Therefore, a puppy should receive 13 ml of formula per 100 g of body weight per day for the first week of life, 16 ml per 100 g of body weight per day for the second week, 20 ml per 100 g of body weight per day for the third week and 22 ml per 100 g of body weight per day for the fourth week. Orphaned puppies should be fed on a strict schedule, preferably every 2-4 hours. Puppies up to two weeks of age can generally consume their daily intake in 4-5 meals a day. Small-breed puppies should limit themselves to 10-15 ml per feeding during the first week of life to prevent diarrhea.
For the first few weeks and months, the time between feedings will begin to lengthen on average approximately every 2 to 4 hours for babies who are exclusively breastfed. Some babies may be fed as often as every hour, which is often called cluster feeding, or they may have a longer sleep interval of 4 to 5 hours. Veterinary experts say newborn puppies should gain 5% to 10% of their body weight daily and should double their body weight in a week. Compared to cow's milk, a puppy's mother's milk contains more than twice as much protein, which helps explain why cow's milk isn't ideal for feeding orphaned puppies.
The puppies themselves are now eating solid food several times a day and are gradually weaned from their dependence on their milk. A newborn puppy should drink 15 ml of milk for every 2 oz of body weight and the starting point depends on the puppy's birth weight, it can be as little as 15 ml per day or as high as 120 ml per day. If the mother is unable to raise her puppies herself, the puppies are considered orphans and some important needs must be met to ensure their survival. Newborn puppies will rely on mother's milk or bottle feeding until they wean from solid food around seven or eight weeks of age.
The amount of moisture should be decreased daily until they ate canned or dried foods with little or no moisture addition (usually between four and six weeks of age). Unlike 8-week-old puppies, newborn puppies need to be fed every 2 hours for the first week, and an hour between meals is added approximately for every 2 weeks of life. Healthy six-week-old puppies don't need milk supplements, a good quality raw diet or commercial puppy food is enough. As for a 5-week puppy feeding schedule, that's when most people start weaning their puppies.
Milk replacement for puppies should be the only source of nutrition until 3-4 weeks of age, at which time the weaning process can begin. Fortunately, most orphaned puppies can be successfully raised with a little care and attention to detail. According to the AKC, some orphaned puppies take a while to learn the sucking part of feeding.
