Puppy Milk

When a Puppy Needs Formula

Orphaned puppies, rejected puppies, litters too large for the mother to feed, and any puppy losing weight day on day. It supplements or replaces the mother's milk, and it is not the same thing as cow's milk, which puppies cannot digest and which causes diarrhoea in an animal that cannot afford to lose fluid.

What We Stock

Wombaroo Dog Milk Replacer

From around $15. An Australian made formula matched to the composition of dog milk, including the fat and protein levels that cow and goat milk do not provide.

Feeding equipment

Wombaroo bottles at around $4 and latex teats from around $3, sized so you can match the teat to the puppy rather than enlarging a hole.

Mixing and Storage

Mix fresh for each feed. Formula sitting at room temperature grows bacteria quickly, and a newborn has almost no reserve to fight an infection. Feed at body temperature, discard anything left after 30 minutes, and sterilise equipment between feeds.

How Often

Every two hours around the clock in the first week, stretching gradually to every four by three weeks. It is relentless, and it is the part people underestimate before they commit to hand rearing a litter.

A Note on Colostrum

Formula does not replace colostrum. A puppy that misses the mother's first milk in the first 24 hours has no passive immunity, and that is a conversation to have with your vet immediately rather than something a bottle solves.

Trusted by RPBA Breeders

Members keep formula and teats in the whelping kit before the due date, not after.