Hi- I have my first chi that is now 8 months old. I haven't bred any
litters of chis, but have been a breeder/exhibitor of another breed
for some time and would like to pass on my puppy experiences.
The mother may growl and nip at the puppies increasingly now that
they are being weaned. Unless, she is picking them up in her teeth
and shaking them, she is very unlikely to harm them. The activity
you see is important to the puppies socialization and should be
allowed. It is how puppies learn proper pack behavior.
As for feeding,I used ground Iams puppy dry food mixed with water.
They are good about stopping if they are full. Once thay are weaned,
I feed four times a day until they are three months old. I feed
three times a day till six months when I go to two. A high protein
diet is important right now. Do not waste their calories on a food
that has corn, or wheat (gluten) as its first ingredient. If their
weight is poor, I mix goat's milk with the dry. Do not use any cow's
milk, though.
My vet highly recommended using half doses of vaccine for their
shots. The regular dose shots are for dogs much larger than the
average chi. I worm four times before they are sixteen weeks. Worm
them on the weeks when they are not scheduled for shots to minimize
the toxicity levels and reduce the chance of a vaccine reaction.
Worming is done at 7, 9, 11 and thirteen weeks. Rabies shots are at
six months. Same with heartworm preventative. I do a parvo only shot
at six weeks before I begin their multi shot at eight weeks. Ask
your vet to skip the lepto vaccine because of its high reaction rate.
I hope some of this helps. Puppies are cute, but a lot of work. Good
luck.
Cynthia
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