As you are all aware i am very new to this and it is my first litter. I am a little confused as to how exactly you wean the pups. With this hot weather etc my bitch is showing very little interest in feeding the pups anymore, i have to make her go in the box and sit with her the whole time,. The pups are 2and a half weeks old, So i think i need to start helping out/weaning. Do i just try and bottle feed at first or do i try and get them drinking milk from a bowl? when do you give them solids?? Sorry i am just a little confused and dont want to get it wrong. Also i know pups are wormed at 2 weeks 5 weeks etc, but what about Mum, i wormed her as advised by the vet from day 40 to 2 days post whelp, but do i need to worm again?
Sorry to have rambled
Brinny

Hi Brinny

On the 2nd July , Westie Lover advised you to buy The Book of the Bitch ...did you not buy it?

Hi Brinny, For worming, I always worm Mum at the same time I do the pups - it's easiest that way. I wouldn't try bottle-feeding them - get some puppy milk (Welpi or Lactol - available at most good petfood suppliers) and mix it quite thick. Put some in a saucer, get a puppy on your lap, and get it to lick a milky finger. You can gradually get it to lick your finger when your finger is in the milk - and it will no doubt splutter and spray milk over everything! Do this a couple of times a day for a few days, gradually getting the milk slightly runnier. Only a little at a time - it's still a big change for their tummies.

Then you can start on 'solid' food - I like to start with scraped beef. I get a piece of steak, and scrape the flat of it with the blade of a knife. This will produce a nice meaty pulp, with no stringy bits that a pup can choke on. Again, I give this on a finger (at 3 weeks of age, a teaspoon a day is ample), and I have never had any problems getting them to take to this. Alternatively you can thoroughly soak and mash a good complete puppy food and start them with that instead of the mince.

Also encourage your bitch to feed them as much as you can, because you don't want the pups to get dehydrated - in this weather, lots and lots of liquid for all is essential.
:)

Many Thankd JeanGenie. And yes Melodysky i did buy the book but was still a little confused so i thought i would ask to be sure. I have got some Lactol so i shall try that over the weekend,Thanks

At 2 weeks they are a little young to start weaning and whatever you do don't bottle feed.The purpose of weaning is to get them to learn to lap on their own,if you bottle feed they will be sucking and not lapping.I wait until mine can stand properly without falling over into the food dish....usually 3-4 weeks.I start them on welpi or lactol and then introduce either boiled rice or ready brek into the milk after a few days.This is to get them used to a thicker mix.As soon as I'm satisfied that they are taking that properly I then introduce them to my chosen puppy food soaked and mashed and made into a pulp like consistency.As they get older I soak it for less time and mash it less until by the time they are ready to leave me their food is just semi soft and they are chewing properly.

The older puppies get the less frequently they nurse - the bitch visits them less often and she should be nearly at the "top" of her milk production, so gives them a bigger drink less often. Unless they are restless or crying and they are obviously hungry I would hold your horses for a few more days. til you start feeding them. I wouldn't worm them until 3 - 3 1/2 weeks - 2 weeks is awfully young and I would never use a 10% suspension type liquid wormer at this young age. As you wormed the bitch during pregnancy - they will have many fewer worms, I expect, so there's no tearing hurry. Keep an eye on their sharp nails , even if you have already donr them they grow quite quickly again. To encourage her to drink more you could boil up a chicken joint ( or a chicken carcass) in a big saucepan of water and simmer for half an hour. Strain - cool - skim off any fat and give it her 1/2 pt - 1 pint (sorry I have forgotten what breed/how big she is) - in her bed if need be, a couple or even three times a day. Keep refrigerated. Not many dogs will refuse that! Are you soaking her food - as she will use up a lot of "internal water" digesting it, if its fed dry. Hope this is helpful.
The fun will start soon :-) - this time next week they'll be running around!!!

Mnay Thanks for all your help

Brinny

Hi Brinny,

Not many will agree with me probably but I start to wean puppies as soon as I feel they are looking for food when they are in the palm of my hand around 2 weeks old and I start them off on pure beef steak mince.
I don`t know which breed you have,maybe this will not work for toy breeds, but it does for medium and large breeds with no problem at all.
I mush up a little raw beef steak mince in the palm of my hand, this makes it moist and warm also. You need to be careful as some puppies will suck this quite strongly, so gently gently is the way ahead. You will notice that very soon they will be chewing in their own little way. I usually start off with two little feeds daily. Once you get them on this it is much easier to get them lapping. Many novices find difficulty in getting puppies to lap at an early age.
The earliest I have started this is 12 days old.I am not a regular breeder but only breed when I need to continue with my line and I have never bred to simply sell on to others.
Once the puppies are started on solids it is then safe to worm them.
As for cutting nails, this should be done from two days old regularly, for the bitchs` comfort and to get them used to having their nails trimmed. As they get older I introduce the Dremel. No doubt there will be many responses to this reply and many will not agree with me BUT if you have a medium to large breed, then try it out and let us know how you get on.

I have already wormed them as that is what i was advised by the vet, I was told to worm them at 2 weeks and then again at 5 weeks. Should i not have done this?? They all appear to be fine still. I am only considering weaning as they seem to be hungry, and they are actually now 3 weeks old tommorrow. I did give them a liitle completly mushed down Puppy food yesterday, but only a tiny bit each and they all seemed to lap at it fine, But mum has been fairly good, i just feel it is getting a bit to much for her now, and i dont blame her, one got hold of my finger yesterday and they are really strong with teeth starting to appear aswell so i dont think i would fancy 8 of them all at once either!!!

