I am different than most. Since I keep pups until they are 12 - 14 weeks and since my pups have run of the house, I let the mother's wean the pups. At about 6 weeks they quit nursing as much, at 8 weeks they start nipping at the pups when they don't want to nurse them and it progresses until the pups are usually completely weaned around 12 weeks. Moms dry up naturally and pups lose intrerest naturally.
With that said, if ever one of my mom's showed signs of distress or needed help then I would step in and "wean the pups" by removing mom from them.
One of the greatest benefits of weaning this way is that the pups start learning discipline - a lesson that will carry through the rest of their lives. I firmly believe that the disciplin they learn from their moms between 8 and 12 weeks helps them accept discipline from humans with a better understanding. |