Every newborn puppy depends on his mother’s milk to survive. The mother’s milk is vital because not only does it give the proper nutrients the puppies need for survival, but it also provides antibodies that protect the puppies against diseases until they’re fit and ready for vaccination.
However, at three to four weeks, newly born puppies start to explore outside of the nest, and experiment with lapping at liquid foods (milk and cereal baby foods are best), and progressing at four to five weeks on to more solid nourishment – choose food specially formulated for puppies to make sure they receive the nutrients their rapidly growing bodies need. This process is called “weaning.”
Weaning is a process that involves puppies making the slow move from feeding exclusively on their mother’s milk — or puppy formula — to beginning to consume solid commercial foods exclusively. Left alone, the mother begins discouraging her pups from nursing when her teats can’t take it anymore, and the pups have to learn to eat other food. In the domestic situation, you’re going to lend a hand with puppy food prepared for the pups’ ease of consumption. You can’t wean a puppy overnight, however, and the whole procedure generally takes a few weeks at a time. Weaning puppies begin by eating a little bit of solid sustenance, albeit in soft, easy-to-manage form of puppy meal blended together with warm water. Puppies will continue to nurse as this is going on, but less and less with time. By the end of weaning, puppies aren’t nursing with their mothers or consuming formula at all anymore. - source
To encourage the puppies to start eating solids, start with a saucer of tepid milk, wipe some around their muzzles with your finger, or gently dip their noses into it, to start them off lapping at it. Sometimes it can take several attempts, but they get there in the end, so don’t force the puppies – if they don’t it, try again the following day. Once they are lapping at the milk, then add cereal to it – leaving it to soak and soften before giving it to the pups. Then progress onto meat-based puppy food.
Feed the puppies from shallow bowls so that they can get at the food easily. As they eat increasingly amount of solids, their excreta changes and their mother stops cleaning up after them, so no w it’s time to put newspaper down on the floor so you can easily clean up their excreta.
Mothers naturally wean their puppies themselves as their milk gradually dries up five to six weeks after the birht. At this age, the puppies should be fully weaned on to solid puppy food, although they may still return to their mom for the occasional comfort suckle if allowed.
By eight weeks, the puppies are usually fully independent of their mother regarding food and hygiene requirements, and are ready for rehoming.
For related information about weaning, follow these steps.