What breed are we discussing here Brinny?

Whaw just realised you have a litter of 8 puppies. Actually the more puppies you have the earlier you need to start weaning them.

It is also a good idea to take the mother out at regular intervals from day one and to increase the time away from the puppies a little longer every day, especially with a large litter. This helps if your bitch has not much milk, as it helps increase milk supply, the teats fill up and they suckle more readily when she is put back in again.

I find it easier to let the litter suckle for half an hour then I take the bitch away for an hour around the third day and keep doing this throughout the day. During the night I tend to take the bitch away for an hour and a half to start with increasing to two hours as they get to around a week old. As I always sleep near to the puppies until they are nearly three weeks old this rest for the bitch means rest for me also.

Once they get to four weeks I tend to feed five meals daily, two would be pure beef steak
mince,three CLINIVET puppy, milk of course is extra.

Blimey! I always make sure the bitch has regular 'toilet breaks' (by force if necessary) for the first couple of days, then start taking her out for a couple of short walks for exercise after about 4 or 5 days (if she wants to), but apart from that I want her with her pups! Especially all night. When the pups eyes are open and they are starting to become more mobile, she can leave them for an hour or so at a time, but no longer than that.
:)

Edit: also, 8 puppies is an average-sized litter for a springer. A bitch should haveno problems with a litter that size.

Same here, I would consider taking a bitch away from her pups as undermining the maternal bond. Mine only leave their babies in the first two weeks for toilet breaks, and then straight back to them.

When they come downstairs they can spend short time in the living room with us keeping a watchful eye and ear out for the pups in the next adjacent room (kitchen) often as not lying in the door way so as to be with both them and us.

After pups are well on solids (about 4 wewks) then I might ask if sshe fancies a short walk, and depending on the willingness shown will take her for a short lead walk. By five weeks pups are spending time outside and Mum spends more time away from them, but always with ready access to them at all times, and sleeps with them until they leave for their new homes. She sleeps on a bench above their beds so can keep out of their reach.

I'm puzzled, Cochen, where you say that taking the bitch away from the pups increases milk production. That is the complete opposite to what I was taught (for humans too!) - in fact, the more they suckle, the more milk is produced. Under normal circumstances it is a simple supply and demand situation - the more the babies demand, the more is supplied.
:)

I would agree with you I will start my pups on semi solids if they start looking with interest into their mothers food dish (I give her well soaked food in the whelping box) and their eyes are open. Over a few days I increase these tiny taster sessions to 4 a day and increasing the amount with their apetites.

I start mine off on puppy milk with enough soaked puppy food to make a porridge, as this seems easier for them than just milk.

At 4 weeks they will get one meal of minced meat, as I like to give a varied diet, and be on four meals a day. Mum will feed them (or not) as she feels fit right up to the time they go to their new homes. This can be as long as the odd suck up to 12 weeks of age if she wishes.

HI All

Well i have started to give them 2 small meals a day, of really soaked mashed up nutro puppy food, i give them some in the morning and some in the evening and they all seem to be having a go quite well, Also mum still goes in and lets them suckle but she doesnt seem to go in for long. And she appears to not have a very good bond with them, as you are all saying it is hard to get them out of their box should i be worried? She never sleeps with them or spends loads of time with them all she wants to do is get in feed them and get straight back out. How much food should i be giving the pups at each meal and when do i start to gradually increase the meal times? Sorry that i have to keep asking but i dont want to get it wrong and harm the pups,

BrinnyX

pS are they clear of the danger period of fading puppy sydrome now?
They are 3 weeks 2 days

It could be the heat making he reluctant to stay with the pups. As long as the pups look good and aren't crying then I wouldn't worry :D

Jesse

After doing a search on weaning on the board i have read as many of the posts as possible and feel a little happier now, I have got them on nutro puppy food twice a day at the moment and mum going in as often as possible, Some times i do have to make her get in and sit with her the whole time or she gets straight back out, But she constantly looks full, Is this noraml? reading on other posts it talks a lot about getting the pups to empty her out completly each feed!! I dont think she has ever looked empty, is this ok? Also i think they may have worms which is making them over hungry? as i saw one of them dragging its backside along in the box and i have always been told this is a sign of worms? Well i will keep you posted

Brinny

Hi all.

Just been reading the posts on how long you all take Mom away from the pups for.
My bitch wouldn't leave her babies for the first week, and I literally had to drag her away for toilet breaks! After that, I found, she let me know exactly when she wanted to go out and when she wanted to come back in. She was going out for around an hour, then coming back in, feeding the little ones, having a quick nap with them, and then was straight back out again.

Regarding weaning, I started my lot at 3 weeks. Mom needed a rest!!

And, to the original poster, I wormed my pups at 2 weeks and 5 weeks as well, without any problems.

Take care all

Lisa

Do you need to feed at regular times when weening?? As for the last couple of days i have fed them at 7am ish and 6 in the evening. But this morning they were fast asleep, should they be woken to feed??

I wouldn't they'll wake up when they are hungry. Watch out for your bitch gettting too full of milk or she may get mastitis.