Free information on the best way to wean puppies
Weaning Puppies The Right Way
Weaning is an important part of puppy care. Whether the puppies are being
cared for by their canine mother or are being orphan raised, the method and
timing of weaning can have lifelong effects on the babies. Learning how to
wean can help the puppy develop emotionally and socially.
Timing is Everything
About 3 weeks after birth, the mother dog normally begins to evade the
puppies and discourages nursing. At this time, the puppies also naturally
begin to show a decline in the length of time they nurse. More of their time
is spent exploring their new world.
At this point, it is time to start offering food for the puppies to sample.
Even if the puppies are being orphan raised, begin offering food around 3
weeks of age. At this point, increased gentle human handling can improve the
puppy’s physical and social development, and make them more accepting of
people.
Feeding
At around 3 weeks of age, begin offering food to the puppies. Offer the
puppies small amounts of soft food in a shallow dish.
(You can soften food by placing it in a microwave for a few seconds with a
glass of water)
Up to this point, the puppies have been suckling to get their nourishment.
Now, they need to learn to open their mouths and bite to get food into their
mouths to be swallowed. Learning to do this results in some messy feeding
times.
Puppies will typically walk and fall in the food dish. They may even try to
nurse on the food, resulting in some pretty messy pups. Eventually, they learn
normal eating behavior. Some people will place the food on a cookie sheet and
place it in the bathtub and let the puppies learn. This allows for easy clean
up.
Offer the food several times a day for about 30 minutes at a time. When the
puppies no longer seem interested in the food, clean them up and put them back
with their mother. During this time, allow the mother increasing time away
from the babies.
For some mothers, you may have to be persistent. Some mothers and some
babies may not wean properly. Mothers that do not begin to push away their
puppies by 4 weeks of age will need help. Weaning should progress slowly, to
reduce the incidence of anxiety and mammary gland inflammation in the mother.
Several times a day, remove the babies for 1 to 2 hours at a time. Food
should only be offered for short periods of time but keeping the babies
separate from the mother can encourage natural weaning. As the puppies age,
more time should be spent away from the mother until finally, the puppies are
on their own.
By the time the puppies are around 8 weeks of age, they should be eating
solid food and no longer nursing. At this tender age, pups are ready for their
new homes and life without their mother
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