I have a 4 week old litter of pups that I'm just starting to feed. They are getting wet puppy food - soaked till it's mushy. What is the right amount to feed a 3 to 4 pound baby? Several of them have been gagging tonight - the only one that has brought up anything just brought up food. Is this a sign I gave them too much food? Or should I have started them on something other than puppy food?

mine are started on Baby rice cereal and evaporated milk , then I gradually add the same type dog food the mother is eating that had been soaked until soft. I don't give them any crunchy dog food until their teeth are in.

I blended my puppies food in the blender with Esbilac puppy formula the first week or two they were on kibble. I made it quite soupy then gradually replaced the Esbilac with water and kept diminshing the water until they were on solid kibble at about 7.5 weeks old.

When starting, I let them eat until they are full, and let Mom clean up the rest. I use regular puppy food, soaked overnight in goats milk for palatability. I like to see them leave some in the dish, because the goal is to reduce the amount they will nurse, which will reduce the bitch's milk production. I gradually change the goats milk over to water, and soak it less and less so that eventually they are crunching away. Once they are weaned, I watch body condition and adjust the amount just like any other dog or puppy. If one gets fat, I feed that one apart from the others.

By 4 weeks, I am soaking the food til very soft, adding a little plain yogurt or alternating with applesauce, maybe a little low sodium broth for taste, - about 1/4 cup for each pup - four times a day. If they eat all of the food that I have given them that day - I add a little more the next day. I start at 3 weeks with blender mixed as above, but I do start with a little rice cereal mixed in. I try to start with regular kibble, yogurt, applesauce,baby meat (from the jar) and the rice cereal. I reduce the ingredients as they grow, instead of changing ingredients, so by 5 weeks, they are getting just soaked kibble.

I feed just regular Pro Plan Puppy. Soak maybe all night the first week and for sure I do not jump into feeding them 4 times a day at first. I start at 3 weeks if more than 5 pups and once a day for a couple of days then twice. You get loose stools and it is hard to straighten out and then they are set back. So go easy. I do put a little yogurt each day. And some of the goat milk is fine. But if they are choking it is not moist and soft enough. Soak more.