Help!  The pups are now 4 weeks and 2 days old and I started weaning them a week ago.  I'm using a working food called CSJ (puppy variety) but I'm finding that now I'm trying to add less water to it it's turning to almost a concrete consistency in the dish before they've eaten it!!!  My large dogs have trouble getting it out the bowl, let alone the puppies!!

I am also leaving a dish of partially soaked kibble in with them between feeds, which they are eating so I know they are getting used to the chewing action.

I am thinking of moving them over to Orijen but I'm concerned that this will affect their fragile digestive systems, even with a gradual change over.

What do you think?

Thanks for your invaluable advice.

Why are you trying to reduce the water in the food? at this age my puppies are eating food which is soaked and mushy so they can almost lap it up.
I don't reduce the water or stop soaking it until 2-3 months old. I also don't leave food with them. Mind you I couldn't even if I wanted to as mum would just eat it all.
I have weaned on Orijen but it does take a long time to soak. It is an excellent food. I have never tried CSJ. At this age I tend to offer the puppies several different types of food in different meals so they have had experience of different tastes and textures.

I have breeding friends who follow the same pattern - to slightly reduce the water in the soaked food so that the pups learn to 'chew' and they also leave a bowl of partially hydrated kibble in with their pups between meals.  No one has ever had any problems with this method but they haven't changed their pups diet part way through the weaning process, which is what my question was about.  The pups will be going to their new homes in 3 weeks time, so I want them to be ready to be able to eat dry kibble at this age.  Every pup I have had, rescue or bought, has alwats been ready to eat dry kibble as soon as they have come to live with me. I think soaking their food until they are 2-3 months old is excessive.

I used CSJ puppy food mixed with JWB puppy - purely because I wanted to be sure that new owners would be able to carry on with something easily found in smaller bags.

I didn't reduce the water in the food, preferring to feed soaked kibble until they were a few months old ;)  at 8 weeks tho they would be getting a couple of unsoaked pieces to try.

I always add something else to the kibble as a topper - yoghurt - daily, scrambled egg, grated cheese, tuna/sardines/tinned salmon, minced beef - cooked or raw.   The list goes on.   This gives the little ones plenty of variety and means they learn to accept just about any food given.  It also means that we know what food gets them REALLY excited - great for training :-D

I could never leave any food down in between meals as mum would scarf it immediately.   Can't think why it would be needed if pups are getting 5/6 meals a day?

As I said I give my puppies several different foods and don't usually have problems with upset tums. I would have thought that if you change your food over a couple of days, gradually increasing the new and reducing the old it should be OK.

I must say I am surprised that you feed dry kibble at 8 weeks of age as I have always soaked food still at this age. my puppys have never had problems learning to chew. I just feel it is kinder on their digestive system and easier to process soaked food, but then I usually feed raw and only give on kibble as  some meals so puppies that don't go to raw feeding homes recognise kibble as food.

my 2 pups i have here are now 8weeks old and still have their food fully soak......even tho mine can eat it dry and have been able to since 6weeks with no problems at all i dont like pups this young to have it dry they need way to much water ....mine are a large breed ,i just feel they need the food soaked till at least 10weeks old or longer!
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Mine are 6wks and are having RC soaked with wet food mixed in, Im gradually reducing the amount of wet food but still keeping the RC soaked and they seem to be doing ok on it. They also have a small bowl of dry down with them and they keep having a nibble. I dont think their teeth are quite strong enough yet for complete dry meals.

Mine are all eating dry kibble by the time they leave me at 8 weeks. I think this is easier for new owners then.

I soak my dogs' kibble all their lives. It's no problem at all and means I know they're taking in enough water. As puppies they 're given raw bones and never have any problem chewing.

I dont think their teeth are quite strong enough yet for complete dry meals.

At 6 weeks old...as well as raw mince...my lot would be tucking into whole Raw Chicken wings....raw wild rabbit pieces.....tripe chunks....and could demolish a whole wild rabbit between them in minutes :)

Don't let them fool you :)  At 6 weeks their teeth and jaws are already perfectly capable of slicing and swallowing chunks of raw meat and bone...its just that kibble is a bit of an unnatural shape and form for them to manage...so is better soaked to make sure they don't choke or inhale it....and to make sure they aren't getting dehydrated from it.

As far as my (large) breed pups are concerned they are capable of eating dried kibble at 5-6 weeks onwards, which they do. I found my last litter wasn't keen on it being soaked anyway so I started to mix Nature Diet puppy in with it.

Initially I start mien on soaked mashed complete with puppy milk added.  By 4 Weeks the food is just soaked for a couple of hours and tipped into the dish so that it almost breaks up and the milk is poured over.

By five weeks I will reduce the milk to a drink and will be soaking the food for a short time in cold water.  At 6 weeks just a bit of water is tipped over the dry food so it doesn't get scattered everywhere.  By the time they leave they will be getting it dry.

they get 4 meals a day and once they have all had their fill mother gets to polish ti up and they get to have a drink from Mum ;)

Thanks for the replies.

Brainless, this is pretty much what I'm doing. I'm not giving them unsoaked food at this age, they are still having dry kibble which has been liquidised with water so they can lap it.

I will, however, now start adding different foods to their meals to allow them to try different textures and tastes.

Thanks again - this is a very sharp learning curve for sure!

I have always weaned my puppies onto several different foods - some kibble, some raw, scrambled egg etc. I've never had upset tums. And I would never leave food down for pups - I wouldn't want them getting into the habit of grazing. I want them to eat at mealtimes only, so I leave food down for 15 - 20 mins and then remove it.

mine have eat everything in 10mins lol only 2 here now and im makeing enough for 4 to eat LOL but they still eat the lot lol and are still on 4 meals as their only 8 weeks and 2 days old....these have eggs raw mince ,not fish anymore they walk away from it lol just like their mum!... and i also give small amounts of dry kibble but find their water intake far to high after having it dry which cant be good for them needing to drink so much!!
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hi, rc puppy mousse is very good for weaning a bit messy but they love it....

I have a small breed and use RC reproduction starter for Mum from day 42 and pups up to 8 weeks, very small pieces which are mashed initially and gradually reduce the water, they help themselves to Mum's food so it is good they are all on the same, by 12 weeks when they go home they are on puppy kibble.

Yogurt,cottage cheese and grated cheddar are mixed in occassionally.

I saw the puppy mousse and was wondering what it was like.