Weaning

Harriett’s daily routine with the puppies always includes getting a weight for each individual. We use the weight data to determine if the puppies are eating properly. A puppy whose weight stays the same or decreases for more than one day is not getting enough food. It’s an indication that the puppy may be sick or there is not enough food available.

After the puppies had been here for a couple of days Harriett noticed that four of them were not gaining weight, but otherwise they were acting fine. Lola was unable to make enough food to satisfy their increasing appetites.

The first order of business was to mix up some milk replacer and start supplemental feeding. We use small bottles with nipples that are designed for use by animals. When we bottle feed puppies we record the amount each pup eats on the tracking chart. It’s just as important not to overfeed as underfeed, and the intake amounts along with the weight chart tells us if we’re feeding the correct amount.

Weaning is the process of getting the pups to make the transition from drinking milk to eating solid food. Puppies are normally ready to make the switch when they are between three and five weeks old, but they are ready when they’re ready.

Weaning starts by soaking dry puppy kibble in milk replacer until it’s soft. The softened kibble and milk is smashed with a stick blender until it’s a smooth, thin gruel. We offer the pups some of the gruel on a plate or finger and see if they will eat it. Usually some pups in the litter are ready before others. If they are ready, Harriett will offer gruel three or four times a day. If they won’t eat it, we wait a day or two and try again. This litter was ready!

It takes a couple weeks before the pups learn to eat without crawling into the feed dishes, so once the pups start eating from the paper plates we switch to special puppy feeding pans that are designed to keep the food toward the outside.

Lola, of course, continues to be a stellar mother. She provides as much milk as she can and keeps the pups very clean, even after they walk through the feed pans.