3 week Pom

Question
I just got a 3 week old Pom and I wanted to know what I can and can't feed him.  Is it true that milk is very unhealthy for puppies, and are they good with children?

Answer
Hi Griselda,

You don't want to feed him cow's milk because it is too heavy and doesn't contain all the nutrients a growing puppy needs.  Get a milk replacer--puppy formula at your local pet store.  You will also need a pet nursing bottle.  

Here is what I recommend after the puppy is weaned from the bottle:

I have been researching canine nutrition over the past year or so because I want to feed my pom the best. (Feed your pom the best you can afford.) Recently, I've advised others to avoid feeding commerical brands in grocery stores. (Alpo, Kibbles and Bits, Purina Beneful, Pedigree, etc.) They are junk.  Science Diet, Pro Plan, Eukanuba and Iams are better.  If you really want to feed a higher-quality diet, try one of these:   Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Spot's Stew, Chicken Soup for the Soul, PetGuard, Wellness, Canidae, Wysong or Neura Meats. But now, I would even go a step further and recommend a human grade dog food. (Wellness and Canidae are human grade kibble/canned and there are others as well.)

I have also recently discovered dehydrated human grade dog food, which I feel would be even better yet.  I just purchased a dehydrated food from Olee.com called NRG Canine Blend. My pom loves it!!  It even costs less than the kibble I was buying! The Honest Kitchen also makes:
Natural Dehydrated Dog Food.  I also feed my dog fresh food:  chicken, beef, fish, cottage cheese, brown rice, yogurt, cheese, veggies, and fruit.  I never feed him junk food like hot dogs, foods with added sugar, etc.  

Depends on the age of the children.  Toy breeds like poms are so small they are not suitable for young children, unless your pom weighs more than the breed standard--say over 15 pounds.  Most poms won't tolerant children playing roughly.  I know mine won't.  If a child did something that made my pom feel threatened he would bite to defend himself and he is a very loving dog (not mean or snappy at all).  

Hope this helps!  Let me know if you have any other questions.

Regards,
Carrie