Hello
I would like to know what people do regarding how much time mum spends away from pups as they get older and at which point they are pretty much independent? Having read a few books regarding weaning there seems quite a few differing regimes, I think maybe opinions have changed with time?
Your experience would be much appreciated.
(Sorry for post title couldn't think how to put it)

Thanks joelol

My bitches are allowed free access to their puppies so they make the decision themselves. I do find that they spend less and less time with them as they grow older.

I allow my bitches free access, but I do like my puppies to be fully weaned in most litters by 6 weeks of age.   This allows me time to see that they are all eating properly and whether there are any problems, and I can see that they are growing and gaining weight normally, and if there are any problems I have the time to sort out before the puppy leaves my premises, and it also means that for the last worming they are no longer taking mothers milk and therefore should be fairly worm free when they leave here.

This also allows the bitch not to lose too much condition by the puppies constantly wanting to feed from her, a litter of 8 (on average) large breed pups take a lot of milk.

It depends on the breed, for instance you cannot compare small toy pups with larger breeds. My Malinois bitches see their pups around 3 times a day only from 4-5 weeks of age, their own choice. (Always their own choice.) They'd be horrified if they were made to stay with them at night for instance. On the other hand my papillon bitches will stay with their pups all the time happily for as long as needed, certainly 14 weeks. The big pups are far more independent than the little ones and mature much quicker.

Thanks for the replies ,
I'm trying to read mum but she seems to want to spend a long time away and to be honest the pups seem fine are eating fine are not crying etc (they are terriers by the way)
Its a bit hard re letting mum com and go as she please as I have other dogs
Joelol

How old are your puppies joelol?

im the same as marianneB ,ours is large breed and once weaning starts about 3weeks ,mums like to spend more time with there friends (our other dogs) and us ,i let them do what ever they want to do ,but when weaning starts i remove mum while pups tuck in :)

Hello
The pups are 4 weeks 2 days(trying not to give too much info as I don't want to break rules etc) and mum would spent a lot of time sat with me given the choice I feel

So long as you have them on puppy food a number of times a day and mum is going in to feed them and is with them overnight I would not worry too much.   I would just take her in every so often to make sure that she feeds them.

Same here, never stop Mum from being with pups except while they have their meals.

It is important though for the bitch to be able to get away from them as and when she needs to.

> Its a bit hard re letting mum com and go as she please as I have other dogs
> Joelol

In my household, though breeds probably differ, all the adults have access to the puppies from the time Mum allows it.

So those who like puppies spend time playing with them, all interact with them hoping to find food they may have dropped, LOL

I have found all pups that I have reared scone I have had more than just Mum for canine interaction have been very confident and dog savvy, they know who will play, who grumpy granny is etc.

I know this may not be safe with some breeds, and that some have a very strong prey drive and may be a danger to young pups.

I have terriers and have found that mum likes to stay with the pups until about 6 weeks.  In the last two weeks she tends to visit rather than stay as by then the pups are mugging her for food.  However the pups all get a last drink before they leave and I've had to put a t-shirt on mum to stop the resident pup from feeding otherwise mum would be happy to feed indefinitely

My girls have free access.  Its amazing how they start off by not wanting to leave whelping box even for a wee for the first few days and then gradually start to sleep just outside box for short periods and then gradually further and further away for longer periods.  It's almost like she is regulating their feeding times.
I do like pups to be fully weaned well before they leave so mum has chance to dry up avoiding potential mastitis problems.

I like the sound of that set-up brainless.I have other terriers of the same breed and also a male rottweiler who's as gentle as a lamb , none of them I'm sure would harm the pups. I've let them all mingle in the garden when they're older before.

pups are a week old today and mum let 1 of our other girls in to see her pups ,she sat looking in the box and the mum of pups gave her a big kiss and they both walked outside for a wee lol it was sooo sweat ,mum is so excited to show her the pups ,but this girl has had pups before so wasnt frightend by our girls new babies :) must say my heart was in my mouth lol

I pretty much let her decide, though I did try to keep her away for a couple of hours before trying to feed them while I was weaning them.When they were very young of course she wanted to stay with them. Once they were a couple of weeks old she did prefer to come out of the box and sit on my lap (I was usually in the same room), and if they squeaked she would give me a look as if to say 'isn't it your turn to take care of them yet?' before sighing and going back to them. Once they had started on solid food I put a onesie on my girl so they couldn't latch on as she didn't want to feed them anymore. And once they gave up on that, they had the most wonderful time playing together right up until the puppies left. One of my boys was also fascinated by the puppies, once they were a few days old we did let him visit and mum didn't mind at all, and once the puppies were old enough to be out and exploring they had great fun ganging up on my two boys! :-)