Growing Beagles and Puppy Formula
Published August 11, 2011 | 
Over the next 4 months the little Beagle babies
do what puppies have a way of doing–they grew!
The first time they stood on four little shaky legs,
their first steps, the first time they poked their little
heads up to the top of the box and peeked out–all
were milestones.
Watching them learn that there was a bigger world
outside the box was such a joyful experience. We
just never expected the impact they would make on us.
We had other pets over the years, of course, but this
was different. We hand-fed these babies and kept
them alive when the vet had told us they would probably
not make it.
They were four inches long and weighed a couple
of ounces when we took over their care. We bought a
scale and began to weigh them. They quickly went to
eight ounces, then fifteen ounces, then 1.5 pounds,
and every weigh-in was a milestone.
From getting up several times a night to feed them
and check on them, to weighing them, watching them,
keeping them warm and worrying over them, it was
almost like having human babies.
And yes, they even had a “granny” who rocked them!
We just fell completely and hopelessly in love with little
dogs–and it took us entirely by surprise.
If you ever find yourself needing to hand-feed puppies,
here is a good formula:
PUPPY FORMULA
One 10-oz can of evaporated milk(See notes below)
4 or 5 ounces of–boiled 10 minutes–and cooled–water
1 raw egg yolk–NO egg white
1 teaspoon Karo–NOT honey
Stir well–if blending, do NOT make bubbles
in the formula, or make it frothy.
Notes:
Use evaporated milk in cans–careful–NOT
sweetened condensed milk
You can use goat’s milk, but NOT cow’s milk–
it will give puppies bad diarrhea.
Most grocery stores sell evaporated milk.
Walmart sells goat’s milk.
If using goat’s milk, you do not need to water
it down–just skip the boiled water.
Put in regular four-ounce baby bottles.
Make several holes in the nipple. Milk
should drip, but not run out. Milk can show
a few bubbles at the side of puppy’s mouth,
but not run out of its mouth.
If formula comes out too fast, puppy can get
milk in its lungs and will likely die of pneumonia.
Burp the puppy on your shoulder after eating,
or hold upright a little and rub its back or belly
lightly until you hear a distinct burp.
Puppy formula is also available in cans or
powder to mix with boiled–and cooled–water.
The powdered mix is much less expensive–why
pay for water? You can mix it with water yourself.
Whatever formula you use, keep refrigerated and
warm to body temperature before feeding. Puppies’
temperature is about 101 degrees.
Feed the puppy about every two hours around
the clock for the first week, then gradually
lengthen the feedings to every three hours, then
four or five hours apart by three weeks of age.
No time spent was resented, and nothing was
too much to do, to get our puppies off to a good
start. We called them our Little Sweets and they
really were–so sweet.
Beagles and More Beagles!
Published August 3, 2011 |
- Nap Time
About two summers ago our female Beagle June Bug–we call her JuJu–looked a bit lonely. She lost her buddy, Fuzzy, a few months before, and we worried about her being outdoors alone. She had a large fenced-in yard and a nice kennel where she spent the night–like a little house, really–but we still worried about her. My husband and I worked all day and only saw her for a time in the evening when we took her for walks. We decided to get her a companion, and a little male by the name of Blue came to live with her. He’s a blue tick Beagle with championship parents, just like JuJu. That’s his picture on this blog header. JuJu fell in love with the little dog and he gave her adoring looks–so funny! What happens when you put a male and female dog together? Well, naive as we were–we thought nothing would.
Before you shake your head in amazement, JuJu had spent most of her life with another male and never had any puppies–not for lack of his trying. We thought she couldn’t–and now that she was “of a certain age”–namely 10 years old–we felt certain that was not something we had to worry about. As it turned out, JuJu and Blue’s May-December romance blossomed. We noticed she was gaining a little weight and commented that we had to give her a little more exercise and a few less treats. When we looked a little closer, however, and it appeared her belly was about to drag on the ground, we became alarmed and finally realized she was unexpectedly expecting! Kind of like that TV reality show–I didn’t know I was pregnant! (And we thought they were just friends!) We hustled her off to the vet, who pronounced her healthy, but still felt her pregnancy would be a bit risky since she was all of 51 people-years old.
In October of 2011 JuJu presented us with four puppies who had to be delivered by Caesarean section when her labor started and then stopped. Sadly, two of the babies died two days later, and the vet said it was “failure to thrive.” JuJu may not have had enough milk, we were never sure, but she loved those little puppies and tried to be a good mother. She tried to prevent us from taking the little ones away that didn’t make it. However, she was an outdoor dog, and we had been keeping her inside since she went into labor. The puppies had to be kept warm, but it was too hot for her–she always preferred the outdoors and cooler temperatures. They were just born at the wrong time of the year, in an unusually cold October, to go outside. Blue, of course, was still outside, and howled a good part of the day and night because JuJu was gone and he didn’t understand what happened. We brought him in and showed him where she was, and that calmed him down a little, but we just could not confine JuJu to the house.
We had to allow her to go outside again, but the vet did not want the little ones to go outside with her, and that, coupled with the fact that she did not produce enough milk, meant the puppies would have to be bottle fed. We started every-two-hour feedings with puppy-formula and pet bottles at first. They seemed to be working too hard and not getting enough milk, so we got them regular baby bottles. The nipples are closer to the size of a mommy dog, and they soon got the knack of drinking from the new bottles. They spent their first couple months in a box with a heating pad covering most of the bottom, with blankets on top and the box next to a heating unit. They had to be kept at 94 degrees at first, and they were nice and cozy in their little box. Of course they slept most of the time and after a week or so, they were fed every four or five hours round the clock, instead of every two hours, so we got a little more unbroken sleep and didn’t have to set the alarm clock so often.
We’ll continue the Beagle saga in the next post.
Thanks for stopping by,
Sue
Welcome!
Published June 6, 2010 | Thank you for visiting my blog. I’m writing to you from a beautiful
area of NorthEast Pennsylvania, where I live with my husband, three cats and two Beagles.
The Beagles have a large fenced in yard to run in, but they’re never satisfied
unless they’re digging holes under the fence and running after rabbits. I have had one too many sprints through the property and into the brush and brambles this Spring already, grabbing wayward dogs and hauling
them back to the yard!
They are trained and (mostly) well-behaved, but nothing stops them when those Beagle noses catch the scent of a rabbit to flush out of hiding. They both came from champion bloodlines, and although my husband and I are
not hunters, the Beagles were bred for hunting and chasing.
Also, at this time of year, the “peepers” are out in full voice–little tiny tree frogs that I can’t help going out to see at night. I catch them by the pond, marvel at how tiny and perfect they are, and then, of course, let them go unharmed.
Just one of many things to do with animals inside, outside and “critters” of all kinds in the back yard and the pond.
If you have pets, or just love animals, you’ve come to the right place. I hope you’ll visit often and share your stories about pets and the animals you have loved or read about.
I’d like to get to know you, and hope you’ll visit again soon. I’ll have pet stories, good information on animal care and training, pictures and more, all with you in mind.
All my best to you,
Sue