to be enlarged. Otherwise, the puppy will become discouraged or exhausted when nursing and may even refuse to nurse.

To enlarge the hole, heat a needle and then pierce the tip of the nipple a few times. If the puppy is weak and has a poor suck reflex, it is necessary to feed the puppy through a tube inserted into its stomach. Your veterinarian will instruct you on how to place the tube and maintain it for feeding.

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Orphaned Puppies Need Help Defecating

Mothers stimulate their puppies to defecate (pass stool) by licking or nuzzling around the puppy's anus. To prevent your orphaned puppy from becoming constipated, you'll need to mimic this action using a soft cloth or cotton ball moistened with warm water. Gently stimulate the puppy's anal area after feeding for the first 2 weeks of its life.

The Newborn Puppies

The first 36 hours of a puppy's life is the critical period nutritionally.

Healthy puppies will nurse right away and then every few hours. The pups must nurse from their mother within 12 hours of birth to receive her antibodies against disease.

After 12 hours, their stomachs will not absorb antibodies. After this first 12 hours, if the mother does not have enough milk, or if her litter is too large, then the pups' diet can be supplemented with our home made milk replacer. Cow's milk is nutritionally inadequate for puppies.

Orphan puppies less than one week old must be stimulated to urinate and eliminate. This is accomplished by gentle massage of the abdomen and genital area with a piece of cotton wool or tissue, dampened with warm water.

A newborn Leerburg puppy from a litter of 10. His brothers and sisters would crowd him out so he couldn't eat his share. He was maintaining his weight, but not gaining like his littermates. He had a strong suck reflex, so we decided to try to bottle feed him.

That same pup relaxing after a swim with his new family.

WEANING PUPS

We feed our pups an all-natural diet. That means no commercial food except the Honest Kitchen dehydrated food mixed with meat and supplements. Do your pup a favor - feed it all-natural and don't do yearly vaccinations. Educate yourself and extend the life and health of your dogs. I have written a great deal on this subject, Visit my article page and read about vaccinosis and the raw diet.

We start to add raw hamburger to our bottle feeding formula at about 4 to 4 1/2 weeks of age.

After several days of just lapping our puppy formula from a bowl we add raw hamburger - like you see in the photo above.

If the pups are small you may have to mash the raw hamburger into the formula.

An Extensive article and Q&A section from Leerburg Kennels on Feeding a a Raw Diet - a must read if your considering an all-natural diet (which everyone should be).

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Once again you have pulled a puppy's butt out of the fire. As busy as you are you always take the time to help others. I just wanted to tell you how much your help has ment to me. Even though you probably don't remember me, you helped me on my first litter when one of the puppies would not suckle. I wrote you at some odd hour in the morning and you responded. You got that puppy through the problem and she did thrive and is in a new home. You have been great! Every new breeder would be so lucky to have someone like you at thier back. Thank you more than you will ever know.

Bonnie & Sherry

Ed's Answer to Bottle Feeding Pups:

Thank you - emails like this make getting out of bed in the morning worth while.

Hi Ed

My name is Penny, On March 6th my Pom gave birth to 4 pups. The first one born was less then 1oz and as small as my first finger, I never had a puppy so small,the other 3 were about 5oz. To 6oz. This pups are Poem/Maltese mix. Mom is the Poem and is 6#, the dad is the Maltese and is 8#. Well the little boy which we named Rocky did not stand a chance to nurse with his other sibling being so much bigger. I help him nurse for 2 days off of mom ,but he was just to weak,he just had a hard time sucking and holding on to a nipple. I started to feed him with a bottle, with a dry powder that you mixed with water. He was having a hard time, he was eating all right, but was not doing well. I said to my husband that I had to do something or we were going to lose him, he was then 2 weeks old and was not gaining any weight. I got on the Internet and found you Ed and thank god everyday that I did. I started to give him your formula that same day. He was 2oz and 2 weeks old, but he also and a running nose,I started him on .1 ml of amoxil every 8 hrs. He is now going to be 4 weeks old on Monday April 3rd.He is doing well weights in at 4oz. I need to know if I should worm him, when and how much?If you could e mail me back with this information I would so grateful. The sooner the better, Thank you so much for your web site and thank you so much for saving my puppy's life. I am sending you a picture of are Rocky.

Thank Penny

Ed's Answer:

The pup does need to be wormed and this will help his weight gain. I can't tell you how much to use - ask your vet.

Also do not vaccinate this pup for some time.

Bottle Feeding Newborn Puppies - Before and After

A photo of starving abandoned pup before using this formula

The same puppy after using the formula

7-11-05

Hi Ed,

I fostered a week old Basset Hound puppy that had been starved and came to me severely dehydrated, the only survivor out of a litter of six. Her stomach was concave, and she was close to death. She weighed 9 ounces at seven days (smaller than a Basset newborn). I fed her a canned puppy formula, but she wasn't putting on weight. In my searching for ANY information on distressed puppies, I kept coming to your web site. I mixed up your recommended formula, and she couldn't get enough of it. I was finally confident that she was getting enough calories in her-she is now a fat and healthy little girl, and has been placed in a great home (she is 3 months old), but I have been meaning to thank you for all of the information that you have generously shared online.

