My husband decided he was going to get me a puppy for my birthday, well the lady let him bring it home and she is only about 3 1/2 to 4wks old, shes a boston terrier, I made up some f the formula that is posted on the website but I am having a heck of a time trying to get her to drink from a bottle, puppy & human, I have been able to get her to drink it from the palm of my hand though, is there any suggestions? Also how much and how often should I be feeding her? I have been feeding her about every 2 hrs and about 2ounces maybe, probable more like an ounce with all the spillage and such. What else should I be trying with her right now? She was born on 11-9, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I have never handraised a pup before?

Cynthia Ring

Just curious....why would they give you a pup at only 3 1/2 - 4 weeks of age, that is pretty young to leave the mother, I would think. The mother is usually still nursing the litter until about 5- 6 weeks old. Sometimes longer. (My pups mother was still nursing & regergitating food for her pups up to the day they left her at 7 weeks old, the exception, I know, but none the less still was happening, she was an exceptional mother to her litter) Was there some problem with the mother not nursing the pups any longer or some other problem with the mother? Again, just curious.

This question is for the OP, but directed toward more experienced puppy people. Would it be possible to take the pup back to its mother and then get it when it is older?

Mike
I think who ever allowed a puppy to go to his new home at 4 weeks of age is not "a reputable" breeder.Why in the heck would ANYONE take a pup that young? It's not even fully weened yet.We start to introduced pups at 4 weeks of age to a mix of meat and puppy formula, they still need their mom for at least another good 3 to 4 weeks! And if I am not mistaken smaller breeds even need their mothers longer.Sorry I don't agree with this at all. I think this puppy should go back to it's mother, period.I could see if the mother had died or they had found it but for the breeder to actually let this puppy go , shame on them.We talk about so many things on this web about what's best for the dogs, from Raw diet to training to selling , the list goes on and I think this is the one thing that is not best for this pup.
If I were you cynthia I would take that pup right back before it dies on you.

I agree that 3 1/2 to 4 weeks old is MUCH too young to be separated from the litter and mom. Even if there was a problem like mastitis which would not allow the female to continue to nurse, the social interaction with the mother and littermates is invaluable for a young dog's development. I think even 7 weeks is too early to take pups away. 8 weeks is the absolute youngest we allow our puppies to leave.

With all that said, this pup should be able to lap formula out of a shallow dish or saucer at this age. We begin feeding our pups the formula at 4 weeks old, in a flying saucer type pan. I would be very aware of how often this puppy eats, I would be feeding her every few hours at least. All pups, but especially small breeds are prone to hypoglycemia. Keep her warm and give her a stuffed animal 'sibling' to snuggle with.

Let us know how it's going with the pup.

THanks for all the replies, I talked to the lady I got her from and she will let me bring her back but only for a week as that is when she had planned on letting them go anyways, she said the mom had already started to wean them off so she went and bought some puppy formula stuff to bottle feed them, I have been feeding her every four hours should I feed her more often than that? I have tried to give her some soft dog food but she seems uninterested in it right now, I still cant get her to really take a bottle but I have gotten her to kinda lick out of a bulb syringe that actually works pretty well, she drinks about 2 ounces of warmed up puppy formula that I got off of this site and she seems to love it, I also gave her a stuffed animal and was thinking of getting her a heating pad? I weighed her today to and she weighs about 2 1/2 pds I am going to weigh her tomorrow to make sure she isnt losing any weight, any other suggestions would be great, I have her sleeping in a laundry basket with a towel and a stuffed animal at night, she sleeps right next to my bed so I can keep an eye on her at night, thansk again

Are you going to take the pup back? One week, though not enough, is better than nothing and hopefully will make a difference in her being able to eat. It's unconscionable that this breeder let this pup go so early. Sounds like the breeder's intent is to let all pups go at about 5 weeks. Unconscionable - and she should be told so!

Yeah I tried to tell her that but she was like I can do alot in a week they will be weaned by then blah blah blah, she will actually be 4wks on the 9th of December as she was born on 11-9 this lady has had the pups for sale for a few weeks now, and when I talked to her again she was like well talk to your vet and see what he says before I take the pup back and try to do anything with her, sounds to me like the lady just doesnt want to be bothered like she was just wanting to get rid of the pups no matter what, I dont know I think I am doing a pretty good job at handfeeding her and I check her all the time to see if she is getting dehydrated or anything, is there any way to know if she is geting hyperglycemic? Thanks agian

"...is there any way to know if she is geting hyperglycemic?"

I don't know how to check for either hypo- or hyperglycemia. Someone else may know - or you could start now to line up a vet for her in case you have an emergency of some sort, also line up a 24/7 pet hospital in case something happens when vet's office is closed.

Cindy Easton Rhodes mentioned above that a pup that age should be able to lap formula from a shallow dish (I notice you're new to the forum and may not know that Cindy and Ed breed dogs). She would probably also know about checking for hypoglycemia (hopefully she sees your post asking about it).

A heating pad sounds like a good idea, but I'm sorry, I don't know about the safety of one with a pup, hopefully again someone else with experience will answer that. How warm to keep it is a question also. However, I did find this on Ed's site (same url as below) "We will use the hard plastic heating pads in the dog house. (I would never recommend using a human heating pad - the pups can chew them and this could kill the pup)."

I'd also ask the breeder if the pup has been wormed, and if so how many times. Not that you could rely on her answer, since she does sound unscrupulous. I've heard pups are born with worms and need to be wormed 3 times before age of 8 weeks, again not sure on details. But she does need to be wormed. I believe Ed has articles that may address it. Look at http://www.leerburg.com/pup-med.htm under "Preventive Medication for our litters".

At this point, it sounds like the pup is better off with you instead of this "breeder".