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Weanning Puppies OK, I got through the first 3 weeks!!!! Yippie!!!!!:D:D:D I heard that you should start to wean the puppies at 3 weeks old. Is this true? How do I go about it? |
Hi there, I personally would not begin to wean them for at least another 3 weeks. Mom has so much nutrients to give, and the transition can be hard. I would say around week 5 you can start offering puppy gruel, however I would not before 5 weeks. However this is JMHO puppy gruel is puppy food hard softened in hot water mashed some canned puppy food I add a bit of the Esbliac mix together to a soupy consitency, and slowly thicken over sevral days until they are on hard food that has been softened. With canned only added a few times a week. I do the transition slowly though |
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. |
I learned something new thank you chattiesmom I did not know that, I have always tryed o wean mine at 4 weeks so I will let them nusre much longer from now on. Graet pots Thanks Denise:) |
I totally agree with Chattiesmom, the weaning process should be slow but I do introduce mine to ground up dry food at around 4 weeks, as soon as the puppies are able to start walking. I put Chicken Soup dry puppy food in a blender and grind it until it is very fine. I put this ground dry food in a bowl in the x-pen with the pups along with a bowl of water. The puppies will go over and start licking the dry food. As the puppies get older they will start eating more and more of the dry food and mom will slowly dry up. Usually by 8 weeks the pups are nursing very little. All my moms have always had plenty of milk so I never felt it was necessary to make the mush. Some breeder prefer to wean them on mush. Either method will work but I have found the dry food method works best for me and it is a lot less messy. I let the mom continue to nurse the pups pretty much as long as she wants. |
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Thank you so very much for filling what I neglected to mention. As soon as eyes are open and the pups are up on their feet I introduce ground puppy food mixed with water (I feed Nutro Ultra Puppy Food). I have found that the pups quickly prefer the whole kibble softened with water and as soon as they have a few teeth they would much rather munch on dry kibble throughout the day. OH OH I have learned a new trick! And I will try it out with the very next litter when ever that is. I have never thought of serving the ground up kibble dry. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! |
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?? I feed bil-jac my vet says it is a good food has been around a long time but it does have molasses in it witch is not good for my adults teeth, I free feed so everyone eats out of the same bowls, What food do you guys use? I would like to at least mix something in with the bil-jac, would like your feed back n this. Thanks Denise:) |
nutra? Where can I find this food? I have a petco and a petsmart, or do you order it on line, Don't meanto sound Dumb, But would like to try it. Thanks Denise |
Thanks for your help and words of wisdom. But since the Mom isn't producing enough milk and has now started to limit her time with the pups, I started the weaing process yesterday. I am still bottle feeding them but also feeding them a gruel of soft food and water. They go crazy eating it up. So far they seem to be adjusting well. This may have not been the ideal way, but it's what I have to do. The whole whelping process has all been anything other than normal for my pups. But as long as they are doing good and healthy, I am happy. Thanks again |
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When the puppies start to show interest in moms food then I start mixing up some puppy milk, baby rice cereal with a little karo in it on a plate for them. As they progress add more baby rice cereal to thicken the puppy food. After about a week or so I start adding in ground up dry puppy kibble to the mixture. When they get more teeth I start adding in the puppy kibble(unground) and taking the milk away making sure they have water in a bowl. If they get stubborn about eating the dry puppy kibble I gave them ceasars and cottage cheese mixed together. I like to add a small amt. of karo to their last meal before bedtime even though they always have dry kibble to eat. |
;)Thanks for all the imfor good post you guys, have a great weekend everyone |
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