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.

Weaning

Weaning the puppies off their mother is a little more than just dumping out some dry kibble and expecting the pups to eat it. The pups vary on when they’re willing to start eating solid food. Generally speaking, sometime between weeks three and four they will be ready. Occasionally there’s a special case, like big pups without a mom, that we try to entice earlier.

We ultimately want the pups to eat dry kibble because that’s what the majority of owners will feed. Gertie’s pups are only three weeks old and don’t have teeth so we have to offer them food they don’t have to chew.  To start out we use a 50/50 mixture (by volume) of Esbilac® milk replacer and dry food. The dry food gets soaked in the milk replacer until it is completely soft, then it’s pulverized with a stick blender to make a creamy gruel. There are special weaning foods available, but we don’t find any advantage in using them. We always use Esbilac® brand milk replacer because the pups never seem to have a problem with it. The dry food is Science Diet® Small Bites because that's what the pups will eat when they go back to the Shelter.

The gruel is warmed to between 90°F and 100°F to come close to mom's body temperature. We start out feeding each pup separately on a paper plate. Not all of the puppies are always ready to be weaned at the same time. If one’s not ready we just try again at the next feeding. Once they are all eating gruel we slowly alter the blend to 100% kibble, but we soak it in a little hot water instead of milk replacer. Then we reduce the amount of water until they are eating dry kibble. The whole process takes about a week and a half.

Although they will be eating solid food the pups will still want to nurse. But the demand will be less on Gertie so she will produce less milk and be able to gain some weight. The process of drying her out can begin and that’s critical because she can’t be spayed or go up for adoption until she’s no longer producing milk.

Teslin

Martha

Gus

Barbara

Michelle

Bonnie and Clyde Update

Bonnie and Clyde are having a difficult adjustment to being without their mother. They’re 4 or 5 weeks old and we were told they didn’t have much human contact. Apparently that extended to weaning. We suspect they depended on their mom for food and no one had started to wean them away from her and onto solid food. We’re having a difficult time getting them to eat. Normally the weaning happens over a couple of weeks, but these two have to make the switch right away. Harriett’s been working with them to find something they like and supplementing with Nutri-Cal to be sure they don’t weaken or lose too much weight.

The good new tonight is that they are starting to lap up the gruel and we’re hoping they will be eating on their own in another day or two.

We’ve been giving them some extra socialization time and they’re starting to calm down when we get them out of their whelping box.

What We Feed The Pups

“You sure know how to plan a meal!” --- Stan Laurel, Them Thar Hills (1934)

Weaning the puppies off their mother is a little more than just dumping out some dry kibble and expecting the pups to eat it. The pups vary on when they’re willing to start eating solid food. Generally speaking, sometime between weeks three and four they will be ready. Occasionally there’s a special case, like big pups without a mom, that we try to entice earlier.

We ultimately want them to eat dry kibble because that’s what the majority of owners will feed when these pups go into their adopted homes. At this stage the pups don’t have enough teeth to chew kibble and we have to introduce that idea slowly as their back teeth come in between weeks five and six. To start out we use a 50/50 mixture (by volume) of Esbilac® milk replacer and dry food. The dry food gets soaked in the formula until it is completely soft, then pulverized with a stick blender to make a creamy gruel. There are special weaning foods available, but we don’t find any advantage in using them so we don’t bother unless someone donates it to the Shelter. We always use Esbilac® because we have never had a problem with it. The dry food is Science Diet® Small Bites because that's what the pups will eat when they go back to the Shelter.

The food is warmed to between 90°F and 100°F to come close to mom's body temperature. We start out feeding each pup separately on a paper plate. If they take the food easily we move them to a “flying saucer” shaped communal feeding pan. If they won’t take the gruel we add a little more water and try again. Not all of the puppies are always ready to be weaned at the same time. If one’s not ready we just try again at the next feeding. Once they are all eating gruel we slowly alter the blend to 100% kibble, but we soak it in a little hot water instead of milk replacer. Then we reduce the amount of water until they are eating dry kibble. The whole process takes about a week and a half.

Although they will be eating solid food the pups will still want to nurse. But the demand will be less on Daisy so she will produce less milk. The process of drying her out can begin and that’s critical because she can’t be spayed or go up for adoption until she’s no longer producing milk.

If you missed it, here’s a replay of the first feeding from this morning.