kingston Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 I am taking care of a friend's female dog and puppies. The puppies are 5 weeks old. I heard the mother is suppose to stop them from breast feeding but this mother letting them continue. I can take the mother back to my friend's house but I wanted it to limit the trauma. They were separated one day and the mother was having a fit. What is the process and when should I do it? Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingston Posted December 7, 2004 Author Share Posted December 7, 2004 thanks! Ok so I should wait until the mother is ready. They are already eating solid puppy food & drinking water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileysmom Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 If they are already eating solid puppy food, jsut let mom and "nature" take their course, she will eventually wean them on her own but dont take her away from them this early, even when they dont nurse they still need her for a few more weeks to learn other things. My fosters were about 5 wks when I got them and still wanted to nurse, but at that point mom was trying to wean them and would get up and walk away - it was probably 6 - 7 wks before they were fully weaned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDG Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 please don't separate the puppies from the mother or from each other before they are at least 8 weeks old. they need this period of time to learn how to interact with other dogs and proper bite inhibition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingston Posted December 7, 2004 Author Share Posted December 7, 2004 Well there is no rush. I just want to do the right thing. I am also working on the house breaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Matty Posted December 8, 2004 Share Posted December 8, 2004 [url]http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1554&articleid=887[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Kat Posted December 8, 2004 Share Posted December 8, 2004 They really should have started being weaned onto porridge/weetabix and puppy food at the age of 4 weeks. Wean them now. Take Mum away from them and offer them a flat plate of food. They will likely walk through it to start with then get the idea. When they are finished let Mm back in with them. They should be given solids 4-6 times per day depending on what size they are. Pups will usually continue to suckle off Mum and she will soon start to get fed up and want to have her own time. Remember to cut the puppys nails with cuticle scissors as she won't tolerate them scratching her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 We start weaning Newf pups at 3 1/2 weeks of age. We take puppy food and mix with a special milk replacement specially made for pups. It Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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