When to wean puppies is a commonly asked question in the pet world. First, let’s answer, what is weaning? Weaning is the process of slowly reducing a puppy’s dependency on his mother’s milk while increasing his dependency on puppy food.
Weaning Puppies – When to Wean
Puppies can generally begin the weaning process about four weeks of age. The weaning process will likely take up until eight weeks or so, though. The process should be gradual so they still have the ability to learn behaviors from their mother and littermates. This also assists the mother dog in drying her milk supply slowly. This is often a somewhat stressful process for both the puppy and the mother; the gradual, slow process can greatly reduce the stress associated with weaning.
Weaning Puppies From Their Mother
How to wean puppies? Now you know when to wean puppies the big question is ¨how¨? When you wean your puppies, you should begin weaning by separating the puppies from their mother for several hours at a time. While the puppies are separated from their mother, you should introduce the puppies to puppy food in a large pan. The separation will allow them to be introduced to food as well as reduce their dependence on their mother. As time goes on, the length of separation time can be increased in small increments until the puppies are fully weaned.
What I Should Feed During Weaning When you wean puppies, you should feed the puppies the same puppy food you plan to feed them for their entire puppy stage. The food should be moistened with warm water until it is somewhat soupy similar to gruel. Remember to have fresh water available at all times.
Amber Johnson, Animal Behaviorist
Miss Amber Johnson has many years of experience with pets and is a licensed cat and dog nutrition and behavior specialist. She currently collaborates with PetPremium where she counsels clients in pet behavior and nutrition. The statements made in this article are the personal opinions of Miss Amber Johnson and based on independent experiences and could be different from the opinions of PetPremium Pet health Insurance or any other pet health insurance provider.