All about WEANING....help! Bella's puppies are 4 weeks old as of yesteday (1-6-08) and getting their teeth in. When should i begin to wean them? what should i feed them moist food and how much milk or milk replacer should they get? Any help and advice would be much appreciated! Thanks |
This is how I wean my pups and it works beautifully. Get a good quality dry dog food (I use Canidae, Chicken Soup or Solid Gold Wee Bits), grind the dry food in a blender until it is well ground (like corn meal)(I grind up several cups and keep unused part in a airtight container). Just set a small bowl of this dry food in the pen with the puppies along with a small bowl of water. In a very short time the pups should start eating the food. I leave it down all the time but just put out fresh food everyday. When the pups are 5 weeks old I take a small amount of canned Pedigree Lamb and Rice and add it to some of the ground dry food, mix well. I put a small plate of this out in the morning and again in the evening. I still leave the dry food down also because some just prefer the dry food. As the puppies get old you will not need to grind the food a much. Now the mom may eat some of this food but that is o.k.; she will be teaching the babies how to eat out of a bowl. Using this method I have never had to supplement with milk formula. Most moms will still want to nurse their babies some but as the puppies eat more solid food they will not be nursing as much and the moms will slowly dry up. You do need to watch for constipation when the puppies are doing the transition to solid food. You can add a little Karo syrup to their water if necessary. |
let the moms determine when its time to wean you will find the pups will start rooting in moms food, thats the time to begin introducing soft food to them...its best to let them learn to eat on their own while theyre still nursing. good luck with them, watch them closely, weaning is a time the smaller ones can easily go down. |
I completely agree with Kimberly. It's not uncommon for my puppies to still be nursing at 8 - 10 weeks of age. That's the best nourishment they can possibly receive. |
I totally agree that the mom should be allowed to nurse their pups during the weaning process. However, I feel strongly, that the weaning process should begin when the pups are 4 to 5 weeks old. This means just having some food available for them to eat if they want it. I don't allow my young pups to eat moms food because of the choking hazard for tiny pups. Also, after the pups are over 3 weeks old you have a greater risk for eclampsia. Be sure to continue supplementing the mom with calcium until the pups are weaned. |
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