Thanks!

Denise

TESTIMONIAL on Bottle Feeding Puppies:

Dear Mr. Frawley,

I realize you are a busy man, but I just had to let you know how much your web site. has helped me. My Bloodhound had 5 pups three weeks ago and after two died I took the other three away from her to try and bottle feed myself. (They were badly dehydrated.) After doing the sub-Q drip and resorting to tube feeding I still lost two. The remaining female is now 3 weeks old and fat and healthy thanks to your milk/yogurt recipe. I had been feeding formula from my vet for the first 10 days and they had tummy troubles and diarrhea. By the time I found your web site. I was down to 1 pup. She loves it, no more messy cleanup and upset tummy. I tried her on the vets formula again the other day and she threw it up. Yogurt plain is rather hard to find in my rural area. But she is on your recipe again and doing well. Your site was very informative and through it all I have learned a lot about newborn puppy care. Mom is getting spayed next week!

Thanks Again,

Keri

TESTIMONIAL on Bottle Feeding Puppies:

Hi !

I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that the information on your site helped to save 8 beautiful Basset Hound puppies !

My female had her pups late Friday night and ended up with a terrible uterine infection. My vet was out of town until Tuesday morning - so....... I was left with a deathly sick dog ( who I was treating myself w/ antibiotics .. etc... ) and 8 puppies that were barely surviving off of mom. I started supplementing them with your recipe and read all of the information you so graciously provided. The pups are now 11 days old and I am having to care for them myself as mom has started to recover well but has dried up in the process !

Thanks to your site - my babies are doing great ! Growing , fat , and sassy!

My family and I are grateful !

- Annie

TESTIMONIAL on Bottle Feeding Puppies:

Greetings from Canada,

I just wanted to let you know that I came upon your site last weekend at a
time that we really needed help. Fate I believe. We are breeders of Olde
English Bulldogges and the litter we have on the ground right now have been a
challenge. Our bitch has an inadequate milk supply so we have been having to
tube feed the pups. Our vet gave us Canine Mammalac to use and the pups have
had very poor gains even with the amount of feedings we've been giving them.
We don't have to tube them all the time, mom is supplying some milk, so
they've been getting tubed 3 x a day. After coming across your puppy formula
we decided to give it a try. At this point we figured we had nothing to lose
in giving it a go. It's been incredible!! They've been putting on average 55
grams a day and are looking plump and contented. We have one little boy that
we've been worried about but even he has been gaining by leaps and bounds. We
are so appreciative that you had that on your site for the public to see and
that there is an alternative to "vet" formula. Thank you so much for that
input. You've helped 4 little bulldogs start out in the right direction.

God Bless!!
Erinn & Chad

ED'S RESPONSE:

I am glad your litter is doing well. I have bred a lot of dogs in the past 30 years and this is the best formula I have seen.

When I have females that are slow to come into milk I give them a couple of cans of chicken broth twice a day - they all love it. I also jack their food (we feed an all natural diet). In addition we monitor the bitch's temp twice a day and make sure she gets walked a couple of times a day. They have to get rid of the gunk that is still dropping out.

These are ALL important issues.

Hello Ed,

I just wanted to write you a quick note and thank you for sharing your experience and expertise online. I have a puppy that we’ve had since she was 2 weeks old. She is the runt and the mother wouldn’t take care of her. So, I have been hand feeding her. We have until today been feeding her the vet recommended replacement milk and the canned a/d food. She has been constipated and had 7 enemas. I thought today that we were going to lose her. After the last enema she had serious diarrhea and wouldn’t eat. She hasn’t gained any weight in the last week and a half.

I found your site today and mixed up your recipe for milk. She LOVES IT and she’s eating again. She had her first normal bowel movement tonight and we were so excited!!! After two feedings of your recipe she was noticeably stronger and more active.

I’m taking her to the vet in the morning and showing him what has made the difference.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Sincerely,

Nancy

Ed's Comments

I get so pissed at many Vets – they sell this crummy puppy food And Science Diet and its crap.

If the pup gets constipated – add more water to the formula.

When it’s a little older here is a DVD you may want to consider Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months

Testimonial on Bottle Feeding Puppies:

Just want to let you know that thanks to you I was able to save a sick
puppy. My dog gave birth to 9 little pups and 2 had died. I took her and
the second dead pup to the vet and all he told me was that there is nothing
to do but let nature take it's course. I am very strong minded so I decided
to take matters in my own hands and searched the net. That's when I saw your
helpful tricks and now thanks to you the third little one that was weak has
gained weight and is looking on the recovery track. I wish the world would
be filled with more people like you who are willing to go the extra mile to
save a life...and such a cute little one it is. :)

Thank you so much
Annie from Montreal Canada

Testimonial on Bottle Feeding Puppies:

Dear Sir,

I just happened on your web looking for help with my pups. You see my female Rottweiler had 13 puppies, 8 days early and we had her in a nice warm place and she was doing great. I left to go to my granddaughters school when she had them, but the temp dropped and we lost 2 and we had 3 real sick ones so I brought them into my house and called the vet. We took them in and they said to tube feed them. That was scary to me and they told me that if I didn't they would die. So I started with the formula they gave me but the pups didn't get bigger and then I saw your web and now I have 11 big and getting bigger pups. I just wanted to say God bless you for putting this information out there to help all the little people like me

Thank you!

