hi

i've just started weaning my pups on Thursday and i just wondered how much i should expect them to eat?

i'm using the Pedigree Chum puppy food mixed with water, so it goes like a paste, and each pup is eating maybe a teaspoonful, then walking away.....is that enough for them? they cry a bit afterwards for mum, but when i let her in, she doesn't feed them, just quietens them down and they go to sleep....so i'm hoping they have a full tum!

by the way, i'm doing this twice a day at the mo, as they only turned 3 weeks on thursday

are you giving them any kind of milk ? if mum dont want to feed them !! imo pedigree chum is way to rich for them at this age if its the meat? , i use james wellbeloved and it socks up very quickly in warm water (about 35..40 mins ) mash up very well or use a blender add a little goats milk with it (gives more cals)
a teaspoon is ok at this age as thay are tiny ,up the feed to 3 then there about 4weeks , im are 6weeks old now and having 5meals ...6 ...10...2...6...10 there not having milk from mum now but i still give them goats milk 3 times aday and add a little to there food , and make sure theres water for them too ,good luck x x

joanne :)

I feed Royal Canin to my pups, soaked with warm water, mashed, then mixed with puppy milk.

I think as long as the pups are gaining weight and seem happy/content they should be fine.  They have milk to drink for the first couple of weeks as well, but when they start eating more, I change them from milk to drink to water.

If they aren't getting enough to eat they will let you know.  Most pups will eat enough to feel full, only time they will come looking for more is when they get into a bit of rough and tumble with there litter mates and forget about the food.
My pups got there first dish of food today and they will be three weeks tomorrow.

mum's still feeding them milk as well, so i'm not worried about adding milk to their food.

my vet advised me to start them off on the pedigree chum puppy food!! i've got some samples of Royal Canin and JWB  so i'll try some of that for their next meal, soaked in water.

they haven't tried lapping water yet....their noses have gone into it by accident and they just shake their heads to get it off their noses!!

they seem really content, so i won't worry that i'm not giving them enough!

thanx everyone x

What food is mum eating at the moment?  Because the flavour of the food goes through her milk, I wouldn't go swapping and changing the pups food as it will upset their tummies, pick one and stick to it.

mum's eating the pedigree chum puppy food still, mixed with puppy biscuits

i've just tried feeding them again, but they're not all that interested! they have a few licks then wander away! i'm trying to keep mum away whilst i feed them, but she goes mad, scratching and crying at the door :(

she will do ,mums hate it when you start to wean ,i think its bececause thay want the food lol

Don't worry about the quantity and lack of interest just yet.  They are still taking the majority of their calories from mum after all.  I try my pups on soaked kibble at 3 weeks and they did as yours did, had a few laps and a sniff and went of to play or sleep!  Just keep putting the food down and they will soon realise how yummy it is and start to tuck in!  You will know when they are full up when they wander off for a snooze!  During the next week they will become more and more interested in food and during the next four or five weeks will feed from mum less and less.  If the pups are taking milk from mum and eating well soaked food they won't drink an awful lot as they are getting a lot of fluids through food/milk.  Leave the water bowl down but don't be too concerned at their lack of interest in it just yet.

Make sure you put plently of paper down when the pups start to take an interest in their food - they will end up in the bowl and will walk it everywhere, as well as being covered in it themselves!

The last few litters i have had i weaned them on raw mince and tripe, they wolfed it down, i did this for 1 week then added soaked dry food, they now 6 weeks and eating like pigs. mum is not interested at all to feeed, only play and tease them now.

pick one and stick to it.

but pick a good one, pedigree is rubbish food IMO

i've got the pups eating a little bit twice a day now (they're 4 weeks old tomorrow), and i'll increase it to 3 a day, but when do i start to reduce mum's food to stop her milk coming thru? do i do that gradually as well, and when should i start?

I have my pups on 4 meals a day within a few days of starting them on solids.  Say once the first day twice the next 3 times the day after and within four or five days on four regular meals.

Mums food is gradually reduced, but you have to bear in  ind that most of the pups nutrition up to about five weeks will still be coming from her, I play ti by ear, but do not reduce the bitches food even after she has stopped feeding to maintenance levels until after her coat blow.

