Weaning Puppies

[persephone]

apologies - yes.

tess- just think - in a couple of months, all will be back to normal!! then you can breathe :)

[rajacadoo]

I currently have a litter of 8 ACD pups, aged 9 1/2 weeks of age. Pups are mostly away from Mum all day, then when they come back inside at night, they are fed their raw portion of their diet. Then when they go to bed, they are all in the whelping box, Mum is in the area, but only goes into the box to feed them very occasionally. No forced weaning in this house, and I really can't understand the need to want to get them off Mum, so desperately. As many others have said, Mum will tell them to p*ss off when she's had enough.

They were vaccinated at 8 weeks, and they start to go off to their new homes this w'end.

I'm not going to comment on letting them go at 6 weeks, soooo wrong on so many levels as far as I'm concerned. Don't want a Doliday.

[espinay2]

Agree with Perse. Weaning isnt an all or nothing thing, it is a gradual process of reduction. Even at 8 weeks or more, right before they go home, the odd suck is not going to 'hurt' them, or mum, and in most cases mum will gradually reduce their access as they eat more solid foods and she reduces production. Being told to go away by mum (don't bite so hard) also teaches them to be gentle with those teeth.

Edited June 25, 2014 by espinay2

[persephone]

Being told to go away by mum (don't bite so hard) also teaches them to be gentle with those teeth.

[JessicaM]

I have just had my first litter, they are almost 10 weeks old, mum didn't stop feeding them until 8 weeks when I put a shirt on her. She was and still is a great mum, my male has just gone to my mums house and I still have the 2 girls. It is super important to make surr they have enough time with mum before leaving... they learn heaps off her in the 6-12 weeks I think. In the mean time I personally think you should keep them for another 2 weeks, make time to only have 1 pup out at a time so the other litter mate doesn't depend on the other sibling.

My bitch didn't even start playing with the pups until 8 weeks... and they need mum to put them in their place when they are becoming 'too' full on

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[tesslc]

My bitch didn't even start playing with the pups until 8 weeks... and they need mum to put them in their place when they are becoming 'too' full on

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Wow really JessicaM - my girl has been playing with the pups since they were 3 1/2 weeks and they have been playing proper (I mean biting, chasing etc) with their dad for the last week as well. He's so gentle with them it is so cute! I am actually more worried about mum being too rough with them as she tries to play tug of war but I think she forgets how little they are!

[JessicaM]

Haha my pups were hardly on their feet at 3.5 weeks. Mum was still in the box cleaning, feeding and watching them at 5 weeks, she is a great mother she was with them for 20 hours a day, proberly more when they were born. My pups follow mum around the yard and smell what she smells and follow her around looking for food, mum even picks up a big mouthful of kibble and drops it in front of the pups to share now.

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[JessicaM]

I do have a toy breed aswel compared to a staffy... But if your girl and father are being really great parents why would you want to rid of them? Sounds like the pups have the best parents ever :-)

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[Dogsfevr]

My vet was also surprised that mum hadn't stopped feeding them at their age, so I figured maybe she was just doing too good of a job!

Hmm me think the vet is a tad clueless then .

[tdierikx]

My Lab was still feeding her pups at regular intervals at 10 weeks... all 9 of them. She had so much milk that she put Dolly Parton's chest to shame even at 10 weeks post whelp!

The little piglets were also on multiple solid feeds per day as well... Labs are just piggy gutses...

I'd hold onto your 2 littl'uns until at least 8 weeks tesslc - vaccinate at 6 weeks, 10 weeks, and 14-16 weeks to make sure of vaccine take-up when mum's immunity wears off.

T.

[WreckitWhippet]

Maternal immunity is fixed in the first few days - what the pups are eating or not eating now is going to have virtually no influence.

Within a few days after birth the intestinal wall ceases to be able to absorb the larger molecules which introduce the immune response into the pup from the mother.

Pups should never be force weaned unless it is a matter of life and death for mum or pups.

You can vaccinate at 6 weeks if you want regardless of whether or not the pups are still feeding from mum.

Keeping the pup inside is of no special benefit unless every single person who enters that house and who has done so in the last 6-12 months has sterilised their shoes and anything else which may bring the virus into the house.

What she said and your vet is clueless.

There is no need to get them off the bitch, she will wean them in her own good time and if it means they are still have a suckle at 8 or 9 weeks so be it.

Vaccinate them at 8 weeks, hold onto them for another two, they will be eating and drinking on their own and the bitch will probably have decided not to feed them anymore. I find it very sad and not in the best interests of puppies to be forcefully weaned when the bitch will do it on her own.