Nancy

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Testimonial on Puppy Formula & Bottle Feeding Puppies:

I work at a kennel and one of the mothers had a litter of 3 pups. She pushed one of the little chihuahuas away and i ended up taking it home to see if i could raise it up. The first couple of days went fine but it started acted lethargic and not taking the bottle. So i went and got a tube and started tubing it with regular formula you get at the vets. it seemed to be doing fine until i went to work and checked up on its litter mates and saw just an extreme difference in size and weight. Its litter mates had their eyes open and were at least double his size.

So Yesterday feeling pretty desperate I went on-line and found your recipe and made up the formula. I thought well it cant hurt to try and if it doesn't work then I'm no worse off. Last night i gave him the formula in the tube and every 3 hours through out the night. When i got out of bed this morning and really looked at my little guy he was looking at me trough fully opened eyes and has to be at least double his size. He's moving around so much more and is just so much stronger! All of this happened just over night i cant wait to see what a couple days on this stuff does!!! Your formula is a miracle!!!! I cant think you enough!!! If i were you i'd paten the recipe and start selling it!!!! again, thank-you so much.

Sincerely, Virginia Greer- Barnesville, Ga.

TESTIMONIAL on Puppy Formula & Bottle Feeding Puppies:

Dear Mr. Frawley,

I just wanted to thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to try your recipe. My female (Chachi) had pups on June 13, 2005. We expected 7 - 8 according to our vet, they were wrong!! She ended up having 11 puppies, 7 girls and 4 boys... all alive.

Chachi was doing well with feeding them and then she lost interest in feeding them. (I had to make her get in the box to feed them, I felt bad) I went out and bought the supplement milk and the puppies did not care for that milk at all. They cried every night and every night I had to sit up with Chachi to feed them.

I was loosing sleep and she was loosing caring for them. I was at the end of my ropes. Yesterday, July 6, I decided to search the internet and came across your web site. I went & bought the ingredients for your recipe and waaalaaa, they ate it. I was so excited and happy for them as well as for myself. I feed them and then let them feed from her and they slept very well and so did I. I want to thank you again for making your recipe available to all pet lovers!!!

Thank again

Yvonne

Thank you for the puppy formula. I had a failing pup who does not stay on the nipple and needs bottle feeding. She is now a thriving pot-bellied pup! Thanks so much for your life-saving formula.

I am an amateur breeder. Your site has been invaluable.

Leanne

Dear Mr. Frawley,

I just wanted to thank you very much for posting your article on sick newborns. I have found myself with a day old pup and the realization that there was a problem. Reading your article has already helped immensely and anticipate having a 2 day old pup tomorrow. Your obvious care and concern are only over shadowed by your smarts/sense to see the need to post such an article. Thanks again.

Sincerely,
Wendy

ED

17 days ago, our Saint Bernard had a litter of premature puppies. She had 8 naturally, 4 by cesarean, and only 3 survived. She was producing very little milk, so we had to do most of the feeding. By about day 13, she had completely dried up and we were doing all the feeding. Our pups had only gained around 6 oz. since birth. Last night, figuring at this point I had nothing to lose, I mixed up your formula. I used 1.5 oz. of it to 2.5 oz of the store bought formula, as I didn't want to make a sudden change and upset their stomachs. After just 3 feedings, we weighed them again......1 pup was up 2 oz. and 2 were up 4 oz!!!! I am amazed and so pleased. I will slowly add more of your mixture to the store brand until it is completely yours. I can't thank you enough and our puppies can't thank you enough!!

God Bless,
Roxanne & Michael, Wisconsin

Leather Puppy Leash

Mother Stopped Feeding 3 week Old Pups:

Ed

I am trying to find an answer on feeding the 3 week old puppies mom does not want to get in the box anymore gave them some baby rice cereal this morn I certainly do not want to do anything wrong here, they did eat out of the dish. Do you have any suggestions for me. Your time is appreciated and advice welcomed.

thank you Diane

Ed's Answer to Female Who Will Not Feed Puppies:

Use my formula - with this said I would ask myself why this female did this. If the whelping area is clean if the bitch is allowed out to pee and poop and get a walk (after the first week) and it still does not want to be with her pups - then don't breed her again.

Ed

I work for Great Dane Rescue of North Texas and I have a very sweet momma that whelped 10 puppies in the shelter 13 days ago. The mom is exhausted, her teats look smaller, not nice and full like they did last week. They are a bit red. She has diarrhea as well. Today, I am going to crate her away from the puppies because she tends to just lay there and nurse all ay. They are weighing 3lbs but I am starting to get concerned. This is my first time to have a nursing mom and I don't know if I should be worried yet or not. I was going to crate her two to three hours next to the pups. What should I do? We have never had a littler this big in rescue before. Moms weight seems to be good for now. She is just so tired and I am worried about her milk supply. ANY Info would be much appreciated.

