My pups are now 5 and a half weeks, they have been eating well for the last two weeks or so and will drink water, when do you stop them drinking milk off the mum?the mum seems happy to feed them but it seems that sometimes they don't eat allot of food due to feeding from mum.any help greatly appreciated

Leave it to the mum. Make sure you give the pups their food before they've had a feed from mum, and they'll gradually and painlessly wean themselves.

My pups tend to have gone to their new homes before they have finished with mum (or mum with them) ;-)

As JG does, I feed mine before letting mum back in to them. She will finish anything left over and clean any mouths that are a bit mucky, then she will jump out of the way so that they don't get to have too big a drink :-D

My bitches are allowed access to pups at all times.  And they're allowed to trundle off and forget them for an hour or two.  I don't ever make the choice for them.  Many times I've had a bitch give a "comfort suckle" on the day that the pup leaves for its new home.

We recently had 9 pups who were all feeding whenever mum appeared right up until they went to their new homes. I think it was a habit they would all charge at her whenever she appeared. Funnily enough, we had 2 pups kept over an extra week, and immediately she felt she had control, she absolutley refused to feed them, although they would try and sneak up on her...lol! Golden Retriever pups are quite big at 8 weeks, and I felt she couldn't control the situation with so many of them. It was amazing to watch the turn-around when she only had 2 to manage.

It was much calmer all round once they got the message, and she relaxed and spent much more time with them.