Can I give my 6-week Shih Tzu puppy regular milk instead?

At five weeks he is old enough to be weaned - I recommend using a complete puppy kibble to ensure he is receiving a fully balanced diet meeting all of his nutritional needs. You may need to soak it in a little warm water for the first few days until he gets used to it, or even to ad some boiled chicken and broth or eggs to tempt him. Discard any moistened food within 20mins if not eaten to try to prevent bowel upsets and diarrhoea. Be sure to keep him up to date with deworming medications also

Congrats on your new puppy, Honey is very cute! No, it is not right to feed her milk, especially cow's milk. Dairy productions should never be fed to dogs due to GI upset, and milk alone is not a balanced diet for a puppy. It will not be providing her with the nutrients she needs to grow properly. Puppies need higher amounts of protein, calories, and calcium than adult dogs, and a puppy formulated food will give that to her. It may be that she isn't used to puppy food yet, and I can give you a method to try to get her used to puppy food. To help her get used to puppy food, I would soak a high quality puppy formulated dry food in warm water until soft. Then mix that with puppy formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry puppy food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until she is eating the dry puppy food only.

Barbi is too young to be separated from her mother at three weeks of age, and if she is and orphan or was rejected by her mother, she should still be feed with puppy formula. I recommend feeding her KMR via a bottle four times a days. Each day, she will need at least 25-35 milliliters of formula for every 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) of body weight. Divide this number by four to get the amount she should be eating at each feeding. When she is four weeks old, she can start to be weaned onto a puppy mush. I would soak a high quality puppy formulated dry food in water water until soft. Then mix that with puppy formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry puppy food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until she is eating the dry puppy food only.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Benji. I recommend that he sees his veterinarian. A sudden change in appetite is worrisome. His veterinarian will examine him and try to determine the source of his problem. In the meantime, you can add warm water to his dry kibble as this can make it more appealing. If you have canned food of the same formula, you can offer it warmed as well. You can also try mixing it with the dry kibble. I hope this information helps!

I'm wondering if your friend meant puppy food, not baby food. Yes you can give puppy food to nursing mothers to get extra calories, calcium, and protein to support nursing, but food switches should be done slowly to avoid GI upset. Because Peper has had diarrhea for a week, I would take her and her puppies into a vet today to get checked out.

Hi, It generally is a good idea to only feed dog food. It is specially formulated for dogs and most are properly balanced and have everything they need. Human food, especially fatty foods can lead to pancreatitis and other health issues. The dog food does not necessarily have to be for Shih Tzus. Hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While not ideal, this can be done. The pups would have to be fed a milk replacement formula (which you can buy at your local pet store or online) until they are about 6 to 8 weeks at which time they can be introduced to kibble or canned food. Good luck and have a great day!