A little over a week ago, the puppies ate their first meal of "real" food, beginning the process of weaning. We soaked puppy food in water to soften it into a gruel, then served it to the puppies. Because this was the first time they were eating real food, we fed one puppy first. Shamrock was the lucky first puppy to eat his meal. At first, he wasn't entirely sure what to make of the new food, and he licked the edges of the plate. But once his caretaker scooped a little food on her finger and let him lick it off, Shamrock got the idea and dug in.
After that, we fed three puppies at a time so we could watch them and more easily monitor how much they were eating. Until they got the hang of eating, we actually stuck their front paws in their food, which seemed to help them realize that there was tasty food in front of them. Watch a video of Jade, Denim and Copper chowing down:
The puppies even licked up the food that fell off the plates onto the blanket!
We feed the puppies a lamb-based puppy food, recommended by the vet because it will help avoid allergies later. The puppy food must also contain DHA, which is important for brain and eye development and can help them learn more quickly and enhance their memory. While SSD Winter was pregnant and later while she was nursing, she ate puppy food so the puppies would receive the nutrients through their mom.
All of our food comes from Abrams & Weakley.
You can help us feed the puppies! As these puppies grow, they go through a lot of food. We provide food for our dogs while they're young puppies and while they're in the kennel. When they join their puppy raiser families, they go with a five pound bag of food. We also take care of any special veterinary diets. Additionally, when we place the dogs with their partners, we give the partners a 40 pound bag of food.
We hope you enjoy the videos and the puppy cam! We know we love watching them!
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