Heather

Ed's Recommendations:

Here is what I would do:

1- Take the Mom's temp - it should be 101 to 102 - if its over 103 she needs to be on antibiotics - we would put our dogs on Baytryl - have a vet look at her

2- Worm the mother

3- Offer the mother 3 or 4 cans of chicken broth a day - the more fluids she drinks the more milk she makes

4- Use a human nail clipper and just clip the SHARP tips off the pups nails this may be the reason her breasts are red.

5- If you can afford to offer the mother some hamburger as a food supplement that would help

Mr. Frawley,

I just had to e-mail you to thank you for the bottle-feeding formula. We had a tiny male rejected by it's mother. I tried everything for the first few days, only to have him lose weight. I believe if I had stuck with the veterinarian formula, he would have died.
He has thrived on your formula, doubled his body -weight, we are so thrilled.

Mabel

QUESTION on Bottle Feeding Puppies:

Hello,

My name is Carissima and I live in Honolulu Hawaii. I found your web site. yesterday and decided to try your puppy bottle feeding recipe. I have four English bulldog puppies that are 20 days old, and mom is not producing enough milk. I started with Ebsilac, but puppies became fussy and did not want to drink it. They were spitting it out. So I fed them your recipe. They love it, every thing was fine until last night. After one of the puppies ate, (he ate a lot real fast) he started shaking. He made dodo then spit up a little bit, but continued to shake. He settled after about 20 minutes. Then this morning, I fed the puppies and 1 of them (again ate real fast, but not more then he should), started to shake. Two of the other ones were shaking a little but not as bad. They all settled and seem to be! fine.

ANSWER on Bottle Feeding Puppies:

The hole in the nipple may be letting too much milk out. Read the article again. Give the mother 2 or 3 cans of chicken and beef broth every day – the more liquid she drinks the more milk she makes – it’s a simple rule of thumb.

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TESTIMONIAL on Puppy Formula:

I tried your puppy formula with a litter of my English Bullies recently (most of my mom bullies don't ever have enough milk) and it is the best I have used. My babies are fat as little pigs and look so cute. I have used Esbilac for years and just got tired of my babies having the runs and red bellies. I am just careful not to feed them too much formula and they do great. I have forwarded your site to my Vet so she can tell other human puppy moms about this formula.

Edna

I just wanted to thank you for putting that recipe online. I was given 2 Chihuahua puppies that were born on the 4th of July because their mother died during delivery. They were skinny and I had a lot of trouble getting them to take the milk, they weren't gaining any weight on the esbilac. A friend sent me the link and I went right out and got the stuff to make it and they have done excellent. They are fat as butterballs, they are 2 weeks old and doing great. Here are a couple pics of them.

Thank you

Stacey

QUESTION on Sick Pups:

Hello ED,

I have a litter of 8 Boxer puppies, born Friday. The mom was awful, she wouldn't let the pups nurse, she dug them into a pile and laid on them, and stepped on them all!!! We actually had to tie her legs together and physically hold her down to get the pups on her. We fought her the whole way, but I new how much those pups were starving and needed colostrum. By the time we were able to hold her down and get them on her, some of the pups hadn't sucked for 12 hrs since they were born. This was Diamond's first and last litter. I was up all night Thursday night - Friday night tending to pups when I found your site.

I immediately made the formula and started bottle feeding the pups. Well we've gone a week, and it has gone fairly well, except for yesterday and today. I re weighed all the pups on day 5, to find that most had gained 2 to 4 oz. since birth. I was pretty pleased with this, but I now have had some extremely soft to almost diarrhea stools form. The stools have a watery mustard texture, and some squirts out. One of my bigger pups has now stopped growing, her appetite has decreased and she's even pale colored in her mouth, she was the first to develop the diarrhea stool that almost is milky colored with hints of blue/green in it. Her nose is also a little wet (is this pneumonia) I'm very worried and could use some advice. I called a my vet, and he says " not much you can do, without their mom's milk they're chances aren't good." So I called another vet, and all she had to say was " I don't really recommend anyone bottle feeding pups, they need their mom's milk. However if you're going to do it you should really use the powdered formula we sell for puppies. That way you know they are getting the balance they need."

What are some of the signs of pneumonia, and what can we can do if its' that? Are there some antibiotics I can give them or anything?

Ed, I can't tell you how much of a relief it was to see those pups sucking down the formula, you guys use. They were all doing so well, at first a batch lasted me almost 2 days, now I go thru a batch a day! And the stools and everything were going perfectly for the first4-5 days. What can I do for my pups now? I really would appreciate any advice you may have to give.

I live in rural ND, where vets are limited, and those that are around are large animal vets. They don't like to mess with small animals, or small breeders. I am a small breeder, and have never had this happen to me before. Please help me. Thank you, and sincerely,

Stephanie

ANSWER:

These vets fall into the DUMB and DUMBER class of vets who are short sighted and closed minded.

With that said, it’s impossible for me to diagnose a problem with a small pup like this. If I had it, I would try some corn syrup under the tongue. If that does not work I would try Clavamox.

Good luck.

