Nursing puppies puts a lot of strain on mom. You can help relieve some of that strain by facilitating the weaning process once the puppies are 3-4 weeks old. At this stage, their teeth will have come in much more significantly, which can make nursing painful. When this happens, you will probably start to see her wean the puppies naturally, going for longer and longer stints between feedings or even walking away as they try to nurse.
You should help support the process by introducing the puppies to a softened, high-quality dry puppy food.
For added nutrition, you can soak the dry kibble in water and a powdered milk replacement. We bought a tub of dry milk replacement from our local bulk pet supply store to help supplement.
When you first introduce puppy food, be very generous with the water so that the kibble gets soaked through. It may even begin to form a paste or mush. After about a week, there’s no need to continue adding the milk replacement. Water only will be perfect. Every few days from there, you can decrease the amount of water and/or milk replacement until they’ve transitioned to dry food only by about seven weeks old.
Separate the puppies from mom when you’re feeding them. This gives them a chance to foster independence and also gives mom a break from the constant strain of feeding them. And to a nursing mom, mushy, high-quality puppy food can be irresistible. Separating Scout from her puppies during feedings kept puppies independent and spared here the temptation – so beneficial on both fronts.
Young puppies are far from coordinated and will tend to tromp through their food and make a sizable mess. We did all of our feedings on the tile floor, or even on the back porch on nice days, so it made for an easy clean-up process afterward. The bathtub is another great option. And for your own sanity, avoiding bathing them just ahead of a meal.
