I start offering food at 4 weeks. Since your mom had such a big litter, there's not a problem with trying a little sooner, but don't be surprised if you have more on the puppies than in them! I choose the dry puppy food I will be using and put it in a blender and turn it into powder. I then mix the powder with water and a small amount of moist (canned) food. It should be of a consistency that they lap up and doesn't require chewing. I feed at least 3x a day, usually 4x. As they grow I slowly reduce the moisture and leave out a small sized dry doog food in it's orginal form. My goal is to have them eating plain dry dog food by 3 months or less.
They make special feeding bowls for litters. They have a hump in the middle so it keeps the food to the edge of the bowl and prevents the puppies from walking through it and sitting in it. It's really makes feeding time much easier and cleaner. |