How to care for 3 week old pit puppy? (Please read!)

Pitsarecool · 12-31-2012, 05:39 AM

Hello! I'm not sure what part I was supposed to post this on because I just made this account so I'm sorry if this is the wrong part. A man came to me saying that the puppy's mother had died and he couldn't take care of the puppy so I decided to take her in. She is, as I said, about three weeks old. Well, three weeks and about three days I believe. I do have another dog that I got when he was three months old (he is now almost 3 years old) so I really wouldn't know how to take care of a puppy that young. Can anyone give me advice on the feeding schedules, what to feed her, shots, socialization, potty training, etc? Can she pee/poo on her own yet?) Thanks a LOT for helping me and the pup. Also, if this isn't the right part for these kind of threads can you direct me to where I'm supposed to post them?

Thanks a lot, Pitsarecool

**angelbaby** · 12-31-2012, 05:21 PM

she should be able to pee and poo on her own by now. Does she have much for teeth yet? At this age I would get some milk replacer or Goats milk [ DO NOT USE COWS MILK ] And either see if she drinks out of a very shallow dish on her own or you may have to bottle feed. Most pups can be weened around 4 weeks so as you get closer to that I would introduce some kibble but make sure you soak it in warm { goats milk or replacer or water} until it is really mushy { may take a half hour or so , depends on kibble . If you grind it up it will soak faster}. Then offer that mush to her/him 3-4 times a day . They have tiny bellys right now so wont eat alot at 1 sitting.
There are other issues you will need to look into as this pup is missing out on skills they learn within the litter and within there time with mom. I would use the search at the top and type in bite inhibition and read up on that. I would also have a vet involved and start shots as early as possible since who knows what resistance she has gotten from mom or if mom was even vaccinated . You can usually start shots around 4-5 weeks ask your vet what they recommend. Make sure you do not take her out anywhere public or even outside until her shots are complete, parvo is a huge risk these days and we have seen more and more cases pop up all over the place.

**performanceknls** · 12-31-2012, 08:18 PM

blah blah blah.... I hate when I read about puppies who are taken away from the mom at 3 weeks will have all these behaviour problems.... It's not true if you raise the pup like a normal pup and don't baby it.
I wean most of my puppies at 3 weeks anyway because my bitches will not nurse past 3 weeks. So it's ok you shouldn't have to bottle feed if the pup is really over 3 weeks old.
Goats milk fine, warm it up and let the puppy lap it up. What I do for my puppies is get some puppy food and crush it or put it in a food processor and blend it into powder. Then put it with some goats milk, warm it up and make it soupy. then gradually make it thicker and thicker as they days go by. Then I start making the puppy food not so fine. Like I will put it in a zip lock and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to make it into small bites. Then still add some goats milk. The pup will start to use their teeth at around 4-5 weeks to eat the food.

Treat the pup like any other puppy are far as biting goes and you shouldn't have any problems. Behaviour problems with puppies are caused 99% of the time by the owners, so just don't treat this tiny pup like a human baby and you should be fine.

As far as everything else goes make an appointment with your vet ASAP so they can guide you with what to do with vaccines. There are lots of protocols just follow what your vet recommends but you want to make sure the pups heart is ok and that there is nothing medically wrong.

Pitsarecool · 12-31-2012, 09:22 PM

Yes she has teeth, they're small (as expected). I grinded up puppy chow and added warm water with goats milk, and some warm water and the puppy ate it! Oh! And I just found out today that she has fleas! I got some of that dawn dish soap with water and washed her. I watched out for her eyes, ears and I made sure she didn't get water in her nose. She still has a few fleas but I've been slowly taking them out. Yes, I am going to take her to the vet VERY soon. Oh, and she did pee but she still hadn't pooped. Do puppies poop immediately after eating or do they take a while?

Thanks! Pitsarecool

**performanceknls** · 01-01-2013, 01:30 AM

Could take awhile to poop depending on when she ate last or she could be constipated from the change in diet. You could get some warm water and a cotton ball. Dampen the ball and gently stoke her butt. It could stimulate her to poop but give it a little while to see if she goes on her own. If he belly is hard and she is whining see if you can help her poop that means she could be plugged up lol. Sounds like she is well on her way to getting on puppy food keep up the good work!

