When to feed?

they need their mothers milk untill they are 6 weeks old, but then they get weened. thats when they should be feed real food, just soften it by adding milk, then warm it a bit. then start adding less milk, and making it less warm untill they can really eat it.

I start weening the puppies off of mom at 3-4 weeks old. By this time they are getting teeth and mommy is getting sick of getting hurt by those little razors

6 weeks is way to long… Please do your research before giving out false info. about puppies.

DO NOT add cow’s milk to the puppy food…you’re looking to get a real case of the runs…very hard on puppies…and damned mess to keep cleaned up…stick with water, or even replacement milk…but NOT cow’s milk.

p

woah! who ever said 3 weeks is insane! that’s way to young! I would say about 6 weeks you can start them out on a little bit and by the time they get to 9 weeks they should be fine!

animalluvergirl- a puppy only “needs” is mothers milk the first 24 hrs, this is called Colostum- it is what has the antibodies in it to build up the puppies immune system, they then could be fed by a supplement or replacement milk for the first 3-4 weeks of age then changed over to a puppy food. The antibodies wear off at about 6-8 weeks this is why we booster the vaccines. I work at vet hospital as a Vet Assistant. So I would like to think I know what I am talking about.

At 3 weeks of age the weaning process has begun and the puppies should be wormed for the first time - followed at 2 weekly intervals aged 5 weeks and 7 weeks, by this time each puppy has

http://www.stecal.com/hikays/weaning.htm

Well I hope my point has been made. There is ton’s of good info out there, Just type in Weaning puppies.

They’d starve to death if you waited till they were 6 weeks old…

You need to start them on puppy chow, soaked and softened in water as soon as their teeth come in…that should be starting soon (4 weeks or so). They will need the extra food, as “mom” will start weaning them when those sharp teeth come in, and be feeding them less.

phrannie

I would say around 3 weeks

When you’re ready to begin weaning your new puppies, keep in mind that this should be done gradually, in small steps. You can’t rush it, and you definitely don’t want to begin when the puppies are too young.

Sometimes people get impatient and try to begin weaning puppies before they’re three weeks old. That’s too early. Their bodies need to develop the ability to handle solid food, and that takes time. Wait the THREE weeks – it’s not really so long.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Weaning-Puppies-Is-Only-Natural&id=25406

I was told by my vet 3-4weeks you should start them on food so I think harleyrider is talking a lot of sense.

We started out puppies on dog food at 6 weeks, we just softened it with water so it was easier to eat.

Yeah, 6 weeks