first dog lab/pit puppy 6 weeks female what food should i feed it?

Feed a good large breed puppy food. Something that is easy to get, but good quality. Royal Canin is what our vets feed their personal dogs. You would switch foods when your vet recommends. The food companies say at one year of age, but some dogs get too fat around 8 months of age and have to go on regular adult food. At 6 weeks, it is time for your puppy's first exam by a vet, where your dog will have the first distemper shot, plus fecal check. You should be given lots of things to read about the health and training of your new friend.

I hope this was a dumped puppy or the mother died and the good-for-nothing owner was getting rid of the litter, because removing a puppy this young from its mother is poor husbandry, damaging to the mental and physical health of the puppies, and is illegal in many states.

First, make an appointment with a veterinarian.

Second, choose a high quality food by going to a pet supply or feed store and reading the labels. Remember “high five” or “give me five” as you read. The first five ingredients should be meats and vegetables and grains (unless your dog is itchy or chews himself, then go to a grain-free food). The very first ingredient is a meat. A second meat in the top five is very good. (Thanks to The Whole Dog Journal.)

NOT in the top five ingredients is any by-product, corn, wheat, or soy. A by-product is usually very low quality, such as chicken by-products are the feet, beak, and feathers. Not much nutrition there! Corn, wheat, and soy are cheap fillers and not easily metabolized by the dog.

Use the package feeding guidelines to measure the daily amount of food for your dog’s weight. Divide that measured amount into separate meals. Puppies up to 10 or 12 weeks need four meals per day. Older puppies need three meals per day until they are adolescents and stop growing taller. Then the adult dogs can be fed in two meals per day for life.

At each meal, put the measured amount of food in his dish and add a spoonful or two of warm water to enhance the aroma. Call the dog over and let him eat. In fifteen minutes or when he has cleaned the dish, whichever comes first, take up the dish. He gets no other treats or snacks until the next meal. Training treats can be pieces of his regular kibble.

There are a FEW states that have laws making the SELLING of dogs younger than 8 weeks illegal. These laws were pushed through by people with no concept of canine behavior. For the best dog, they MUST be removed from the mother no later than 6 weeks. As long as they are not going to be around other dogs, there is no reason not to rehome them at that point, since they NEEEEED to be away from the mother anyway. The majority of these bogus laws either include exemptions, OR, are simply written to ensure that commercial breeders are not shipping dogs across state lines prior to getting one shot series and worming. These laws have nothing to do with "staying with mom & litter" for any reason whatsoever.

Feed 3 times a day. Dry puppy (or ALL STAGES) food. Without seeing the dog, and being aware of it's activity level, trying to guess an accurate amount would be foolish. Use whatever the bag says as a simple guideline. Do NOT be in a hurry to make the dog gain weight.

And for the billionth time....it is NOT illegal to take a dog from mommy before 8 weeks. It is illegal to SHIP PUPPIES VIA AIRLINE prior to 8 weeks...and illegal to cross state lines without a health certificate. It IS absolutely imperative that it IS taken from the mother no later than SIX weeks. And no later than SEVEN weeks away from the rest of the litter.

I suggest, that you feed the pup, whatever he is currently being fed. I also suggest you not take the pup home until it's 8 weeks old. If your in the USA, pups can not be taken from their mom until 8 weeks, by law.

So, it will be stressful enough on the pup to be taken away from it's mother and siblings and into a new place with new people. This alone may give him some diarrhea. You don't want to put the added stress of changing foods too.

Lastly, before you even bring the puppy home, make sure your first stop is the vet, so the pup can have a clean bill of health.

Oh lovely. Another horrible bred backyard breeder puppy.

WTF were you thinking buying a backyard breeder mutt at only SIX weeks old? It should have stayed with the mother dog and siblings till at LEAST EIGHT weeks old.

Why on earth would you buy a mutt puppy? Clearly you couldn't have adopted it as it's illegal for shelters to adopt out puppies younger than eight weeks.

Feed it a quality food made with real meat and grain free. Go to Petco or PetSmart not WalMart or the grocery store.

But get it to a vet IMMEDIATELY. Horrible backyard breeders like the one you bought your mutt from don't give a crap about the health of their animals. You very lucky just bought a puppy with Parvo that could be DEAD in just a few weeks.

Your puppy was really too young to leave its family. It should be with its siblings getting socialized so as to better be part of a human family. Feed a good quality food with real meat and no animal byproducts and no grains. Amount depends on size (weight) of puppy and there should be information on the food package regarding the amount--be aware though that these amounts can be over-estimated..

Food should be lightly moistened for easier chewing at first. Switch foods gradually to lessen the chance of stomach upset. Now is the time to start puppy obedience classes too . Figure on 3 or more sets of classes too, and it is really a lifelong process for both of you.

You should be taking this puppy back to the crappie backyard breeder. NO puppy should be taken home before 8 weeks old and a pit mix will likely have temperament/social problems. Research what you feed puppies.

I recommend NutriSource Puppy Kibble. It's a little spendy, but it is very good quality food

Illegal to sell pup before eight weeks take it back, then take it and a fresh fecal specimen to a vet within forty eight hours of getting it, then feed it properly:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e224/GLLNTKNIGHT...

why are you doing research about this after you already have the dog? thats horribly irresponsible. ask your vet. that is what they are there for