Hi all , my bitch had a litter of 12 large breed pups 12 days ago , she has been a lovely mum but never seemed to have enough milk for them , i avoided topping them up hoping that the more they sucked the more she would produce. However it has come to the point where despite feeding a lot their weight gain is minimal now.
I think my bitch would benefit if i started to wean them , however i am very aware that 12 days is very early. My plan was to wean them a week later than this onto minced beef and then  onto soaked kibble with various meats.
So , would it be beneficial to wean them now or to bottle feed them for a week and then wean?
Should i still wean them onto scraped/minced beef as planned or adapt that as they are so young?
Would i be better to introduce them to goats milk for a day or two and then add a milky meal like baby rice pud? (not something i would ordinarily do but am thinking of their age)
Sorry for the amount of questions , i just want to get it right and have not weaned at this age before so am naturally apprehensive.
Thanks , in advance

i have weaned a large breed litter of 4 pups early before mums milk wasnt very good amount at all .is your girl having her food soaked? and drinking goats milk and water in plentyfull? maybe she needs more fluids so she can produce more milk? if youve done all this and she dont have anough milk then why dont you start them on the kibble you going to give them? very well soaked in cooled down boiled water then add some goats milk make it very runny and give it them from a spoon just a tea spoon at a time and then put pups back onto mum she will lick them clean and have a drink ,this is how did it and had no problems at all ,good luck x

Thank you , yes i have been giving her loads to eat and drink and she is quite happy to eat it , she is in great shape but has never had loads of milk. As for putting them straight on the kibble will this upset their tummies? They have never had goats milk before either. God its such a mine field , i can tell they are hungry today.

You can either introduce a puppy porridge, or the puppy kibble (both of these will have all the protein and nutrients that are required) that you intend to use for them as White Lilly has posted, or you can buy a suitable puppy milk supplement and bottle feed, or you can combine both.  Or alternatively let mum feed them and supplement with a suitable puppy porridge or puppy  kibble (both must be very sloppy otherwise it will stick in their throats).  I always recommend a puppy milk supplement rather than goats milk, as the protein content of goats milk is too low for the canine puppy, and is nowhere as high as a bitches milk.   The growth rate of a puppy is tremendous and they need a suitable food that will accommodate this growth.  Goat kids are large at birth and the growth is nowhere near as much as a puppy, if that makes sense.

I always begin weaning at about 14 days normally (large breed), although they still take mothers milk.

Should add that I do not begin weaning onto solids until their eyes are open and they are standing, if there are not doing this then supplement with a bottle and a puppy milk, it will be easier and quicker.

I have started as early as 10 days, as soon as the eyes opened in similar circumstances when weight gain was slowing.

I would imagine they will take to it readily if their gain is so slow they will be hungry enough.

Hold each pup and start with some on the tip of your finger.  I also use a plastic baby spoon to feed each pup if starting this early or the first day or two normally.

I put a flat dish over a bowl that is about 3 inches high, so that they can lap from the flat dish without walking in it too much

Thank you brainless , what would you recommend i start with at this young age? they have had nothing yet apart from mums milk.

I ahve always started with soaked kibble with puppy milk added.  These dasy I prefer to sue a Goats Milk based puppy formula (not palin goats miok).  Never had any bother.

You won't need more than about half an ounce of kibble at first and about 1/4 pint of puppy milk.

Great , thank you x

i cant understand why you ddnt top them up??? now you can try with royal canin baby puppy soaked in hot water and made into porridge with RC puppy milk.....but I still dont understand why you didnt top up :(

I do not understand why the they were not supplemented either if not gaining much weight, 12 puppies is a large litter to rear even for a large breed dog, some bitches just will not have enough milk, and it is so easy to do.   Also 12 puppies take so much from the bitch that they can and do lose a lot of condition.   I suppose in the wild some would die.