Pitsarecool · 01-01-2013, 06:28 AM

She pooped about half an hour after she ate! And she did both on this newspapers I set up for her, which is great! I just fed her but she kind of fell asleep while feeding her so I'll try to give her more tomorrow. Do three week old puppies eat every few hours? Or is it just a few times a day?

Thanks! Pitsarecool

**MSK** · 01-01-2013, 06:37 AM

With younger pups best to feed small increments about every 3 hours and start lengthening between feed gradually as they age. This is what I do you may get other opinions just as valid. really kind of depends on the pup but, if you feed to much at one time it can upset there belly best to talk to your vet and see what they recommend.

Pitsarecool · 01-01-2013, 07:35 AM

Alright, will do! Thanks! Oh! And will the puppy miss out on things that the siblings and mother would have taught?

**MSK** · 01-01-2013, 02:43 PM

Not really only thing I can think of some would say bite inhibition but, you can teach that. Like K9Performance said as long as you treat the pup as what they are a dog you shouldn't have any problems. Make sure when playing with the pup to correct when its being to rough. Things of this nature is what they would learn with their siblings and mother.

Puppy Development And Growth

Developmental Stages

Pitsarecool · 01-01-2013, 07:26 PM

Great! Thanks! So I'll just make sure she doesn't play too hard and stuff? Oh, and of course the shots. Should she get shots earlier than a puppy would because she doesn't have her mother's nutrients and such? Or do I take her when she's 5-6 weeks old?

**performanceknls** · 01-01-2013, 11:17 PM

I vaccinate my pups at 4 weeks with parvo only not the combo shots but if you're in doubt go to the vet and see what they recommend for you. Again how you raise the pup will determine a lot of her behaviour and some is going to be genetics. Its ok to rough house with your pup just don't allow biting. Instead put a toy in her mouth and let her tug on it. I really don't teach my puppies not to bite or correct them for it till they are old enough to really understand like at 10 weeks but till they are 10 weeks I will just redirect the biting to a toy. At some point you have to tell them no and let them know it's not ok to bite. 10 weeks is when I start that. Some people will say to make a noise like the puppy hurt you to tell them that hurt.... I don't feel that works with most dogs. Instead if a puppy bit a mom too hard she would bite them and put them in their place. As humans we don't need to bite our puppies but a good correction with tone of voice and a scruff of the neck is fine. You want your correction to be enough to stop the behavior but not too much the dog is scared of you. That point is different for all dogs you just have to find what works for your pup.

Pitsarecool · 01-04-2013, 09:03 PM

Thanks! She's getting her shots soon, and I'll also by her a few toys! Her flea problem is gone, and she's pretty healthy. She is peeing/pooping a lot each day usually after I feed her the last meal of the day. She turned four weeks old today!

Pitsarecool · 01-05-2013, 06:55 AM

Less than twenty minutes ago, she threw up. About three hours ago, I fed her a bit of the food and she was okay. She peed and pooped okay, it was coming out normal. She went to sleep as usual and woke up to pee. About ten minutes ago, I went to her bed and saw that there was a little bit of he food on it. The rest of the throw up (which wasn't much) seemed to be liquid, as it seeped through the sheet. She seems to be fine except for that throw up part. Could there be something wrong?

**performanceknls** · 01-05-2013, 05:15 PM

Has she sen a vet yet? Could be worms or something else. I would have the vet look at her. Puppies can get sick very quick I would get her to a vet.

Pitsarecool · 01-05-2013, 10:05 PM

No she hasn't gone yet, I was planning on taking her next week. Yeah, I'm thinking that it's worms too. She also has a bit of diarrhea, it's not much and she's acting normal.
Edited: I'm going to take her to the vets tomorrow. She threw up twice more today in little bits. It had yellow things in it. The diarrhea had white things in it. Her diarrhea and throw up don't have blood in it. I'm still kind of worried. I hope it's nothing serious.