Abby: When should I start feeding my puppies actual puppy food and not mothers milk?
I have 7 puppies who are now about 2 1/2 weeks old still feeding off their mother. When should I start feeding then puppy chow and how should I start giving it to them?
Answers and Views:
Answer by Bill
8 weeks. But double check with your vet.
mabye 6 weeks from now, but make sure to check with ur puppys and take them to a vetAnswer by Sandy
At 7 weeks, let them have a little of both mother’s milk if she lets them and puppy chow. At 8 switch them to only puppy chow.Answer by JenVT
At 4 weeks start them on mash which is puppy kibble soaked in either milk replacement or water.Answer by tonywolfpg
7 weeks from their birth make sure small kibble or soft foodAnswer by Animal Artwork
A responsible breeder knows that you can start feeding puppymush (high quality puppy food blenderized with water or puppy formula) between 3-4 weeks of age. You offer it to them in a shallow pan 4 times a day and let them eat as much as they want – you MUST remain with them to make sure none of them choke on it or do a faceplant into it and suffocate. You may need to offer it to them on your fingers until they get the idea. Let the dam clean up after them.
Allow the dam to determine her own weaning schedule.
Why did you breed if you do not know this very BASIC information? Why have you not discussed this with your vet or your mentor?
Answer by sheltiemomThe total lack of knowledge here is astounding!
Jen is the only one who has a clue what she’s talking about.
When the puppies around 3 – 4 weeks old they will start getting teeth and Mom will be a lot less enthusiastic about feeding them. She will let them nurse, but they can start being introduced to puppy gruel. I take condensed milk (canned goat milk is good) and puppy food, put it in the blender and make a soupy gruel. I then heat it up slightly so that it’s room/body temperature.
It’s best if you have one of those puppy pans that is raised in the middle so the food doesn’t end up in the middle of the pan, but you can actually use a pie pan or cake pan in a pinch. I take two or 3 of the puppies and plunk them right down in the middle of the food. (These are small puppies — probably wouldn’t work with a lab or St. Bernard!). They will start licking the food off of themselves and each other and in the process discover that this stuff isn’t half bad. You only have to do this once or twice and they’ll get the idea what the food is all about.
BTW, when you introduce the puppies to food, Mom will quit cleaning up their messes, so your work will increase — you will have to keep the puppy pen clean instead of Mom.
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