Wolf/Hyprid Pup! 6weeks-still nursing- what to substitute in place of mom?

[autumnleaf101588]

Hello! I am planning to pick up my wolf/hybrid 6week pup today! he is still nursing. what can i do to make him more comfortable while away from mom? the breeders suggest i give him goats milk in a bottle.

[ginger899]

Yes, wolves have a whole different way of relating and communicating than a domestic dog. Often they will completely ignore commands and vocalizations that a dog would readily respond to. They will never lose their wildness. It is up to you to learn what that wildness is, and like Ghilly said, keep your pup in no doubt -ever- of who is in command in your household.

That of course, does not mean you ever need to be harsh. Wolves are incredibly intelligent Beings, and capable of deep connections and relationships. But a real understanding of the wolf pack, and law in the wolf pack is vitally important for you to learn.
This also applies to dogs, though they are more malleable, and more "eager to please".
You will find, if you bring up that pup in the right way, that you have a bond like no other you have ever known. But equally you may find -if you make important mistakes- you have a handful of unresponsive trouble that weighs 150 lbs, and ignores "sit"/ "stay" /"no" /word-commands, or any other human/dog rules.

But good luck to you and your new pup. Real love conquers all....

[Ghilly]

The most important thing to remember with a wolf hybrid is that you MUST establish dominance very early on, no matter how docile he may seem.  As Ginger said, you never know how much of which gene pool he will have inherited, and even if he is phenotypically mostly dog, meaning even if he LOOKS more like a dog than a wolf, he could still be genotypically more wolf, meaning he might have more of the psychological makeup of the wolf.  You can never totally relax and turn yourself off around them the way you can with a totally domestic dog.  

Ghilly

[ginger899]

Even a wild wolf will have semi-weaned the pup usually by 6 weeks. It would probably still nurse from time to time, but the mother wolf would be encouraging it to start eating meat around 4-5 weeks old.

Wolf/Dog hybrids can be unpredictable for the fact that it does depend which gene pool they mostly inherit from. So a wolf-dog can be 50-50 wolf and dog, or it can be more wolf, or more dog genetically speaking.

But even a dog-pup would be starting to be weaned by now.

Normally, in the wild, a wolf pup would start eating semi-digested meat regurgitated by is mother. The stomach enzymes of the mother would break down the meat to a certain extent, and make it more digestible for her pup.
So I suggest you start by feeding well cooked meat at first (lean meat or fish) and maybe give a bottle feed 2 or 3 times a day as well, starting to tail that off in the next few weeks, and introduce water as a drink. (Maybe you could mix milk with water at first, then thin it down more so it becomes just water.)
Goat's milk is far better than cow's milk, but dogs can develop lactose-intolerance which can result in upset tummies and diarrhea.

B-i-t-c-h's milk is particularly rich and contains (obviously) nutrients a canine needs....as opposed to milk from another animal, which provides what the young of that particular animal need.
I THINK goat's milk will be OK.....but I'm not an expert at rearing pups! So please do seek the advice of your vet. I am sure what milk feed (if any) they suggest would be suitable for a dog pup will also be suitable for a wolf-dog hybrid.