41/2 weeks old?????

[leeannNnc]

Hello, I'm a new owner of a beautiful puppy rottweiler. I'm new at the puppy thing. The breeder sold her to me and she's only 5 wks old. Everyone is telling me this is way too young. Is this true? The breeder told me that because she was eating puppy food that's watered down, it was ok. She throws up though after she eats. Not more than she's takin in but she shouldn't be at all right? Does anyone have any suggestions? She's drinking water to. And she's urinating about a tablespoon of clear, dark color urine about 7-10 times a day. And small formed bowel movements about 5-6 times a day. Thank you in advance.:)
Also, is she too young to be takin outside?

[frontierrots]

WAY WAY too young!

Pups need to stay with mom and littermates til at least 7-8 weeks old and I don't let mine leave until 10 weeks. They learn dog language skills and bite inhibition from mom and littermates.

Pups also often nurse at least some tl 6-8 weeks old

Do not expect anything in the way of housebreaking at this age, sh is just too young.

She should be eating 4 times a day soaked soft food mixed with formula.

She is too young to be vaccinated but should be checked for fleas and worms.

She will need lots ofwork to teach her bite inhibition and dog language skills that she is missing out on. Pups taken away to young are often social misfits when it comes to other dogs because they did not learn those lanuage skills. They also often bite too much and too rough because they did not learn bite inhibition and mouth control from littermates.

Do a search on these forums for bite inhibition

[AngelBunny]

leeannNnc:

Everyone who told you your puppy was far too young to leave her mother and littermates was, unfortunately, corrrect. It's irresponsible to sell a puppy that young, and in some states (like mine) against the law.

While there are occasionally reasons people end up with very young puppies (the bitch dies, can't produce enough milk for a large litter, or some such extraordinary occurence), for the most part people who sell puppies that young are BYBs who care little for the quality of the dogs they produce.

What brand of food are you feeding her?

"tablespoon of clear, dark color urine"--what do you mean? How can something be "clear" and "dark" at the same time??

[leeannNnc]

Thanks again for responding. I feel so bad that I didn't know enough to not take her so young. I trusted the breeder unfortunately. She does do the biting thing to. I've read alot of wonderful suggestions on correcting this. The brand of puppy food is Nutro. Also, her urine is like a dark yellow and when I say clear, I mean it's just not cloudy, no sediment in it or anything. (sorry the nurse coming out of me) We love her so much and want to do the right thing for her. I was glad when I found a site like this one. Do they sell the formula at pet stores? And do you suggest a particular brand?
Thanks in advance.

[Nancy Estes]

Big pet stores should have puppy milk replacement formulas. If you can, get the liquid form; the powder is difficult to blend. Or you can also get goat's milk in the dairy section of some supermarkets. If they don't have fresh, you can use canned goat's milk. Cow's milk tends to upset puppy tummies and the goat's milk works better. You can put the dry puppy food through a blender and mix the powder with the milk or formula. Be sure and let it sit long enough to absorb the liquid and then add more liquid to make the mixture *soupy* enough for the puppy to lap up. If it's too thick puppies often don't get enough because it's too difficult for them to eat. You can also leave out a small bowl of dry kibble for the puppy to chew on. She'll eventually get to where she will chew it up and start eating the kibble as well as the formula. And always make sure there is plenty of fresh water available. She will play in the water so you'll have to replace it pretty often. You might want to get one of the stainless steel bowls with the no-tip base so she can't knock the water over.

Although the breeder did sell her too young, there are plenty of puppies that have grown up to be perfectly good canine citizens despite having left their mother and littermates too soon. Search the archives and open topics here and you will find many, many threads on how to raise and very young puppy that will help you a lot.

Good luck with the baby. :)

Nancy

[AngelBunny]

leeannNnc:

Sigh. What's done is done. Your tale of trusting the breeder & not doing sufficient homework before acquiring a puppy is all too common a tale, alas! It's highly frustrating to people like myself, long time admirer & owner of the breed and volunteer for our local Rottie rescue group. In the right hands, there's no better dog; in inexperieneced, tentative hands, there can sometimes be no worse.

How much better it would have been for all concerned if you'd found this site first and asked as to the wisdom of getting such a young puppy! Now, we can only hope that lurkers learn from your error and spread the word.

You'll have your work cut out for you, that's for certain sure. It's not an impossible job you've assumed for yourself, but acquiring such a young puppy for what I'm guessing is your first Rottie (??) has certainly made the job much more difficult than it needs to be.

Nutro is an OK food, but it's not top flight. Reading thru all the postings in Nutrition & Grooming will give you much valuable info. Feed her as Nancy Estes suggests while you're researching brands.

If you're so inclined, go BARF. While I don't feed BARF because I think I don't have time, I believe it's the best diet for your dog. Many people here feed BARF, so if you decide to go that route, you'll have a great deal of knowledgeable support.

To help you learn what to do with your puppy, I strongly encourage you to read thru all the positings in every Forum. You'll learn a phenomenal amount. Of course, post questions, but it would be nice if you read thru the postings first since many questions have been asked repeatedly.

[frontierrots]

ALL puppies bite that is how they learn mouth control and bite inhibition through the feed back of their siblings and mom telling them when they are biting toohard.

Ian Dunbar found that the worst and most damaging bites to humans by adult dogs are from those who were never allowed to bite at all as pups or who were too shy/inhibited to bite as pups.

You just need to take over for her littermates/mom and start telling her what is too hard and as time goes on make softer and softer bites "too hard"

If you can't find my bite inhibition training thread by doing a search, email me and I'll send it toyou

When she's a bit older if you can find another pup or two of a similar age and size for her to play with regularly that will help her language skills

What's done is done, now you have to study and work :)