My nursing dog escaped, will she return to feed her puppies?

Oh no, I'm sorry the mother hasn't come back! Homemade milk should only be used once in an emergency, and with a specific recipe. The puppies would be due for a feeding now (they should be fed every two hours), so run to the grocery store right away and get some puppy formula and a bottle. I recommend the KMR brand of puppy formula, it's excellent. I will also put a link below on how bottle feed puppies, which includes a recipe for homemade milk. Remember though, it cannot be used regularly. Have someone else out looking for the mother. Good luck, I hope this helps! http://www.2ndchance.info/orphanpuppy.htm

How lovely of you to take in this dog and her puppies! If they cry all the time, then they may not be getting the milk they need to survive and I would start caring for them yourself. You will need to get a puppy milk replacer such as KMR from a pet store or supermarket right away. I will put a link below on how to raise orphan puppies. I would also have the mother spayed so she cannot produce any more puppies. Good luck, I hope this helps! http://www.2ndchance.info/orphanpuppy.htm

Please have her assessed by an emergency vet as soon as possible - it looks like she may have painful inflammation and infection known as mastitis which can release toxins both into the milk and into her bloodstream. You will need to handfeed the puppies also (a mixture of mousse textured, high calorie recovery food and warm water or canned puppy food should be ok at 3 weeks)

A feral/stray dog may hide to have their puppies if they were close to labor, however if she is completely lost she may also have gotten injured, or the puppies injured if she is out in the wild. It would be best to keep searching for her, and to let local authorities know that she is missing.

Oh no. That isn't good. Cats are very unpredictable; therefore, I would air on he side of caution and feed the kittens if need be. If the kittens are less than 2 weeks of age you want to make sure they are also kept warm (but don't overheart) and I would recommend wearing gloves when handling them to avoid masking their scent, which can lead to mama cat rejecting them when she returns. It is a foreign place for her so she has an increased likelihood of getting lost or injured while outdoors. You can try to go searching for the Mama cat as well. Take a can of tuna with you to see if you can entice her to return. Also leave a way for mama cat to easily enter the house, if you can, just in case she returns and no one notices. I hope she does come back. Wishing you all the best!

If you haven't yet, transition her to a quality puppy food. Feed her this diet until she weans the litter then transition slowly back to an adult maintenance diet. Provide plenty of fresh water as well. If necessary, you can supplement the pups with a puppy milk replacer such as Esbilac or Pet Lac. Either may be purchased from your veterinarian or the local Petco.

Is there any way you can set up a pen for her outside by her doghouse? If she is still active, and the puppies are gaining weight, and she's alert, caring for the puppies, and isn't vomiting, having diarrhea, etc, she probably is getting enough to eat; however, of course there is concern that she does need to be getting enough nutrition for herself and the puppies. Check her weight and the weights of the puppies every 2-3 days and make sure everyone is holding their own. You can also add canned food or boiled chicken to her food to encourage her to eat. Make sure she has a place where food is available to her but not to the other adult dogs. I hope that helps you. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!