[OSoSwift]

Mum will tell them when she has had enough.

Sometimes in one day she will go nope they are yours now, sometimes it's more gradual.

I just do not see the rush with getting rid of them at 6 weeks??? You gain nothing. They need to learn how to speak dog and play nice with siblings and mum. Once they are 8 weeks ( or more) then their human socialisation needs to happen in their new homes.

It is only two more weeks what's the rush??? They are gone for a long time.

I also agree that your breeder is not ethical if they advocate that babies get forcefully when and booted out at 6 weeks, and your vet needs some educating.

They are still such babies at 6 weeks

[persephone]

I also agree that your breeder is not ethical if they advocate that babies get forcefully when and booted out at 6 weeks, and your vet needs some educating.

yes

[Simply Grand]

To be fair, it doesn't sound like the breeder has ADVOCATED forceful weaning or booting them out at 6 weeks.

And really, the puppies don't physically need to nurse after 6 weeks weeks old, so long as they are eating an adequate amount of suitably nutritious solid food.

I do agree there are significant social benefits to keeping pups with mum and litter mates until 8 weeks if possible.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Simply Grand

[Leah82]

I'm going to preface this by saying I know nothing about breeding but I'm curious as to why you would plan to give your brother a pup at 6 weeks in the first place?

Edited June 25, 2014 by Leah82

[OSoSwift]

To be fair, it doesn't sound like the breeder has ADVOCATED forceful weaning or booting them out at 6 weeks.

And really, the puppies don't physically need to nurse after 6 weeks weeks old, so long as they are eating an adequate amount of suitably nutritious solid food.

I do agree there are significant social benefits to keeping pups with mum and litter mates until 8 weeks if possible.

Phrase it as you wish, but these babies are being denied feeding from their mother and are apparently going at 6 weeks which it has been said the breeder has no issues with it.

If I had of been told that by either of my breeders there would have been some realtionships severed. Not to mention it is in all states Canine Code of Ethics and also in many states it is legislated. Just because dogs were once rehomed at 6 weeks does not make it right or correct. I would hope as we get better educated in life and learn more we do what is best with the information that is known at the time.

The breeder has stated it is fine to do something which goes blatantly goesagainst their organisations COE.

[Sash]

Surely you can explain (especially given it's a family member) that it is not in the puppies best interests to be removed from its sibling and mother during such a critical developmental period and that they can take it at eight weeks or older?

And if they've got an issue with that, I'd be a little concerned about them not putting the dogs needs first.

[WreckitWhippet]

To be fair, it doesn't sound like the breeder has ADVOCATED forceful weaning or booting them out at 6 weeks.

And really, the puppies don't physically need to nurse after 6 weeks weeks old, so long as they are eating an adequate amount of suitably nutritious solid food.

I do agree there are significant social benefits to keeping pups with mum and litter mates until 8 weeks if possible.

and that is your opinion based on your experience of whelping and raising how many litters ?

[Nushie]

Surely you can explain (especially given it's a family member) that it is not in the puppies best interests to be removed from its sibling and mother during such a critical developmental period and that they can take it at eight weeks or older?

And if they've got an issue with that, I'd be a little concerned about them not putting the dogs needs first.

I don't know anything about breeding, but this is exactly what I was thinking. Because the pups are going to family members, they are even more likely to accept what is best for the pups, so why not let them stay with mum for 2 or more weeks. There are no downsides (as far as I am aware) of leaving them with mum and there are so many benefits!

I just don't understand the rush to have them leave home.

[Steve]

There is a lot to be said for letting things come naturally. The bitch will call all the right shots if you just let her do it and she will get it at exactly the right time for your breed.

If she is still feeding them a bit at 6 weeks it’s because her instincts tell her she should. The more the puppies eat normal food the less they will take her milk and it’s a supply and demand thing. The less they suckle the less she has to give them. If you interfere you get the bitch going through a period where she is majorly uncomfortable for several days with a higher risk of mastitis as the milk dries up and the pup being stressed because it’s an almost overnight event rather than one that’s played out for around 5 weeks.

Its not just about nutrition as other hormones are excreted during feeding for both Mum and pups. Its learning about how to tell when you are told no and how to get the message that you have to take direction or else. Mum teaches them how to be clean and go out to the toot etc. These things impact on training for manners later on and understanding that just because you want it you can’t always have it. If this is missing its harder to get the message and often shows up later as problem behaviours that need addressing that could have been avoided. For the sake of two weeks why take the risk?

Interaction with Mum and the litter between 6 and 8 weeks helps to know their place in a pack and how to greet, interact with other dogs for the rest of its life.