Weaned
Puppy's Health
Once they have been
weaned, most puppies can expect to live long, happy lives.
Some breeds have a longer average life span than others.
Most dogs live between 8 and 15 years, and some individuals
live well beyond that. Generally speaking, small and toy
breeds tend to have a longer life expectancy than large
and giant dogs. The main threats to their longevity are
infectious diseases and accidents. No one can avoid either
entirely, but the chances of being seriously affected by
illness or accident can be reduced to a very low level by
taking care and a few simple precautions. A full vaccination
program, with annual booster injections, is the most important
step in helping to prevent disease. Proper training and
controlled exercise go a long way towards avoiding accidents.
Weaning
Procedure
Weaning is a stressful time for the lactating mother as
well as for the puppies. Most puppies are weaned at 6 weeks
of age, which coincides with the period of peak milk production
in the bitch. The sudden termination of mother's milk is
accepted more readily if the puppies have been prepared
beforehand with the gradual introduction of food labeled
as puppy growth food. Inquisitive puppies are ready at 3
to 4 weeks to be fed canned puppy food or given a gruel
made of commercial dry food blended with water. By 5 weeks,
puppies should be consuming a nutritionally complete and
balanced food supplemented by occasional nursing.
Tips
On Weaning & Feeding Your Puppy
Weaning is accomplished at
about 6 weeks of age by separating the mother from her puppies
and allowing the puppies free access to commercial puppy
food.
Care For Mother Dog During Weaning:
Reduce the mother's
food a few days before the event and give her only a small
amount of food on the first day of weaning. Limiting her
food intake will decrease the amount of milk she produces.
It is important to allow the mother free access to water.
On the second and third days of weaning, the mother can
be fed one half of the amount of the nutritionally complete
food she was being fed until the last few weeks of gestation.
By the fifth day after weaning the mother should be back
to her normal diet. A mother who is producing large amounts
of milk may benefit from the application of warm compresses
to her mammary glands in order to decrease discomfort during
the initial weaning stage.
Weaning
The Puppy:
During the changeover to solid food,
puppies can be offered a mixture of a good quality puppy
food mixed with water in a thick gruel. To encourage puppies
to eat, the gruel is placed in a shallow food bowl or is
given orally using a dose syringe. (Ask your veterinarian
how to use a dose syringe if you have questions about how
to do so.) You also can encourage puppies to lap the gruel
from the shallow bowl by touching their lips to the food,
or you can dip a finger in the gruel and then place it into
the puppy's mouth. Once the puppy is eating the gruel well,
gradually reduce the amount of water in the gruel until
the water is omitted. You can separate your puppy from its
mother as soon as it learns to eat and drink satisfactorily.
Most puppies are completely weaned at 5 to 7 weeks of age,
depending on the breed. Early weaning and separation from
littermates before 6 weeks of age, however, can cause numerous
behavioral problems later in life. Because of this, complete
weaning should not be attempted until your puppies are at
least 6 weeks old and close human contact has been established.
Feeding The Weaned
Puppy:
The food fed to your puppy after
weaning should be one specifically formulated for growth.
Supplementing the food with meat, table scraps, or other
items is not recommended, because it will likely create
a finicky eater, nutritional deficiencies or excesses, or
both. Because the puppy's eating habits are still in the
developmental stage, it is important to feed a good quality
growth puppy food at regular intervals until adulthood and
provide fresh water in a clean bowl at all times.
Feeding the weaned puppy should always be directed to attaining
the average growth rate for the particular breed. Overfeeding
is not recommended. Use the stated feeding amount and schedule
on commercial food containers as a convenient guide for
determining the amount of food you should feed to your puppy
daily in order to achieve average growth.
How To Teach Good
Eating Habits:
Instead of making food available
to your puppy at all times (free choice feeding), time limited
meal feeding is recommended. At each feeding, give the puppy
20 minutes to eat all that it wants and then remove the
remaining food. From weaning to 6 months of
age (12 months for giant breeds), puppies are best fed at
least 3 times a day at regular intervals.
