Q&A for How to Wean Puppies

Their poop can be soft and squidgy at first, as the bowel gets used to processing solids. However, weaning happens gradually and so the stool shouldn't be completely runny. If the pup isn't feeding well, is quiet, passes watery stools, or the diarrhea persists longer than 24 hours then they should see the vet.

They are born blind with the eyelids sealed shut. The eyelids start to open around 10 days, but it takes another week or so before the eyes start to focus. So around three to four weeks of age is usually when they start to make use of vision to watch movement and find things.

Mother-led weaning gradually begins around the 3 to 4 old week stage and is usually completed around the 7 to 8 week old stage. Weaning does not happen suddenly; rather, it involves slowly reducing milk and gradually increasing solid foods.

While many puppies will be weaned by the age of 6 weeks old, weaning may still be tapering off until 8 weeks. Many dog experts consider it better to wait until the puppy is 8 weeks old for this reason and because the puppy is still learning socialization and other skills from its mother, as well as learning to get along with other dogs from being with its siblings, in these extra two weeks. This benefits the owner as much as the puppy; waiting means the puppy is healthier, has transitioned from milk to solids in a stress-free environment, knows not to bite you roughly, and will be less likely to develop anti-social behavioral problems because mom had time to teach the puppy to behave. Unless there really is no other choice (such as death of the dog mom), an additional two weeks for all these benefits is not that long to wait.

A 3 to 4 week old puppy should eat small amounts often, about four to six small feeds a day. This can be reduced to three to four meals a day around the age of 6 to 8 weeks until about 6 to 9 months, at which point two meals a day is fine. Learn to read your puppy’s signals to ensure it is getting enough food.

Yes, a puppy can start to drink water at 4 weeks of age. It is usual that a puppy will still drink milk for a few weeks more but there is no harm in introducing water and letting each puppy learn about it and help themselves if they want some. Use a shallow, clean and push-proof bowl for the water and replace the water frequently, even if the puppies don’t drink from it, to ensure it’s clean. Each puppy will differ in its level of interest in the water; just be patient and let the puppies work out for themselves when they want to drink water.

Any good-quality puppy food or all-life-stages dry kibble food, soaked until soft. Avoid kibbles with junky ingredients such as wheat, artificial colours, etc., and those with a low percentage of meat.

Separate the pups from their mother to reduce their opportunity to nurse and allow the milk to dry up.

You can mix their puppy food with water. However, it is a good idea to discuss this with your vet.

Place a little on your finger and allow the puppy to lick it off and/or keep placing the pup near the food be consistent and it should soon be eating.

Yes! You might want to try the following formula to meet all the puppies' requirements: 10 oz whole goats milk 1/2 cup whole fat plain Greek yogurt 1 egg yolk 1/2 tsp corn syrup When you begin to wean them, mix goats milk with their kibble.

No, puppies require different nutrients than babies, just as adult dogs require different food than adult humans.

Around seven weeks of age is when your puppy should be weaned completely, but you should start introducing it to wet puppy chow at three weeks.

You can use warm water, but not right away. Slowly start weaning the puppies off their mother's milk by offering them the warm water mixed in with the dry food at the time they would usually drink from their mother.

Check out the "Caring for a Newborn Orphan Puppy" section in this article about caring for newborn puppies on wikiHow.

1.) Pick up any poop right away, if you witnessed the puppy pooping. 2.) Feed the puppy pineapple chunks; this sometimes makes the poop taste bad. 3.) You can get stuff to sprinkle on their food, which can make the poop taste bad as well. Eating poop is a common with dogs. Some actually just enjoy it, unfortunately, so it's hard to completely stop them from doing it.

Pick up replacement puppy milk and see if they lap it up. If not, you can syringe feed them. The next step is to gradually replace this with wet food and then wet food with puppy kibble.

No, calves have different nutritional needs than dogs. Contact the vet or feed store for proper dog milk replacement.

They would still drink their mothers milk at that point, but when they're ready to transition, you would have to introduce them slowly to the water so they could understand what to do with it. Wait to give them water till they're around 5-6 weeks old.

You might be transitioning them to their new diet too fast. Try to slow the transition down a little. You can also try adding a little pumpkin to the puppy mush; the extra fiber will help with the loose stools.

Yes. Any puppy food is fine.

Just keep offering it day after day and he will eventually get the idea.

It depends on their breed and weight. Consult your veterinarian.

I advise clients to wait a minimum of 2 months to allow all the hormonal changes of pregnancy and lactation to completely subside.

No! Use only puppy replacement milk. You can make it at home from 10 oz of goat's milk, one egg yolk, 1/2 teaspoon of Karo syrup, and a cup of whole plain yogurt. Mix until smooth.

You can, but it's pretty much doggy junk food. Try soaking the kibble, adding scrambled eggs, or just putting in a tiny bit of the canned food for flavor. Don't start the pups off with canned food as their main diet; otherwise, it makes it much harder for their new owners to get them to eat well.

If a mother dog is unable to produce enough milk, or has completely stopped nursing, you can separate the puppies from her, but they will still need to be bottle fed for a while after. Separating them that early should be avoided if possible. If it is necessary, do not separate each individual puppy from the litter, as they still learn vital socialization skills from their litter mates up through 8-12 weeks of age, such as bite inhibition.

They are able to control their own body temperatures at around 4 weeks old.

Do it extremely gradually. Place 1/5th new food in with 4/5ths of the prior brand, and feed for a couple of days to make sure there is no intestinal upset. On day 3, add 1/4 of the new food and 3/4 old food, for a couple of days. Day 5 add 1/2 and 1/2 and feed for a couple of days, etc. Continue to monitor the stool and make sure the puppy is okay. Days 8 and 9, increase new food to 3/4 and decrease old food to 1/4 parts.

3-week-old puppies should be nursing about every 5-6 hours, but sometimes a mother dog cannot produce enough milk, especially with large litters, so you may need to supplement by bottle feeding them sparingly.