I wanted to thank you for your very helpful site. I help operate a web site. and forum for oil painters, and am aware that there is a lot of bad advice out there. When my dog was in trouble I was hoping that I would find the right online site. I did.

At 5 years old, my Chihuahua bitch must have been too old for a first litter. After a long and difficult labor and delivery, she killed the puppies, while trying to hide them. All but one who was found with a bruised head and bloody face, weighing only 2 oz. It was a horrible day for all of us. When I began feeding the puppy, it was just so that he did not starve to death. While I wanted him to make it, I did not expect him to survive.

Your formula is amazing- the minute that I switched from the vet formula to yours on day 2- he began to thrive.

He is now 7 weeks old thanks to your formula and to the things that I learned on your forum. Now I am going to spend some time reading about how to stop this little sweetheart from biting.

Thank you again!

Lori

The beginning

After a few weeks

At 7 weeks

Hi, my name is Jennifer. I came across your recipe one night while searching the web for a recipe to feed an orphan pup. My dog that is 10 years old had

7 puppies, she couldn't produce milk and by the time i found that she had them, 6 had died. They were very small and she didn't even look pregnant, she just looked like she was a little fat. Well one was still alive and i bought formula from the local pet store and she ate it for about 2 days. After that, she refused to eat anymore. So i found your recipe and tried it out.

SHE LOVED IT! she ate more than she ever did with the other formula. She is now almost 3 weeks old and doing wonderful. Her eyes opened before she was even 2 weeks, and she is crawling around everywhere. I make the formula twice a week now and she is growing so fast. She only weighed 1/2 of a pound when i got her at 1 day old, within the first week she gained another 1/2 pound. She has a fat belly and is growing so well. I wanted to thank you for having that on the internet. It saved her life, if it weren't for that recipe she wouldn't have survived. Again thank you so much!

Sincerely,
Jennifer

ALOHA FROM HAWAII....

Thank-you so much for your recipe for bottle feeding puppies. My Chihuahua gave birth to an amazing 6 pups! All alive and bright pink! They were extremely tiny, and I knew something was wrong....They were premature.The mom kept trying to sit on them, and her milk didn't seem to come in, and the pups were so tiny, they couldn't reach her nipples. I managed to save the three largest by tube feeding them from day one with your formula. The mother sat on two of the smallest ones the first night and the third one past away. I think it had kidney problems. The three musketeers are 7 days old and seem to be doing pretty well. When can I stop tube feeding, and go to a bottle? They are extremely tiny! I have sent you a picture. Thank you again, your information was GOD SENT!

Warmly,
VANESSA

I wanted to write and tell you thank you for sharing so much wonderful info on your site. I had a Dane pup that got off and got chilled & then started going downhill. I put him on your formula after trying a commercial one and what an amazing difference! I am proud to say 'my little' not only pulled through but thrived! He is now living with a great family and doing wonderfully. I cannot thank you enough.

Teri W

I just wanted to thank you for your formula recipe, I had 3 min pin puppies that were orphaned and i was feeding esbilac and 2 of them basically starved on that formula and didn't make it, the third had enough strength left when i found your article on bottle feeding and is now 3 weeks old and doing great he loves you recipe and is a little butterball ..Thanks Again, Mindy

Question:

Dear Ed,
five days ago my pekingese had a c-section and didn't make it through surgery
which left me with 5 puppies the vet started them on sav-a-caf ultra 24 then i started them on your formula they are all doing wonderful thanks to your formula i cant" thank you enough this has really made them healthy. My question is since they did not receive their colostrum will they be ok later or is there anything that can I can do to insure that they will not be sick when they are exposed to other animals?
again thank you so much i truly believe you saved their lives with your formula.
thank you
June

Ed's Answer

Sorry I don't know the answer. Frankly I don't know if anyone knows for sure and I don't want to guess. Just don't over vaccinate the pups. There is more risk that the pups will get sick from the vaccinations than there is that they will get immunity.

Comment:

AWESOME, it worked so much better than the pre-made stuff.

Thank you so much for putting this on the web. My bitch at 1 week after whelping developed mastitis and couldn't feed her pups. They loved this stuff and are now no longer crying and whining from gastric upset or hunger. This was my first breeding and I was so upset at the thought that I might not be able to save this litter. They ate it as if there was no difference between the formula and mothers milk. I tried the pre-made formula because my vet insisted on it, but after 2 days they started loosing weight and would not stop crying and I knew it wasn't working. I have English mastiffs and they need all they can get to get started off right so thank you again and I will for ever be grateful.

Shantell

How to Tattoo Your Puppy $30.00+s&h

 

Question:

Ed,

thanks so much for the informative web site, I have 9 basset puppies that did get moms milk for 3 days before she drowned in a swimming pool, a tragic accident that we still do not understand how it happened. We have been bottle feeding the puppies first with esibilac and now with a mix called unimix that we got from the local feed store. It says it works for puppies and has mixing instructions specifically for them. My question is this, on thursday it will be 2 weeks, most of the puppies seem fat and happy there is only one that is small and we have a hard time getting her to eat but they are all stretching out the feeding time. We started feeding them almost 2 ounces of formula every 2-3 hours now they are going 4-5 hours and are only eating 1-2 ounces. This concerns me but I am not sure if it is normal, if I should be worried or if I should try something else. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Kerry

Ed's First comment:

I am familiar with both of these products and they both SUCK !!!

