when too start feeding/weaning puppies

by jeremy
(talisay city, cebu, philippines)

I have a 4 week old mini doxies..i am curious as to when to start feeding the puppies??

As well as wen will i give their first shot of vaccine the 5 n 1??

thanx





Hi Jeremy
Normally the momma dog will start to wean her puppies naturally by refusing to let them nurse for long periods. She may only let them nurse for a few minutes, and even remain standing so that she can walk away quickly. This usually begins when the puppies are somewhere around 3 to 4 weeks old.

This is your cue to begin to wean them by offering them puppy food and water to lap. It is NOT a sign that the puppies are ready to go to their new homes though. They need to stay with their momma for several more weeks so that they can mature and develop properly both physically and mentally and learn proper canine social behavior.

You can find lots of tips and advice on taking care of puppies (including how to wean them) on my New Born Puppies page.

There's also some very valuable and interesting information on normal puppy development and behavior here... Puppy Development

I think you'll find both these pages useful as you raise your pups. Hope it helps, best of luck.