Welpi or not?

[Sandie]

Hi everyone,

       Just a question that has been on my mind since the birth of Aimee's lovely puppies.

How many of you actually use Welpi to substitute the mothers milk in the first few days? I have had conflicting advice and I thought I would through it open to the forum and see what you all say?

When my vet came to give Aimee her injection to flush her out when she had given birth to all the puppies, she asked me if I had any Welpi as she had brought a tub with her. She said to give a few drops of welpi to each puppy until Aimee's milk had come in.

When the two puppies were sick, she recommended feeding Welpi every two hours and lectade every hour in between. I also gave all the puppies lifeaid too.

I know some breeders opinions say welpi is a no no. Why? What do you give them instead? Lactol? Carnation milk?

As a new breeder I feel that I need to know the answer to this, and the more I think of it, the more annoyed I am getting with myself for not knowing.

So come on everyone, give me your views  

Sandie, Aimee and Wesley xx                    

[Gilly]

I'd be interested to know the answer to this to Sandie so a very good question  :wink:

I would also like to know which is the best..Welpi or Lactol  :?
I thought that these should be used if you need to assist in the feeding of any puppies or when weaning as a substitute for mums milk  :?                    

[*-Nikki-*]

We only used Welpi on one litter, were one of our bitches wasn't a very good mother :roll:  (to help 2 little ones along) but other than that I’m not really sure we would use it unless the mother wasn't feeding properly :? . I think its probably better to let the bitch feed them naturally of her own milk :wink: , as the likes of Welpi cannot really give the pups the same nutrition as the mum’s milk.  
However we used Carnation milk on some puppy weaning food that we get, on our last litter and it did certainly help to put body on them . We only used this tho, as an older breeder swears by it.                    

[Jane S]

I do always have a pot of milk substitute on hand when we have a litter but I hope we won't have to use it - it's there in case Mum doesn't have any milk for some reason or if you need to hand-rear or perhaps supplement an extra large litter. I never give Whelpi routinely when pups are first born - it is the action of the pups pulling on Mum's teats which helps bring the milk down. Of course, it's different if the milk doesn't come down after a few hours - then you may need to supplement. Whelpi is a perfectly good milk substitute although others may prefer another make or even a home-made recipe. If you can find a copy of Betty Bloomfield's book on Hand Rearing Puppies, there is an excellent recipe in there. She also gives the essential advice that sick pups should not be given milk - just fluids (Lectade, Liquid Life Aid). I'm not sure if this book is still in print but it's very useful for all breeders, whether first time or more experienced.

Jane

PS The full title of Betty Bloomfield's book is "Nursing & Handrearing Newborn Puppies". ISBN No 0907616933                    

[Louie]

When my Emma had her first litter there were nine puppies, six dogs and three bitches. One of the bitches was very small 5 oz and very weak, we thought she wouldn,t make it as she couldn,t latch on to even the smallest teat. I bottle fed her for two days using lactol but kept her with Emma and the rest of the pups, Emma did everything else she is a very good mum. After the two days this little girl had a round belly and i was finally able to get her on to one of Emma,s teats. She thrived from then on but stayed a little one although was not a weakling by any means when she went to her new home   .                    

[Michele]

Whilst Welpi & Lactol do a great job, I personally prefer to use diluted evaporated milk (full cream) if need be.
I think this does a better job if you have to bottle feed as you don't get any lumps, and is also more easily digested by the puppy.
Hand rearing Guru (don't know if she's been called that before   ) Heather Ridley swears by it and will not use powdered milk.

[Kim]

I have no problem with Welpi, Lactol, Carnation or any other substitute milk, but ONLY if absolutely necessary.
I really think that you can do more harm than good by unecessary supplementing.

JMO

[tracey]

I don't believe in interfering with feeding too quickly. Puppies need to suck to encourage the let down of milk. I always keep Urtica Urens in when I have puppies due, a homeopathic remedy which can help bring in milk. This MUST be given in a high dose 1m 4 x daily, a low dose will dry up milk.
Obviously if milk fails to come in or you have sick puppies you need to step in. I like Michele prefer an evaporated milk mixture, dehydration is more of a problem in sick puppies so fluid is as important as food.

Tracey



 

[Gilly]

Are you seasoned whelpers trying to confuse me    not hard I know  
Do I go out and buy all of these things....or just get carnation     or carnation mixed with something else  
I agree completely that the puppies need to suckle to bring the milk down....been there myself    

[Jane S]

Are you seasoned whelpers trying to confuse me    not hard I know  
Do I go out and buy all of these things....or just get carnation     or carnation mixed with something else  
 

It's up to you Gilly - we all have our own way of doing things I think most of us agree that bottle feeding with milk substitute is only to be done when absolutely necessary but it's your decision as to what your emergency milk substitute will be. If you're going down the evaporated milk route, you'll need a recipe. I'd forgotten I'd posted a milk recipe on this board ages ago, but here's the link for you

Jane

[Gilly]

Thanks for that Jane  
I've saved those recipes  

Edited to add: I did try a search for the Betty Bloomfield book but it seems to be as elusive as the George Caddy one    

[Jane S]

I did try a search for the Betty Bloomfield book but it seems to be as elusive as the George Caddy one  

No I think it must have gone out of print. Our Dogs used to have it on their book list but I just did a check & it's not there now, sorry

Jane