4 week old chi pup hasn't eaten in 5 hours

by lindsey

i got an orphaned 4 week old chihuahua puppy yesterday....he has been eating gruel every 4 hours its now 3am and time for another feed and he's just not interested! he went potty and right back to sleep...i tested to see he was dehydrated but he's fine and hes not acting weak...what should i do???




Hi Lindsey
At 4 weeks old, your puppy doesn't really need to eat every 4 hours around the clock. He's probably quite capable of sleeping from his last meal in the evening (maybe around 9pm) right through to breakfast (around 8am).

Young puppies don't just need lots of food, they need lots of sleep too, and it's likely he just wants to sleep at 3am. I wouldn't worry about this too much as long as he eats/drinks well otherwise and seems healthy and happy.

He's ready to be eating dry puppy food (soaked in warm water for 10 mins or so before eating to begin with) and lapping water.

You may find my New Born Puppies and Puppy Development pages helpful.

Best of luck with your puppy.