Sorry i cant offer any advice on the hand rearing front but it sounds like Lucky is coming along well what a lucky boy to have found you Eileen, and Im sure he will provide you with years of love and laughter in return

I am so excited to see some pictures of him

All the best xx

Im so glad Lucky is doing well now ,was teary eyed reading about him but great news and well done

HI Rune,
I'm afraid that is not an option.You should see the state of her.We had talked about trying to catch her months ago and taking her to a vet to be put down.We then found out in the last couple of weeks she is owned by a Portugese man who lives 5 km away,he drives over(when he feels like it)and I have heard he leaves some food!!! She has mange,an ulcer on her rump,fleas,ticks,she's deaf.I have done all I can for her but it's not enough.I think we would have tried to catch her if we had not been warned off by a neighbour.She has taken the man to court time and time again over the last 20 years re the treatment of the dogs and other issues.He is a very nasty individual and has no regards to his animals health.The last thing I want him to know is that I think this could be her pup.I know he would take him and put him on the waste land with the rest of them.I wish I could send you some photo's.I have a very disturbing photo of a dead dog that to my knowledge has been up there for weeks and is still there plus 2 dead puppies. As much as I love dogs and would love to help her more than I have managed so far,this pup has to be the main concern.At least some good may come out of all the puppies I think she has had over the years.You should see her tummy,it hangs on the floor with teats dragging along the floor.We arrived here in March and she had just had a litter so this is the second lot this year.I know she was hanging around in the same state last year as well.I have managed to get a little trust from her and she loves me to stroke her but restraining her would also be difficult.Love the thought of this pup having her real mum,more sleep for us but it can't happen.The other problem is that she climbs,our fence has been repaired from the dogs getting under it so now she climbs it.Today she was covered in a blue flower,I walked the garden to try to find out why she was covered in it.She had climbed over our neighbours wire fence and then fallen into a large shrub.If she keeps doing that and hurts herself I will have to take her to the vets.I know the owner will not want to look after her if she breaks a leg so she will end up being put down anyway.The other problem is that we don't know how many dogs are living wild on the hill,at least 3 to 4.Her mate(not the dad looking at him)can't get into the garden now but I'm sure he will dig another hole and they will all be back.I have to put Lucky first.If this were the UK I would have phoned the RSPCA months ago,they just don't care over here.
Maybe we could start a petition to get the law changed in Europe,about time having seen so many badly treated dogs in France,Portugal and Spain.Worth a thought!

Sat update.I think Lucky is just beginning to hear,maybe he is just a late developer,keeping our fingers crossed but shall still use hand signals as I think that's a good way to go,just incase.
Been out today and bought him a stack of new toys,shall keep swopping them around to keep him interested.
He seems to like the biscuit and meat mix,having trouble finding the dog food(tinned meat)I have enough for the next 2 weeks.Can I take him to Junior dog food at 6 weeks?Does anyone know the difference between the first 6 week tinned food against the Junior one. He has sicked up a little over the last 3 day's,not much,but I think he may be eating a bit fast to start with. Will let you know how he progresses.
? How do you attach photo's to this site.Is it easy?I would love to show you what he looked like when iI found him against how he looks today.

No advice as never had to hand-rear, but just wanted to echo what others have said and say good on you for rescuing this poor wee mite.

Wonderful job you are doing - glad to hear he is pooing for Portugal lol Great news on the hearing front too

For posting pics, go to the your dogs pictures section and there is a sticky at the top of the topic that explains how you upload photos

Hi Anne-Marie,I'm totally useless with technical issues.Looked at how to post pic's!! Can I just put my email address on this site,I will happily send photo's from my computer via that? Believe me it took ages for me to get the hang of doing that!
Sunday.Lucky doing well,wish his eating sleeping pattern would settle a bit more.He sleeps more in the day than at night.My husband stayed up last night and fed him for me.Put him to bed at midnight,he then woke me at 3 but didn't want food till 6.I know the night is not play time I just wish someone would tell Lucky that!I guess he's still too young(not 5 weeks yet)to expect a longer night's sleep.Could someone tell me the correct ratio of Biscuit to dog food.I am giving him 1 third biscuit(softened in hot water) to 2 thirds meat. Many thanks Eileen

Update on Lucky.He's eating really well,probably too well.He tends to get hiccups and seems to have a lot of bad dreams.I guess his start in life wasn't the best.He sleeps really well in the day but night time is still not good.My husband had to go away yesterday till Thursday so I'm getting little to no sleep.I tried to weigh him yesterday,he's approx 6lbs.Can anyone tell me roughly how much biscuit and dog food I should be giving him at each meal.I also give him 40ml of milk at each feed? Should I be reducing the milk or keep going with it? He's 5 weeks old tomorrow.
Many thanks

Sorry I don't know----you and he seem to be doing really well.

Keep posting!

rune

You seem to be doing a great job with Lucky ~ but I feel so sad for the mum ~ is there anything you can do to help her ~ even just a bit of extra food when you can?

Hi Wilbar, Don't worry,mum is not being ignored.She gets a large tin of dog food every day plus a couple of pints of milk(she won't drink water).I also buy nice meaty bones for her which I slow roast and yesterday I gave her liver.I have managed to get a cod liver oil capsule into her nearly every day as well.I feel so sorry for her,but I have to keep the pup away as I don't know what the health risk would be.I'm even unsure about letting pup onto our lawn.I have taken him out when I know she is not in the garden but don't know if he could pick anything up from the grass.I do hope that I have not done the wrong thing with him.His first injection is not for another week.As soon as the gardner put's up the fence for me I will jetwash the patio area and then let Lucky have a proper walk outside.
I do have another question,he gets up in the night(after about 2 hours)to do a wee.I have a care mat in his cage(great inventions)which he uses.After that he cry's until I get him out and take him to the living room.Reading about training it sounds as if I should just leave him to cry and go back to sleep.I worry that he is too young to start training but am also unsure if this will just start bad habits.I wondered if anyone else has taken the same line and just left them to go back to sleep.I do worry. He has a favourite place in the living room which is under a coffee table(I've covered it with a towel and made a bed under it).I have thought of just taking that into the bedroom and letting him having the run of the room. He can't do too much damage as we have tiled floors.Maybe that would be better than letting him cry.Any thoughts?