I keep Mum on higher quality food until after the coat comes back, at slightly higher than maintenance levels unless she is fat, otherwise maintenance level (but being higher protein and fat higher in calories).  It is a mistake to reduce a bitches food too soon and too much as rearing a litter takes a lot out of a bitch and she needs high quality nutrition for her body to repair.

thanks for that, brainless

mum ruby IS very underweight, according to the vet. she is only a tiny toy breed and weighed 3kg when she had just given birth.i went to 3 scans, and each time was told i was having 3 pups...only for her to have 5!!

i'm trying to feed her up on puppy food, white fish and chicken...3 weeks after giving birth her weight was 3.4kg, so we're getting there!!  i thought she would continue to produce milk, that's all, if i kept feeding her as much as i am doing now. i'll get the pups on 3 meals today (they've had one at 7am....well, i say ONE, but they only really eat a tiny tiny bit!)  i'm keeping mum away when i feed them as well as they would rather go to her to be fed, i know! i'll see how they go on 3 tiny meals today, then try and get them onto 4 tomorrow, otherwise, i'll try 4 meals on Sat

thanx again x

>i thought she would continue to produce milk, that's all, if i kept feeding her as much as i am doing now.

If she needs to produce milk she will - she'll either produce it from what you feed her, or she'll use up her own body-stores to produce it, and lose even more weight and condition. So she still needs plenty of good food - at least double or three times her usual 'maintenance' amount. And lots of liquid.

Don't over feed the pups - too much solid too soon (I give my dalmatians a teaspoon on meat once a day for the first couple of days of weaning, then a teaspoon twice a day etc. I get them up to five times a day before I start increasing the quantities) - constipation doesn't do them any good!

I find they only have small amounts at first, just a teaspoon for my medium size breed, but like to get them into the routine of their mealtimes, and the amount they take increases with their needs.

As for making milk this is based on supply and demand and her milk will dry up naturally when less and less is taken, when pups are getting more solid food and she starts to feed them less and less.

just wanted to say thanks for all your help and advice x

another question on this! how do i stop mum feeding the pups as much so that they eat more pup food? i've tried shutting her out of the lounge but it breaks my heart when she cries and cries to get into them!

i'm trying to get to the pups every 4 hours or so,and waking them to feed them pup food. as soon as they stop eating, i let mum in, and they go straight to her and feed for about 10min

my vet said i should be hardly letting mum feed the pups now, so thats what's worrying me.

i wouldnt listen to what the vet says with regards as to feeding the pups, as unless the vet breeds dogs they really dont know much about having puppies apart from the medical side of things

>my vet said i should be hardly letting mum feed the pups now,

How many litters has your vet bred, or is s/he merely telling you what s/he's read? Your bitch knows better than any vet! At four weeks they're nowhere near old enough to manage without mum's milk - for one thing they need the liquid because I doubt very much that they're efficient lappers of water.

Stick with keeping mum out when you give them their puppy food and (just like weaning human babies) let them have a feed from mum afterwards. As the amount of solid food increases - do it gradually to avoid constipation - the amount of milk they take from her will naturally decrease and weaning will happen naturally and painlessly for both mum and pups.

thank you so much! you've really put my mind at rest! i'm gonna carry on as i have been doing then! i just try and encourage them to eat as much as possible, but the tiniest pup (he's only 680g) only has a few licks then he wanders off to play! he's gaining weight tho, so i suppose thats the main thing

The best food for pups is Mums milk for as long as she is prepared/happy to feed them.

The meals you are giving four times a day are to supplement that, even if it is just a teaspoon full each time.

What you are doing is quite right feed them what they will happily eat in a few minutes, and then let Mum into feed them.

I always make up just a bit more than they will eat and let Mum finish it off.

Gradually they will eat more and take less from Mum.

thanks brainless. that was what i was doing, but when i took the pups to the vets to be wormed at 4weeks, and to get checked over, he said mum should be hardly feeding them now, otherwise i would have problems sending them to their new homes when they reach 8 weeks

he told me i should be keeping mum away except for once during the day, and during the night.....so glad i came here for advice, as my instincts told me i should be doing it the way you've just confirmed. i was just so worried that they wouldn't be fully weaned by 7-8 weeks

>i was just so worried that they wouldn't be fully weaned by 7-8 weeks

Don't worry, they will, even though they'll probably still be having the occasional comfort suck during the day - even on the day they leave! I always give mum free access to her babies for as long as she wants (except for when they're having their solid food, and for half an hour after her meal so that she doesn't regurgitate her dinner for them!) - she's the expert. As they grow they'll be eating more and more solid food and will take less and less from their mum - and as their teeth grow she'll move away from them when it gets too much for her! She'll no doubt still want to spend some time playing with them and teaching them the social skills they need. Be guided by her.