What you Need to Know- Weaning A Litter of Puppies

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Weaning is an exciting and joyful process- all about developing independence, learning new skills, and preparing our fur babies for their forever homes!

Here is everything you need to know to help each of your puppies (and momma dog too!) navigate the new terrain as they gradually adjust from nursing, to puppy mash, to kibble.

Nursing Puppies

Most puppies begin life nursing well and need little assistance to eat.

Occasionally, a puppy will need help to eat due to a cleft palate, mom may not produce enough milk, there could be too many puppies for mom to feed on her own, mom may need help after a C-section, a puppy could be too weak to nurse, and many other potential scenarios.

I recommend having a bottle set and a high quality formula handy in case any pup needs help at any given time. Esiblac is a great brand for puppy formula!

Puppies need to eat every 2-3 hours as newborns (between 0-3 weeks old). Many mothers will choose to stay with the puppies as often as they can. Some momma dogs may even need encouragement to take potty breaks or meal breaks away from the puppies!

Mom’s Time Frame

As puppies approach 3 weeks old, you’ll see some changes in mom’s behavior.

She will slowly give the puppies more and more time without her- starting at a few minutes at a time, and increasing until the pups can go for a few hours without seeing mom. This is the first step to weaning- the mother is teaching the puppies how to emotionally rely on others, not just her. A good mother will always spend time with her babies each day (from birth up to 12 weeks old and even beyond). The puppies don’t just need her for milk, they also need her to learn important social skills and healthy behavior.

Follow mom’s lead as to how much time she chooses to spend with her puppies. Don’t force mom to leave the babies and don’t force her to stay with them either. Never wean mom/puppies overnight- this is a slow and steady process that takes time.

Remember- mother knows best! Her instincts are usually spot on, so trust her!

A gradual adjustment of mom’s time will increase the puppies’ independence without creating attachment issues.

A New Skill: Drinking from a Bowl

Starting at 3 weeks old, begin teaching the puppies the skills they will need to eat on their own. Don’t worry, it’s easy to do!

For the first few days, offer a bowl of puppy formula 3-4 times every day. Be sure the formula is a high quality brand with high nutrition. Warm the formula to a comfortable temperature (room temperature or body temperature).

Then set the bowl into the puppy area and observe as the babies experiment to learn how to drink the formula from a bowl! The puppies will smell it, step in the formula, lick the bowl, lick the formula off of each other, and enjoy a new experience!

A few tips!

1. Offer the formula at a time when mom is not around- she might try to eat it herself.
2. Offer the formula when puppies are hungry so that they are more likely to try it. If they have just nursed, they will be too full to taste the formula.
3. Be ready for messy babies! You’ll need to clean the pups and the area more often during this phase.
4. Don’t overfeed. Start with just a little at a time, as the puppies may not eat much at the beginning. They are just experimenting, after all! Increase the amount if needed.
5. In the case of leftovers, don’t reheat previously used formula. Leftovers can be fed to mom or thrown out, but not reused later.
6. Don’t get the formula too hot- the puppies will approach the formula soon after it is placed in their area, meaning that they will experiment when it is at its hottest. It would be a major turn off to be burned by their new food source!
7. Watch the puppies’ poop. If puppies have diarrhea during the transition, it could be caused by overeating or a shock to the puppies’ system due to a new food. If this is the case, offer a little less formula and be sure to move forward slowly in the next steps of the weaning process.
8. Always feed puppies when they are warm. A cold puppy cannot digest food well.
9. Check out puppy feeding bowls with a raised center– these help keep the puppies out of the formula… at least a little.
10. It’s time to keep a bowl of water available to the puppies at all times! As they learn to drink formula, you’ll see the skill apply to drinking water too.
11. Observe the feeding time in case of aspiration. You’ll need to act quickly in this case.

Offer formula after the puppies turn 3 weeks old for 3-4 days. By the 5th day, your pups will be experts at eating out of a bowl and it’ll be time for the next step!

Introducing “Puppy Mash”: The Slow Transition to Kibble

Puppy mash is an intermediate food between formula and dry kibble. The best way to introduce it is to (you guessed it) mix those two ingredients.

The most important thing to know is this: puppy mash is not meant to stay the same. Puppy mash is meant to begin more watery and gradually become drier. It begins more finely blended and gradually contains larger pieces of puppy food. It is intended to guide puppies along between eating only formula to the skills of chewing and swallowing kibble.

If any pup seems to struggle with any given step during the weaning process, give that puppy more time before moving on to the next step.

#1: When you first make puppy mash (beginning half way through the puppies’ 3rd week of life), I recommend blending puppy food to a powder and soaking it in the same warm puppy formula that you have been feeding. The food should be a watery paste, requiring the pups to lick it up like the formula. Offer this 3-4 times per day for 2-3 days.

#2: Next step! Instead of blending the kibble to a powder, do a little less blending so that the puppy food is a little more chunky and lumpy. Soak this in warm formula until it is soft. Repeat the same process- offer this to puppies 3-4 times per day for 2-3 days. The puppies may need to chew a bit, but should be mostly licking up the food.

#3: Continuing on in the process (usually puppies are around 4 weeks old by now- give or take a couple days)…. Blend a little less. The kibble should be in small pieces but require chewing. Soak this kibble in warm puppy formula until mostly soft, but not mushy. Offer this to puppies 3-4 times per day for 2-3 days.

#4: Puppies usually reach this phase around 5 weeks of age. Use the same amount of blending (resulting in small pieces of kibble that require chewing). This time, soak the kibble in warm water instead of formula. Soak for a little less time- leaving the kibble a little harder and more chewy. The puppies will “lick” less and “chew” more. Offer to puppies 3-4 times a day for 2-3 days.

#5: Use the same amount of blending (resulting in small pieces of kibble that require chewing) but do not soak the kibble. Puppies should be chewing well and practicing for eating whole pieces of puppy kibble! Consider offering food 2-3 times per day instead of 3-4 times per day.

#6: Begin feeding puppies regular kibble! Mom may nurse to give puppies a “snack” here and there, this is totally appropriate and does not require any intervention. She’s just being a good mom. This step is usually achieved by 6 weeks of age. Puppies beyond 6 weeks of age should eat 2-3 times per day.

Remember that weaning DOES NOT mean a puppy is ready to leave mom! Mom still teaches her babies vital social skills/behavioral skills as well as developing healthy attachments/socialization needed for a life of positive mental health. It is best to keep the litter together until at least 8 weeks of age, and many puppies do better staying together up to 12 weeks of age.

Tips:

1. Observe puppies during meal times to avoid aspiration. Or more specifically, to react quickly if aspiration happens.
2. Offer a high quality puppy food. Remember that “puppy” food is different than “dog” food- it is smaller, easier to chew, and has different balance of fat and protein- making it well suited to a growing body.
3. Keep a consistent schedule of meal times to help puppies develop a “rhythm” and predictable routine.
4. Consider feeding each pup out of their own bowl- this will help you monitor how much each baby is eating.
5. Keep your breed in mind. Some puppies know when to stop eating if they get full. Other breeds are more likely to eat and eat and eat whatever food is available. Don’t overfeed.
6. A healthy dog has a thin layer of fat over his or her ribs. That means the ribs are not visible- that would be unhealthily skinny. But if you rub your hand over the dog’s side, you can feel small bumps of the ribs under the fat layer. If you cannot feel the ribs, the layer of fat is too thick- meaning the dog is overweight.
7. Consult with your veterinarian with any individual circumstances or questions that you may have!