Go to my web site and feed these pups my home made formula.

With that said - it is too bad about the mom. I own a swimming pool and every dog we have learns how to swim and where the steps are to get out.

Even if they hate going in we force them to learn how to save themselves. The mother probably fell in trying to get a drink of water - so I hate to say this but this was preventable and it never should have happened.

Kerry's Final Email

Ed,
thanks, and although we are not totally out of the woods yet, (and we did lose one) after only 24 hours using your recipe the puppies are totally different, they look and act very so much better. I will add my testimony to those of others that what you have works. It bewilders me a little as to why the purported (puppy substitutes) can actually market and sell something that will let your puppies die they have no conscious. Why don't you do the world a favor and make a million in the process ....market and sell this formula.

Thanks again,
Kerry

Ed's Final Comment

Kerry the answer to this is that nothing is better than an all-natural fresh diet. This is the case for puppies and it's the case for adult dogs. If there was ever a case for feeding a raw diet it's this article on bottle feeding. When a raw diet is proven again and again to do so much for new born pups it amazes me that people can't see what a similar diet of all-natural products will do for an adult dog.

Hello Mr. Frawley,

Your puppy formula page saved our pups' life. I wrote to you a couple weeks back thanking you for your dedication and willingness to share valuable information related to dogs. Thank you again. Our little guy is on his way to a fruitful life thanks directly to you. From the first offering of your formula to now he attacks the bottle and eats his fill. He loves this stuff. He weighs just under three pounds now and looks great at 20 days old.

Again, thank you so much for your dedication and your web site. Most of all thank you for the life of our little Finn Von Raven Ridge. By the way, he is related to you. He is a pup out of Olk Von Leerburg - a.k.a.Berk, and Haska Von Techuwald (sp).

Sincerely,

Ron

TESTIMONIAL:

Hi there, my name is Robin and just wanted to comment about your site.  I was looking around at sites to help me with my problem and ran across yours.  I have a french bulldog that had her first viable litter and a beautiful natural birth at that.  About a week along and I started to notice that the pups weren't defecating normally and the mother's milk glands weren't at big as they should be.  So unaware of what I should do, I starting researching on the web.  I am a total holistic believer, especially with this breed, due to the typical health problems.  I was a little leery about all the info and then read all of your comments and was sold.  I thought to give it a shot.  Unbelievable!  It's has definitely done the trick.  They love it and have grown like weeds.  I had contacted a local English Bulldog breeder in town where I live and she totally flipped out when I told her what was in the formula.  She said that I was going to kill my dogs and that was the stupidest thing I could do.  She said that I needed to go to the vet and get the mother a shot of pitocin to bring the milk back.  Stating that the egg would give the babies salmonella.  I was back in question again, but by that time I had already given the puppies two bottles each of formula.  So instead of freaking out, I thought about it for a while and my gut instinct kept telling me to give it a shot.  I thought that if bodybuilder eat raw eggs everyday and I made sure that all of the ingredients were fresh, how could it kill them.  Especially because the yogurt has the acidophillus to kill the bad bacteria.  DUH!  Good thing I stuck with my instincts because I got a little criticism from my friends, but when they saw the outcome, they said "stick with whatever it is your doing, because it's working".  I started the pups at a week and a half and they will be 3 weeks tomorrow and they go through a whole batch bottle feeding in 2 days.  3 pups and growing by the minute.  A little skeptical about the hamburger and formula mush, but if everything else works, then why not.  Thanx so much for the info and I will definitely pass it along to help others in time of need.

Sincerely, Robin

TESTIMONIAL:

I just wanted to thank you for your very informative web site. Last September our SHih Tzu had a litter of 10 puppies. They we all healthy but to many for her to nurse. She laid on one of the pups and smothered it so we took half the puppies away and bottle fed the for 12 hours and them switched with her a bottle fed the other half. I used your formula and the remaining 9 did wonderful. The vet was very impressed that we were able to save them all. WELL, we bred her again and she just had pups  Saturday. She had 11. (isn't that some kind of record for a Shih Tzu?).  anyway we are back to the rotation feeding and all 11 of them are doing fine. Birth weights were from 3 to 5.5 oz. Thanks again for all of your help  BY the way I don't think that we will be breeding her again!!!!!!!!!

TESTIMONIAL:

Hi there,

I emailed you last week about a little rescue puppy I had that was
failing. He is now about 2 1/2 weeks old and is finally GAINING! He is
coming up about an ounce a day and is now up to just over 10 ounces :o)
He would have died without the sub-q fluids for sure but I also know that our little Lazarus would have died without your formula recipe.
We are using the preemie nipples and feeding every 2 hours in the day and every 3 to 4 in the middle of the night. His eyes are open and his ears are on the way too.
I know you hear this a lot but I wanted you to know from the bottom of my heart how much your help meant to me and this little guy. Your thoughtful sharing saved his life!

