I have bred  before, but this litter is a different kettle of fish. Pups are 3 weeks old today and it has been a struggle for the last few days to get my girl  to feed. She had 11 pups, so it is quiet a lot to handle. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions?

At three weeks I start weaning mine into solids which takes the pressure off mum. I feed raw puppy food blended up into a mush with raw goats milk to start then gradually reduce the milk and blended as they get used to it. I think with 11 pups mum is probably saying thanks very much but can I have a hand please so I would definitely start weaning now if they will take it.

Is goats milk a good option. I’ve tried starting them, but she goes mental when I do.

Yes raw goats milk is the best option for puppies. Take mum out of the room when you feed them - maybe outside with someone else so she is fully away from them. It really is mush to start with so you may have more luck with them licking it off your fingers if they won't take it from a shallow dish straight away. They won't eat much at all but it won't take them long to get the hang of it. Leave it out for them for 20 minutes then let mum in to clear up. They will then top up with milk from her. My girl got a bit excitable when I started weaning as she knew she was going to get the left overs! I start off with twice a day, increasing to 4 times a day within a week.

Thank you

You're welcome. Let us know how they get on.

> Is goats milk a good option. I’ve tried starting them, but she goes mental when I do.

Absolutely goats milk is ok.   We had a lady in the next village back 'op east' who had a Toggenburger and sold us raw milk from her until she unfortunately dried up.   After that we found another big set-up with a lot of goats and bought from them, freezing most when we stocked up.    We weaned all our puppies on this as it's closest in make-up to bitch milk.   You should probably move her out of the room when you feed the puppies if she gets that upset - and why not give her some!!   Our weaning process began at the end of week 3, depending on how many puppies and how well they were doing.

So is it mum who is reluctant to feed, or the puppies?  11 puppies is a lot so by now she'll probably welcome all the help you can give her but maybe not right there.

Goats milk is way better than any of the powdered milks, which all have BHA and BHT etc added to them - which are carcinogenic preservatives banned from human foods.

For 3wk olds, use warmed up goats milk mixed into a mush with food. I use one of the weaning pastes from raw completes.

I would not be weaning with Mum present.

Once they have finished you let her back to Polish off the rest, and clean puos, and they then top up from Mum.

She will feel it's a fair exchange.

Sorry for only just replying. The goats milk did the trick and helped out Mum a lot. Pups are happier and I feel more relaxed x

> The goats milk did the trick and helped out Mum a lot. Pups are happier and I feel more relaxed x

Excellent!!

Fabulous