UKC Forums - How does everybody wean their pups ?

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Posted by jawscardodger on 12-08-2018 02:12 PM:

How does everybody wean their pups ?

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Posted by shadinc on 12-08-2018 04:05 PM:

I like to let their mom wean them. When they start getting teeth and sharp toenails she'll wean them. I think it's a valuable part of a pups education.

Posted by Bill(Chew) on 12-08-2018 05:20 PM:

I start a milk and puppy food mix at 2 weeks old. At 4/5 weeks I also introduce dry puppy food. At six weeks I remove the female, keep dry puppy food available at all times, and continue the milk and puppy food mix for about two more weeks.

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Posted by Redneck Mafia on 12-09-2018 09:32 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by shadinc
I like to let their mom wean them. When they start getting teeth and sharp toenails she'll wean them. I think it's a valuable part of a pups education.

Give the dam a way to get away from the pups when she chooses and she will begin to wean them on her own gradually at the right time. Puppies cries and paws help to stimulate her milk production which is why it is important to give her a space she can get away to, even a platform she can lay on that they can't reach or a dog house with a flatter roof she can jump on. Her bag will tighten up faster after pups are fully weaned than if just cut off cold Turkey all at once. Pups also learn their first lessons in discipline during this process from their mothers. Milk production is increased with increased nursing and decreased as pups nurse less. Milk also changes with the stages of the nursing cycle from colostrum in the beginning to peak levels of fat and vitamin levels then tapering back off for changing nutritional needs. Mom always knows best don't fully wean to early. The dam will typically start her natural weaning process around 3-4 weeks old and will complete it around 7-8 weeks. Too many think when she starts trying to avoid her pups at the beginning she is ready for them to be fully weaned and pull their pups off at 4-5 weeks. In reality it is all part of the process of her changing nutritional needs and milk production that will naturally happen with her body. Most in the hound world pull the pups from the dam around 6 wks of age instead of waiting the extra week or 2 in which she would have weaned them fully herself.
You can start on a mash made from a good quality puppy food around 3 weeks. I recommend soften/soaking iwith is goat's milk. From this time on also keep fresh water available to the pups. You will notice when they are successful at eating dry dog food by raiding mom's feed.
Don't forget that she will also need an increased amount of calories while nursing. The earliest portion of this time beef liver and cottage cheese are great supplements to her diet and even feeding her the same puppy food you will feed them will help her to conserve her own bodies reserves of bone, fat and muscle mass rather than depleting it because her nutritional needs were not met while producing milk for her pups.

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