A Guide to Nursing and Weaning Puppies
If you are adopting a young puppy near eight weeks of age, it's best to talk to the puppy's previous owner about when the puppy was weaned and what type of food it was weaned on. To help the puppy adjust to its new surroundings and to avoid severe digestive upset, it would help to bring the puppy home with the diet the puppy is currently eating. If you want to change the puppy's diet, wait at least one week before gradually introducing new puppy food.
Puppies will normally begin nursing within two to three hours after birth, and some puppies will start to nurse immediately after they are born. The puppies benefit the most from the mother's antibodies in the colostrum the first 16 hours after birth, and it is very important that they nurse at this time so they may gain protection from illnesses.
Puppies nurse about every two hours during their first week, by the second week they nurse about every three hours, and by the third week they are nursing only about every four hours. After the puppies nurse, the mother will lick the puppies around their genitals and anus to stimulate bowel movements and urination.
While the puppies should be removed from the mother periodically between nursing to reduce stress to the mother and injuries to the puppy, the mother should be given time after nursing to cleanse each of the puppies and help them relieve their bowels and to urinate.
Most breeders begin to wean puppies at three and one-half weeks of age. This may seem like a young age, and some people argue that it is too soon for weaning - but as long as the weaning process is carried out slowly puppies will not be harmed if they are weaned at this age. Other pet owners do not wean their puppies until they are between four to six weeks of age, and as long as the puppies are still weaned gradually they can be successfully weaned at this age as well.
There are a number of mixtures that are used to wean puppies such as baby foods and milk replacers, but most experts agree that puppies should be weaned on a blend that contains high-quality puppy food. The puppy food may either be placed in a pan of water so it will become mushy, or it can be mixed with puppy milk replacers or baby foods and then blended in a food processor.
The weaning period should take at least three to four weeks if the puppies are being weaned at a young age of three and one-half weeks. If the puppies are weaned at an older age of around six weeks old, then the weaning process should last about two weeks.
Puppies will instinctively begin to try food that their mother is interested in, and overtime they will begin to learn how to eat. During the weaning process food should never be forced upon puppies; instead, the puppies should be allowed to explore and eat the food at their own pace.
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Comments (8)
Hide Posted Comments
NUSING MOM June 21, 2009 9:36 PM
MY DOG JUST HAD PUPPIES & ONE OF HER MILK BAGS IS HARD....IS THERE ANYTHING I SHOULD DO?
Jean June 25, 2009 7:37 PM
Do we give water to our puppies when they start to eat
dog food?
ana July 26, 2009 6:55 PM
my dog just had puppys their 4days old but she doesnt want to feed anymore what should i do?
sonia August 16, 2009 7:43 AM
our boxer just had puppies 21/2 weeks ago one of her milk bags are very hard they have put her on rimadyl once daily for pain fever and inflamation cephalexin 250mg 2x a day and cephalexin 500mg 2x a day. we are doing warm compresses last night the hard duct became so swollen hard and inflamed that blood and pus started just oozing out of it uncontrollably i immediately started putting warm compresses on it cleaned it with peroxide and put neosporin on it. is there anything else i can do to help with her milk to dry up she;s very miserable..and not nursing any at all we are supplementing puppy formula by the way is very expensive..esibilac formula.. is there a shot to dry up the milk in the dog or should nature just take its long painful course? she's miserable any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated..you can 3e-mail me @cbsb86@aol.com please in the re: box put what ur responding about so that i will know to open the mail and what its for. thank you for any information you can give to me
karen September 3, 2009 12:48 AM
sonia, your dog needs to go to the vet! your dog sounds like she has a very bad infection - which can be deadly. please get her to the vet.
Mark September 21, 2009 8:53 AM
Hi, I am having the same problem with our boxer. We took her to the vet twice for meds and the second time they kept her for iv. Now her sacs split and it looks like the insides of the sac are coming out and very smelly. I called the vet yesterday and he said to put diapers on her and polysporin. No improvement as of yet and she is also miserable. I will keep you informed. My email is marklalonder@hotmail.com
Amy September 24, 2009 5:34 PM
How soon can you take a puppy from its mother? Will there be adverse effects if taken too early?
Renee October 10, 2009 12:06 PM
Amy you can start introducing wet puppy food at about 3 1/2 weeks of age, but dont expect them to eat too much. They will still need to nurse. Over the next few weeks they will become more interested in the puppy food than mom. Around 4 1/2 to 5 weeks start decreasing the water you put in the puppy food. Weaning a puppy too young can have adverse effects on the puppies health. Alot of weaning depends on the size of the breed. Toy dogs need to be older before weaning. Always ask your vet if you are not sure. Hope this helps