How often should I feed a six week old puppy (Maltese Shitzu)?
A pup this small should be fed small amounts 5-6 times a day. That’s what mom would be doing. At about 8 weeks you come down to 4 feedings a day and keep at that level until the pup is at least 4 months old. Then to three feedings for another 2 months. At 6 months, you can drop to twice a day. I’m concerned that a 6 week old is away from mom and litter mates. You’re in a bad position as you can’t socialize the pup with other dogs (reduce immunity, away from mom’s milk and too early for shots) and she dosen’t have brothers and sisters to learn from. Also she’s at higher risk for parvo & distemper, as she is away from mom’s milk. I truely hope that all works out well, but this start is not the best for a young dog. As soon as she gets her third set of shots (16 weeks) get her out to socialize her and work every day on it. Many behavior problems start with a young pup removed too early from the litter.
Ideally, you wouldn’t have a six week old puppy in the first place; removing a puppy from their mother and litter any earlier than eight weeks at the least means they miss out on learning valuable inter-canine social skills. Ideally, you should take your puppy back to where you get him or her for another fortnight. You should be breaking your pup’s food up into three or four meals a day; the breeder, had they been any good, should have told you both this and what their rotuine was. You can then reduce down to two meals a day or free-feeding from about 5 months of age or so. Contact your vet for more advice and help.
Feed it 3 times a day, every 8 hours. This way there is always food in the stomach which will stop ulcers from developing. Once it is about 1 year old and it is eating more at a time switch to adult food and cut it to 2 feedings a day. Gradually lower the amount fed in the middle feeding and split that between the 2 other feedings until the “lunch” is cut out.
