When can a puppy get off the moms milk and move on to puppy food???

[pinkee2676]

:) My Rottweiler just had a litter of 11 pupies on March 11. (How ironic:))
They are rott and chocolate lab mix. Anyway... My Rott isn't feeding them like she was a couple of weeks ago. Her boobs seem dry. When can I give the puppies, puppy food? I work all day, and I can't sit out side and force her to feed them. Please help!!! :) Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[moondog]

I have no experience weaning puppies, but here's a link to a thread where others who do have experience address this:
http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/sho...eaning+puppies

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by pinkee2676

:) My Rottweiler just had a litter of 11 pupies on March 11. (How ironic:))
They are rott and chocolate lab mix. Anyway... My Rott isn't feeding them like she was a couple of weeks ago. Her boobs seem dry. When can I give the puppies, puppy food? I work all day, and I can't sit out side and force her to feed them. Please help!!! :) Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

The link that Moondog provided should help you in the weaning dept.....those are good suggestions...

Now for a comment or two....
You're sure to get some replies that will seem a little abrasive, so please prepare yourself. Firstly, this is not a purebred litter.... so, either you planned it this way, or your girl got out while she was in heat. Either way, not too good.

Breeding dogs is not something to be taken lightly.

Most of us that breed occasionally, take time off work in order to rear the litter correctly. There is much more to raising a litter of puppies than leaving it in the box with mamadog. Before a bitch is bred, health testing should be done on both the dam and sire, to help eliminate hereditary defects (like hip dysplasia, which runs rampant in both breeds).

What kind of veterinary care have mama / litter received thus far? What is your worming schedule. What vaccinations are you going to use, and on what schedule?

What kind of socialization is this litter receiving/ going to receive? Please feel free to expand on this.

Do you have screened homes lined up for these pups?

Just a few things to think about. Unfortunately, since you are asking about weaning when the pups are ready to be weaned, I doubt that you have put much thought into any of the above questions, which doesn't affect you too much... but it DOES affect the dogs you've chosen to bring into this world, and it DOES affect the folks you place them with.

:(

[RottiMomCT]

Originally Posted by poohbearsmom

What kind of socialization is this litter receiving/ going to receive? Please feel free to expand on this.

Momma and babies are outside and OP works all day and can't sit out there to help momma feed...outside dogs...what kind of socialization do ya'll think they'll get?

[Anne]

Though I have no advice to give on the weaning procedure as my dogs are desexed I would like to ask you how old your dog is that gave birth to these mixed breed pups.

I trust you will have her desexed as you only need to look at the pounds and shelters to see how many dogs are being put to sleep due to indiscrimiinate breeding resulting in too many dogs and not enough homes available. Many of these are pure bred Rottweilers but most of the unwanted dogs are cross breeds.

[Alaskan]

Hello.:)

The pups can start eating softened puppy food now that they're about four weeks old. You can either start with mixing warm water or canned puppy formula found at places like petsmart with rice infant cereal for the first few days until they get used to the taste of solid foods and then switch to grinding puppy food in a blender with warm water until the food is softened and pour this mixture into a pan for them to lap up. When they're about six weeks old you can start adding less water to the food. You might need to put a dab of the food mixture on their noses at first and they'll lick it off realizing it's food.:)

[BostonRott]

I like to wean puppies to a mix of ground up (in the blender) kibble, canned puppy formula (instead of milk) and I also give them finely ground chix (w/ bones ground in) as my dogs all get a blend of kibble and raw diet.

Puppies should feel like a plump glove. If you're going to have to start supplementing mom's milk then they're going to need to eat 5-6 times per day. You can't over-feed at any one feeding, and they need a lot of energy. You may need to look into hiring a pet sitter or a neighbor to come in and feed them.

Is mom getting enough food? By the time pups are 3 weeksold, her food should be about 3x of what she normally eats,so that she can keep producing milk. If she's already truly dried up, you can't "restart" her, it's all your job now.

[Journey77]

I know a lot of people are going to get mad at me saying this but if you are looking for a cheap way to handle this... If the puppies will not eat moisten dry food…buy Vitamin D milk (warm to room temp) add some instant plain potatoes flakes or if you can purchase baby cereal. Once they eat this I add dry food and blend it…slowly I wean them off the milk and cereal mixture. If you do not want to purchase Vitamin D milk because Vets say “cows” milk is not good for dogs you can purchase at Wal-Mart a Non Dairy Beverage to mix with the cereal, potatoes flakes or dry dog food. This is found in the aisle where the condensed milk is. It is the same cost as purchasing two gallons of milk and makes two gallons. We started our last litter at 5 weeks of age because the mother was not able to produce enough milk. My husband stays at home with our puppies until they are at least 5 weeks of age. They are never alone for more than 3 to 4 hours until they are 6 weeks of age. It is a lot of work I am sure you have now realized! GOOD LUCK!

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by Journey77

I know a lot of people are going to get mad at me saying this but if you are looking for a cheap way to handle this... If the puppies will not eat moisten dry food…buy Vitamin D milk (warm to room temp) add some instant plain potatoes flakes or if you can purchase baby cereal. Once they eat this I add dry food and blend it…slowly I wean them off the milk and cereal mixture. If you do not want to purchase Vitamin D milk because Vets say “cows” milk is not good for dogs you can purchase at Wal-Mart a Non Dairy Beverage to mix with the cereal, potatoes flakes or dry dog food. This is found in the aisle where the condensed milk is. It is the same cost as purchasing two gallons of milk and makes two gallons. We started our last litter at 5 weeks of age because the mother was not able to produce enough milk. My husband stays at home with our puppies until they are at least 5 weeks of age. They are never alone for more than 3 to 4 hours until they are 6 weeks of age. It is a lot of work I am sure you have now realized! GOOD LUCK!

If ya can't afford to raise a litter PROPERLY - DON'T BREED