Can I safely feed 3-week-old puppies something cheaper than formula?

There are commercial puppy formulas that are the best option, but there are some homemade puppy formulas as well. I am attaching a handout below on caring for orphan puppies. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=576 It recommends the following formula for puppies if a commercial formula is not available. "Makeshift Formula until Commercial Formula can be Obtained Puppies 1 cup whole milk 1 tsp. salad oil 1 drop multi-vitamins (if you have any) 2 egg yolks" Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Hello. This should get you through until you can pick up some puppy nursing formula: 1 cup whole milk 1 tsp salad oil 1 drop children's multi-vitamin ( if you have any ) 2 egg yolks. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

At two weeks they are able to eat both semi solid foods and puppy milk formula, they are likely willing to lap and may not need syringe feeding. More than likely she will return to feed them, they should start gradual weaning from now even if she does in case she wanders again!

I’m sure there are puppies that can survive when fed human formula but it does not provide optimal nutrition for them. There may not have been commercial puppy milk replacer when your grandmother raised her orphan puppy, but now that puppy milk replacer is readily available it is a much better choice.

Mix a good quality puppy food with warm water or, better yet, a puppy milk replacer such as Esbilac or Pet-Lac. It should be very liquidy initially. As they mature, you can decrease the amount of liquid until they are eating solid food at around 10 weeks of age.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I recommend starting early weaning on bottle fed puppies as formula can cause GI problems (diarrhea and/or constipation). I would start with some canned puppy food mixed with formula and offer it three times per day and continue bottle feeding. If the puppy eats the mixture well at each meal then I would only bottle feed 3-4 times per day. If he is slow to eat the puppy food then I would continue bottle feeding every 3-4 HOURS. Decrease the bottle feedings each week as you increase the puppy food feedings. By 5 weeks I would start offering dry mixed with canned and stop all bottle feedings by 6 weeks. How much you feed of the formula at each feeding depends on the brand you are feeding. Usually the can/box tells you the volume. You can repost with the brand and I can try to helps you Good luck!

Follow these instructions on this link (one of the most reliable sources I found): https://www.vetwest.com.au/pet-library/orphaned-puppies-caring-feeding-healthcare Puppies should get solid food starting at about four weeks, when they’re not able to get all the calories they need from their mother’s milk. Most puppies are weaned by six weeks. Any further questions please do not hesitate to ask.