lil bitty puppy

Question
Hello,
My name is Kristen. I recently got a boxer puppy. She is the runt of the litter and the people I got her from had rescued the mom and litter from a bad situaation. So she is tiny. She had worms, but we we took her to the vet and had her dewormed a few times and the last test was negative...YAY. Now my concern is getting her to gain weight. She is 6 wks old and only wieghs 4.9 lbs. All af her ribs and hip bones show. I feed her puppy chow 3 times a day with either broth or gravy on it. I had heard that yogurt and penut butter can help, but I wanted to get a second oppinion. Also my roomate wants to crate train her. I hate the idea. I have had several dogs in the past and have never put them in a crate. Its just mean. But she is inside and where as she is house broke, when we are at work she pees by the door. My roomate sais that putting her in a crate will train her bladder to hold it longer. I think that shes to young to expect to hold in for more than 2 hrs at a time and even though she is never home alone for more than 4 hrs it will be a few months before she can hold it that long weather she's in a crate or not. Your oppinion please.

Answer
Hi Kristen,

Let me address one thing at a time.

You are correct. Crate training for "bladder control" is cruel- especially for a puppy-- it does not train the bladder.

Puppies cannot hold their bladder (and never hold a poop) for more than 2 hours at most-- Period.

So putting the pup in a crate does not accomplish anything- the pup will pee and poop when needed right where she lays. She has no choice- she is a baby.

Second thing is the diet and getting her to gain weight.

Her puppy food should be an all natural, organic if you want, high protein puppy food (feed up to 1 year old) that has NO corn and NO glutens.

Boxers tend to be allergic. And brown rice instead of white.

A good brand all natural puppy food at your pet store is best. Grocers do not carry quality food- only junk dog foods.

Labels are deceiving- do not trust the advertisements on the front- there is no laws governing what they can advertise- and they lie.

Third, yes yogurt is great. It must be a plain, whole yogurt (no flavors) and I have a great orphan formula that you can feed her in a bowl and mix in with her dry puppy food, that will make her fatter and a nice butterball.

In a blender:

add...

1 cup whole, plain yogurt (you can buy a generic store brand to save money)
1-12 ounce can evaporated milk (not condensed milk) ... (you can buy a generic store brand to save money)
1 raw egg
1/2 teaspoon white syrup (like Kayro syrup- but you can buy a generic store brand to save money)

Blend (do not froth)

Pour into sealed picture- and add 5-6 ounces water to it and seal and store in refrigerator.

The reason you add water to the formula after blending is because a blender will not hold all of it at one time.

Pour some in a bowl and let her drink it as often as she wants. Add it to a little bit of puppy food at meals. Feed her 5-6 times a day since she is underweight.

Do not allow uneaten or remaining formula to remain out as it has raw egg in it and milk which both can go bad. Refrigerate unused food and milk.

I came up with this formula when my girl had puppies and didn't produce enough milk for them. I bottle feed them and they nursed what little she had.

Three (3) vets approved the formula and said my puppies were the healthiest and fattest they'd ever seen and have passed on the formula to other dog owners.

Peanut butter (creamy only- no crunchy) is good for a snack between 5-6 meals a day. It is high in protein which puppies need to play so they won't burn off calories as they romp and play.


You can put it on your finger and let her lick it off as a treat. Also, puppy snacks are okay since they have calories- but don't get her hooked on them- change up so she will accept a variety--

Never give her rawhides or pig ears-- NEVER! Puppies chew and gnaw and it can come off and choke her.

Nyla bones only. Kong toys only. Hard, hard, hard balls only. No stuff toys, no soft plastic or vinyl toys that squeek (they tear up too easy)...

I make tug-of-war toys out of wash cloths.

Buy dollar store wash cloths (or retire yours and buy yourself brand new :) and roll them from angle inward (like a triangle) into a roll and tie in a knot so the knot will be in the center- thus, a tug-of-war with a nice knot.

She can play with that, but supervise that so she doesn't get a tooth caught in the material.

Use newspapers or puppy training pads at the door where she goes outside to pee so she can have accidents there close to the door. Never scold her for it- she is a baby- and if we could, we'd put a diaper on her, that is how young she is.

Potty house training should be each time she eats, upon waking from naps, every night before bed, and every morning upon getting up. As often as humanly possible. This is for her health and learning.

Please tell your roommate that puppies are babies, and we do not put our babies inside crates- and we do not expect our babies to withhold their pee and poop either. I would say more, but will refrain..........

Make sure puppy has a safe, puppy-proofed room with the toys I mentioned above to play in while you are gone. If you want to crate train her for short trips away from home, begin by putting her in with Nyla bones and Kong toys, and be gone (outside, out of sight) for 5 minutes- then come in, let her out, praise her, and treat her.

She will get used to you leaving knowing you will return.

You can increase the time 5-8 minutes after about 1 week of this crate training.

It will help discourage separation anxiety later, too. So use a crate for training to be away and nothing more. It is not a place to keep her,  but to train her to keep her from having separation anxiety and to get her use to it in case you need to crate her short periods.

When not using, leave the door open for her to play in and out of it and get familiar with it, so she will think of the crate as a safe and happy place- not a jail!

If you have further questions- please ask. I am always willing to help training of puppies. They are my specialty.