[tammys]

Originally Posted by bjh

I just give my pups the ground dry food during the weaning process but my mommas always like to nurse their babies until they are 8 weeks or older. I feel that it is important that you continue to make sure the pups nurse from their momma at least 4 times a day. How is her milk supply? You can take a little canned Pedigree Lamb and Rice puppy food and mix it with the ground up puppy food so it is just moist and crumbly. Some people might suggest you offer them some puppy formula also. It is just best when the weaning process is slow. It is less stressful on the pups that way.

The bowls I use are not very deep so it is easy for the pups to just walk up to them and eat and drink. When the pups get older then the fun begins because some of them learn how to flip the bowls over but that does not usually happen until the pups are quite a bit older.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been trying to find out how many times/day they should be nursing, and most people just tell me the mama nurses them when she's with them. But, since ours runs away from her kids, I can't follow that advice. We put her in with them b/w 5 and 6 times a day, so I think we're good.

I absolutely agree about the slow weaning process. Don't even ask me how long I nurse my kids; so I totally agree about doing it slowly. Her milk supply is good right now - definitely slowing down though, which I know is normal.

I plan on getting the canned food, so I'll mix it in with the ground food, and since they don't have teeth yet, I'll add in a little formula for the next few days.

You should have seen our kitchen floor when our rotty puppies were learning to eat. It was a mess, they were covered in it, we were covered in it! Good memories - and oh, so different than these little ones!

Thanks again for your help!