I am trying to wean 4 small breed, 5 week old pups on to some sort of solid food. Have tried Pedigree porridge and am now trying James Wellbeloved soaked in water, the pups are not interested and will just wait until mum hops in to feed them. We are trying to keep her away from them so they get a bit hungry and want to try solids but obviously don't want them distressed. Any suggestions would be useful small breed and known for delicate tums so don't want to give the wrong thing.

Hi I always use finly minced raw beef, they love it and once you have them eating you can mix a bit of the dry with it, or the soaked mixture. Do freeze the mince first them thaw before feeding, kills off a bug (Can't tell you what!!). I find baby pups think it's easier to get milk from Mum than to eat porridge but they like the raw meat.
Hope it helps.
Aileen

Hi, I have just bred a litter of small breed puppies and had the same problem. In the end i ended up weaning them onto small breed Royal Canin junior (which smells really nice and meaty) soaked in water and mashed with either scrambled egg, tuna or butchers tripe mix. I know that it says on the rc bag 'suitable from 8 weeks onwards' but that is what i was feeding mum. I warmed it slightly and held it in front of their noses on my finger or used a small, disposable plastic spoon and popped a little in the side of their mouths. Also keep mum away for an hour or so when first weaning, so the pups are hungry. I can honestly say that royal canin is definately the food that my dogs prefer. My dogs are all fussy eaters. Hope things start to go well.

Had this issue with Casie's litter.  First tried putting Wellness canned puppy in with the dry food (soaked in water).  Now the two litters are together, so they all eat really well.  Ended up having to be strong, and locking both moms right away from them.  Yes, it was noisey (still sometimes is) but they are eating the food. 

Hope you can get your pups to not want mommy so much, and eat the food you want them to eat.