If you are lucky enough to share your home with a dog that has just become a mother or if you are happily awaiting the arrival of a puppyto your home, surely you feel numerous concerns that seek answers, among them, those related to the weaning process.
Puppy weaning is a natural and physiological process, therefore, it hardly needs human intervention, and obviously we cannot intervene to speed up this fact. The best thing for the he alth of small dogs is to respect the necessary times. What is this time? When are puppies weaned? In this article on our site we answer your questions regarding this important topic.
Weaning is not the same as separation from the mother
The weaning process should not be confused with the age at which the puppies can be separated from the mother, since the term weaning refers to the transition from a diet based exclusively on mother's milk to the diet that already includes other types of food. Therefore, while it is recommended that a puppy stay with its mother until it is 2-3 months old, it is important that you know that the weaning process begins much earlier, specifically from 3 weeks of age , when the puppy begins to experience both external and internal changes.
Obviously these changes also affect the puppy's digestive system and this is one of the triggers for the weaning process to begin.
How does weaning occur naturally?
The changes that occur in the puppy's body during this process are the product of the progressive abandonment of mother's milk, a process in which the mother actively participates.
As the puppies begin to develop their milk teeth the bitch will feel more discomfort nursing and will be the first to promote weaning in a similar way to that of a she-wolf, for example. It is then possible to observe how the dog chews the food and then offers it to her puppies, thus introducing a new stimulus for the puppy dog that allows him to progressively abandon lactation
The puppy will also do its part in this process and we will observe how from 3 weeks on it also begins to want to imitate the habits it observes in its mother and, therefore, it will begin to come with frequently to the feeder. Of course, the fact that the dog begins to go to the feeder periodically does not imply that this is the end of lactation, since it usually occurs in its entirety when the pups are separated from the mother. In this way, if you are wondering when the puppies stop suckling, as you can see, until the definitive separation takes place they can continue to breastfeed even though they also feed on feed.
As we mentioned before, it is important not to speed up this process with our intervention, since we must bear in mind that a sudden interruption of lactation will increase the risk of the bitch suffering from canine mastitis.
Another very important reason why weaning should take place progressively is to give the puppy the necessary time to receive primary socialization from its mother.
What foods to use during the weaning transition?
When the mother begins to offer her chewed food to the puppies, it is time to start introducing transition foods, which will complement the mother's milk feedings but should not replace them. Generally, this transition food is porridge made with puppy food To obtain this preparation, the food must be moistened with water, never with cow's milk.
Subsequently and progressively, the dilution of the food for puppies will be reduced until it can be offered in solid form, although fresh water should never be lacking for good hydration.
If the whole process is done properly, all we can do is take advantage of pack behavior to facilitate changes in the pup's diet. This means that it is preferable to feed all puppies from the same bowl at the start of transition feeding, as they will compete for food, which will stimulate them in front of their new food.
Of course, we must not neglect the nutrition of any puppy, so although this practice is recommended, it is also important Make sure that all dogs are fedproperly.
