# 6 week old puppy? how old do you think it is?



## smason (Dec 23, 2008)

i am working/living with my wife in the country of albania. the conditions for animals here is usually quite poor. pets are less than common and most so called breeders do so just to make money and have no idea what they are doing. 
yesterday i responded to an add in the paper for 45 day old german shepherd puppies. when i arrived at his house i was amazed....young mother (2 or so years maybe) 3 puppies. the mother was on a short chain tied to a dog house. she was quite malnourished. so needless to because of what i saw i didnt trust the guy. the things he said ("she puts out 2 or 3 litters a year") made me even more untrusting and frustrated with the guy. 
he said he had given the first vaccination himself as well as began deworming....truth or not? the mother definitely is a german shepherd...although he showed pics of his cell phone of the so called father of the pups....who really knows what the father could be.
so figuring this guy is just trying to move pups and make $$ (albanian Leke actually), i decided today that i would buy a pup from him. so i brought home with one of the females. of course i told him that the way he was taking care of the dogs was horrible and the mother was not healthy. he excused it as her having so many puppies (he claimed she had 7 or 8 i think).
anyway so i figured i can in a sense "adopt" at least one dog and give it a good loving home.

my reason for posting here is to ask your opinion on the accuracy of the age (45 days?) and any advice you can give me on feeding as well as vaccinations and deworming (not know if he really gave a vaccination and started deworming or not...)????

currently i am feeding the pup 3 times a day a mix of fresh milk mixed with bread. i have also tried mixing in some minced up ham. the pup seems to be eating fine and going to the bathroom fine. she is quite active and responsive but also does a fair amount of sleeping.

here is a link to the photos of our unnamed baby!
"our puppy pics"


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Awwww baby looks like a little 5 week old! Sorry to hear about the typical breeding conditions and the condition you found this little pup in. I'm sure you'll get good advice on what to feed as well as health care for such a youngling. She looks adorable. 

Thank you for saving her and welcome to the board. Please continue posting update photos.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

That pic looks sort of what my puppy's litter looked like around 4 weeks. I could not hold Nikon in my hands like that when I got him for good and he was a few days shy of 8 weeks.

Me holding a 4 week old puppy









Me holding a 7 week old puppy (notice my arms flexing, haha! and he was the "smaller" male but the parents are within standard size)


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## GranvilleGSD (Mar 28, 2007)

Cute little girl, looks like she is only 4-5 weeks old to me. Do they have dog food where you are at? Milk, bread, and ham are not good nutrition for a growing puppy.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I would say in the 4 week range too. It is probably easier to judge by the way she ACTS rather than her size, especially if she could be a mix.


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## smason (Dec 23, 2008)

i can find dog food for sure....
i assume it would be dog food softened up in milk or water correct?
how much do you recommend in a serving?

this is the first day i have this puppy, so i can definitely get it on a proper diet soon!

i have had many dogs, but none this young! 
out of curiosity, can you tell me what typical actions a 4-5wk old pup would have?

thanks to all!


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Goat's milk, not cow's milk


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## smason (Dec 23, 2008)

goat milk is not readily available here....actually not sure if i can even find it!


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## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: seani have had many dogs, but none this young!
> out of curiosity, can you tell me what typical actions a 4-5wk old pup would have?


Here is a link describing different development stages during a puppy's first year or so. This is a guide and the days can vary some. 

Puppy development stages 

Good Luck and thank you for taking this puppy in.


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## smason (Dec 23, 2008)

i so appreciate everyone's help.

next question: what is a proper diet for the puppy?


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Do they have decent dog food there? Can you find out the ingredients? If it's not good food you could do just as well making your own food. One of my foster pups had a serious medical condition and I made his food for him. He did great on it and it wasn't that hard to do. 

You could also start him on raw food if that's something you want to look into. There is a raw feeding section on this board.


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## smason (Dec 23, 2008)

from what i have seen the dry dog food here is of poor quality and most the ingredients are in a language i dont read. i have seen Pedigree....but advise me if my thinking is wrong that its a cheap one as well? what about eukanuba?


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## smason (Dec 23, 2008)

this puppy of unknown age also has eyes than run. even this morning on one eye i saw what appeared to be more white substance (puss (sp?) looking)....any thoughts or ideas?

vets here are very hard to rely on.


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## Fafhrd (Dec 3, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: seangoat milk is not readily available here....actually not sure if i can even find it!


I'm no expert, but I've given ordinary cow's milk to young puppies (6 1/2 weeks) with no problems that I noticed. I have also moistened their food with low-salt chicken broth but, again, I'm no expert.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Cow's milk is not recommended for dogs. They have trouble digesting it.


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## smason (Dec 23, 2008)

does this pup need milk at all? if goat milk is not available (which it is NOT, they do not use goat's milk here in albania for drinking and i have yet to track down a shepherd to find out if i can get it.), need i worry about it getting milk at all?


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## Fafhrd (Dec 3, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: seandoes this pup need milk at all?


Probably not, but they sure seem to love it. As the previous poster pointed out, some dogs can't digest cow's milk well, though the three GSD pups I have owned had no trouble with it.

Have you tried giving your puppy eggs? My puppies have all liked both scrambled and hard boiled.


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## smason (Dec 23, 2008)

our puppy has semi-loose poop. i have stopped giving it any milk (cow's) to determine if the milk was what was giving it the loose bm's. the amount of milk i was giving it was very little, usually just to wet the kibble or food i was feeding her.

when people say that cow's milk is hard to digest, does that mean that it usually gives them diarrhea or some other syptom?


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: seanwhen people say that cow's milk is hard to digest, does that mean that it usually gives them diarrhea...


Yep!


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## lcht2 (Jan 8, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: sean
> yesterday i responded to an add in the paper for 45 day old german shepherd puppies.


that would make the pup a little over 6 weeks..

but by the looks of the pic the pup could be around 5 weeks


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