Thank you so much,

Denise

QUESTION:

I understand you are a busy man, but this is very important and I am not sure where else to turn.  Our vet is a very rude person and says we just don't know what we are doing.  We have had 2 large litters born 5 days ago.  In the litter of 11 we lost 2 at birth, and now still have 9.  All but one of these pups are very large.  The one female is still as small as she was 5 days ago.  She doesn't seem to be gaining weight at all.  She'll eat all day long and nothing happens.  She will not eat Esbilac, wants nothing to do with a bottle or anything other than mama's milk.  I sit with her for an hour at a time even, holding her onto mama's nipple and pulling off the really fat pups to make sure that she gets food in her.  However, she is really small and very weak.  She does seem to be getting stronger though, holding her head up on her own more and moving around more.  But her back legs don't seem to want to move at all, while the other pups are moving around great and are huge compared to her.  (I have enclosed a couple of pictures).  She gets cool very fast, and I hold her against my naked chest to give her body heat, and that works for a while as she loves that and goes to sleep and seems to warm up.  She also does not make any sounds. No crying or whimpering like the other pups do.  I am going to try your formula, but I am worried about her gaining weight.  We had to give her sterilized water through injection to hydrate her.  What suggestions might you have to keep her alive.  It's a 24 hour job, and I'm exhausted.  But I don't want to lose her.  She is a great puppy (as they all are). 

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to a response.

Sincerely,
Crystal

ANSWER:

You need to find another vet!

http://leerburg.com/bottlefeeding.htm   feed her the formula we recommend, and keep her warm. There are directions on the web page.

SECOND QUESTION:

WE have been using the formula.  And it's a miracle actually, she is growing, and she loves it.  She wouldn't have anything to do with the Esbilac.  Now she actually makes cries and other puppy noises at times.  However, one problem we are having is when bottle feeding (we don't have tubing) she gags and chokes and then goes stiff (like riga mortis stiff) and can't breathe.  we have to grab the nape of her neck and shake her until she breathes again.  TWICE this has happened.  The hole in the nipple isn't too big, the other pups don't have a problem with it.  BTW they ALL love the formula.. it tastes really good.. lord knows I had to try it.  At least it smells better than Esbilac. 
Also, 3 pups have these Large fluid like lumps on their necks.  It's one from each litter and they are all red dobie's.  Any suggestions on that?

crystal

ANSWER:

I think you are our first “human taste tester” for the formula. 

A lot of pups that won’t touch Esbilac will take our formula without a problem.  Esbilac is NOT appropriate food for puppies anyway, in our opinion.  

It sounds like your pup is aspirating the formula, I would be concerned about pneumonia.  It’s not uncommon in bottle fed pups.  I would try to find a vet that treats you with some respect and have her checked out.

As for the lumps on the others, have they been given fluids?  If not, I am not sure what to tell you on that!  Does the mom pick them up in her mouth?

COMMENT:

Thank you for taking the time to answer our e-mails and posting your formula, it saved my little chi pup at two days old. Her sister never had a problem nursing, but she just never thrived with her mother. Luckily her mother takes good care of her and she can be with her sister in between feedings. Your formula saved her life. She does at the beginning of each feeding sneeze a little clear sniffles but only a small amt. and just at the start of nursing. was thinking it is not pneumonia, since it is clear and her breathing is clear (no rattle) is this wishful thinking? or should I be concerned? she is twelve days old today and tripled in size. Again thank you for your formula, her mom loves it too!!!

Carla in Arizona

TESTIMONIAL:

Dear Mr. Frawley,

I want to thank you for your web site.  One of my rescue dogs delivered 9 babies on January 17th.  It's a long story, but she wasn't able to take care of them and two died the first night.  I took over the feeding using store-bought formula mix.  I lost 4 more babies that first week.  Out of desperation, I turned to the internet to get advice and stumbled upon your web site.  Since I began feeding them the evaporated milk/ yogurt formula I found on your web site., I haven't lost anymore babies.  The three that survived will be four weeks old in a couple of days and I owe it all to you.  They've been to the vet and got a clean bill of health, along with their first vaccines at week 3. 

Thanks again for your web site. and advice- you saved three puppies lives and my sanity!

Brian

QUESTION:

Hi Ed,
I am bottle feeding a Border/Aussie pup.  Mom had 6 pups 3 died.  my  pup is really pot belly, we wormed them all, found Hookworms :-(  Do you have any idea why his wrists would appear to be bent, I just found your site and make your puppy formula. How often should I be feeding him?  He was born 06/01/07, and weighs 1.12oz. Feeding him a raw diet will not be a problem our other dogs and cats are on a natural diet.

Kathy

ANSWER:

Hookworms take a really serious toll on puppies, I don’t think I have ever had a pup that young with hooks.   It’s possible that his wrists are bent because he’s not getting all the nutrients he needs, especially with a worm load. I would probably take him to a good vet for advice.  It may also be that once you start adding some solid food, his legs will straighten out.  Can he walk around at all?

For a puppy of that age I would be feeding every 3-4 hours.  In a few days you could start trying a shallow pan for feeding, and by 4 weeks old he should be able to have some chopped meat added to the formula if he is growing and eating well.

