The best milk replacer for newborn puppies and kittens
What to feed a newborn puppy? How can you find the best milk replacer for puppies?
The best milk replacer for newborn puppies and kittens
If you’re animal-crazy like me, chances are at some point in your life, you’ve found a baby kitten or puppy in need of care. (If you haven’t yet, don’t worry you will.) Young animals like puppies and kittens have different nutritional requirements than their adult versions and therefore require different types of food.
If you follow my puppy training or dog training recommendations, you already know I’m a huge fan of giving goat milk to my own full-grown pets.
Why do I feed goat’s milk to my dogs? Because of its many health benefits. It helps create ‘good’ gut bacteria for overall well-being, including decreasing inflammation and reducing allergy symptoms. Goat milk is a good hydrator and its many nutrients – including calcium, potassium, fatty acids and protein – have a high degree of bioavailability. That means that your dogs (or cat) will be able to absorb and use these nutrients.
For young dogs and puppies, it’s a great booster for their immune system and bones as they grow and what’s especially great is that all dogs love goat milk. It’s a nutritional aid that goes down like a treat.
For newborn kittens and puppies, goat milk is even more important than just good nutrition. It can be life-saving. Very young animals – which often find their way into rescues and shelters. So for those of you that work in rescue or have rescued or adopted newborns, this section is for you. If you’re not a rescuer yourself but like to support rescues and shelters with donations, this is also for you because a good milk replacer is something a rescue or shelter should always have on hand.
And if you’re not in the rescue world at all but you’re a breeder, you’ll probably find yourself in need of a milk replacer at some point in time.
Why do you need a milk replacer for puppies and kittens?
Even in the best of situations with the most responsible breeder, you’ll encounter milk and lactation issues. A puppy or kitten will refuse their mother’s milk. Or the mother won’t produce enough milk. Or the litter will be too large for the mother to support. In rescue situations, the mother might be in poor health or not be present at all. This is when goat milk can help until the youngsters are old enough for solid food.
Why TailSpring goats milk?
There are a number of brand of goats milk for dogs out there. How do you arrive at what’s best for the very youngest of pets? With my own dogs, I do a deep dive into the nutrients.
Tailspring’s milk replacer is made to match the mother’s milk for that specific species – i.e. don’t feed the cat one to your dog. Cats and dogs have different metabolisms and different needs. Kittens need more protein, puppies need more fat (and that’s the same with adults, too).
When feeding anything to my dog I look for the least amount of extra additives, This is where TailSpring shines. It has fewer ingredients (17 total, no fillers) than the other brands. With babies so young and tiny, it’s really important we aren’t adding things to their meals that they simply don’t need and don’t benefit their growth. TailSpring is also the only human-grade goat milk replacer on the market so if you’re feeling adventurous, you can slurp it up too – our friend Larry Kay from PositivelyWoof did just that, Larry said, “I like it. It has a clean taste and is mildly sweet (No added sugar; that’s the natural taste).”
A research study showed that kittens and puppies on TailSpring had less incidents of diarrhea and other accidents than with other milk replacer. I think everyone will agree this is very good news.
How did TailSpring develop such a great milk replacer? Two important factors played a part in this. First, Tailspring consulted for over two years with a neonatal pet nutritionist with 30+ years of experience in the milk replaced industry as well as a Ph.D in animal nutritional sciences. Second, TailSpring partners with industry-leader Meyenberg to make their goat milk. Mehenberg is the US’s leading producer of goat milk products with over 85 years experience. They know their goat milk.
Goat Milk for Puppies
milk replacer for puppies
Milk replacer for kittens
Milk replacer for kittens
Goat milk for adult dogs
Can adult dogs have goat milk?
Yes but not as a milk replacer. TailSpring’s milk replacer is specifically for kittens and puppies under 8 weeks of age. When an animal is older than that, they will have trouble digesting lactose. Lactose intolerance – like humans have – happens when you no longer produce the enzyme needed to digest lactose. (Lactose intolerance is an enzyme deficiency, not an allergy.) This happens to dogs at approximately 8 weeks of age. If you are feeding an older puppy or dog, look for a version of goat milk formulated for adult dogs to get all the benefits (I give it to mine quite often).
That said, you’ll see on the back of the TailSpring container that you can use it as a small meal topper for adult animals although you shouldn’t be feeding it regularly. Currently, TailSpring doesn’t make an adult animal goat milk but I’ve got my fingers crossed that they’ll start soon.
Goat milk is great stuff and we all want the very best for our pets.