Good luck with him.

Testimonial:

Hi

I know that a lot of people have told you how wonderful your recipe is, but I also need to tell you that without it, I would have lost the puppies.  Bella had her puppies (7 of them) and all was going well until the second day when she got very sick, vomiting and diarrhea.  I took her to the vet and they couldn't find anything wrong with her.  To make a long story short, after the night of vomiting and diarrhea, Bella had no milk for her puppies.  So I've been bottle feeding them since they were 2 days old and today they are 2 1/2 weeks old and all are doing very well...in fact you could say they're fat and sassy. Thank you so much.   I hope you know how much you recipe and all of your helpful information has meant to us.

Angie

Mission Viejo, California

Testimonial:

I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for your puppy feeding formula and for taking the time to post all the information up for people to access.  Last week our Leonberger had six pups.  She was early and got herself under our back deck to have the pups.  Well we finally got her out by taking the deck apart.  This is her first litter and she had very little milk -- its our first litter too so we didn't know what to look for.  Then she developed Mastitis.  Took mom and pups to the vet and he gave us some antibiotics and said feed the pups with a bottle once or twice a day to supplement them.  For three days we tried to feed those pups, they wouldn't have it, pups were screaming all the time and their mother turned into a nervous wreck.  On Saturday one of those precious pups died in my arms and at that point I knew that if I didn't do something different we were going to lose all the babies.  Thank goodness I found your site.  Went to the store right away and made some of your formula - decided to feed every four hours.  It took a quite bit of coaxing (and some Karo syrup) to get all the pups back on track but as of this morning's 4am feeding our biggest problem is pulling the bottle out of the pup's mouths.  Thank you, thank you, thank you from our family and from five now happy, contented pups!

Terri S

Ed's Response:

HI Terri

It's emails like this that make my day.

Vets are so stupid about these things – they push that commercial crap and pups die as a result.

Testimonial:

Dear Ed,

I'm sure you get MANY thank you's everyday, let me add one to it.

I have a puppy that I had been bottle feeding with Esbilac, but he HATED it.  I read your eBook about bottle feeding puppies, went to Wal-mart and bought the items, blended it and he took to it IMMEDIATELY!  His weight gain has been VERY slow, but I think this will speed things up considerably. 

Thank you so much,
Nancy

Testimonial:

Dear Ed,

Just wanted to say what a great milk recipe it is. We have a litter of 2 week old Boxers, but their mum is not keen to feed during the day as the weather here at the moment is pretty hot. We found your recipe while looking for weaning information and have been using it to top them up a little bit during the day to keep the pups satisfied, but are glad to say that their mother does feed them in the evening.

The pups love it and so does their mother. I just wanted to say thanks.

K Bostel
Suffolk, England

Question:

Hi Ed,

We have recently experienced our first litter, and am learning as I go. Our litter was of 11, and our female only had 10 teats. She has done a good job with trying to nurse all the pups, but at week 2 they don’t seem to be getting enough. Even the larger pups are fussy and nurse non stop as though they are starved. I recently came across your web site and have tried your formula. The pups take it very well but they have started having mustard colored soft ice cream consistency poop. Is this a normal reaction to the change or should I take them to the vet? The dam has also started having severe diarrhea. I appreciate your time and any advice you can offer a rookie.

Sincerely,
Tina
Kentucky

Ed's Response:

Tina

The formula is the best you can get. With that said the mother's milk is better. The key to getting a female to produce more milk is to feed her better and get her to drink more liquids. Give her a couple of cans of chicken broth and beef broth every day. One in the morning and one in the evening. Make sure she has plenty of fresh water (clean the bowl every day) – when the pups are 3 weeks old we put water down for them and leave it – so they can drink when they want. You should also increase the amount of food your female gets. We only feed our dogs an all-natural diet and don’t every recommend commercial dog food.

It's not that unusual to have yellow colored poop.

Question:

Hi

My boxer puppies are 2 weeks old now and the dam just did not have enough milk (which I will start feeding her chicken broth today after looking at your web site) she had 10, 1 still born. I have been hand feeding 3 of them just twice a day to help them out and they never seem to get full even though there belly's are fat after I feed them (I have been using espalic goat puppy formula, which I will be switching to yours also) my question is I believe 1 of them has gotten milk in his lungs because I hear a raspiness just after I feed him, he is still gaining weight and very active, should I give him antibiotics? I am guessing the milk is coming out to fast.  Also at what age could I see if they will lap the formula from a bowl?  They still nurse from mom also, I am only supplementing those 3, I tried to wean them off the supplement and they quickly started losing weight.

Thank you
Terrie

Answer:

I would worry a bit about aspiration pneumonia.  If the raspiness continues, I would take that pup in to the vet.

You should be able to try a shallow pan with formula at around 3 weeks of age.

Question:

We have a two week old puppy that we have been bottle feeding with Esbilac.  He is doing well and gaining weight slowly but he has been getting constipated.  I would like to try your formula.  should we use regular goats milk in a container or should it be canned?

Answer:

Espilac is garbage - pure ga