No matter whether a puppy is being fed by its mother, or his owner, he will eventually have to be taught to depend upon something else besides milk as his food. This procedure is called the "weaning" process, and constitutes the changing of your pup's diet from a liquid to a solid. Once a puppy reaches the age of about four to six weeks ,and their eyes begin to open up, and they are moving about, they should experiment with solid food that is being fed to the mother. Around this time, you should begin to teach your puppies to feed from a bowl. Establishing an early feeding routine accomplishes four very important things you should be aware of. - it allows the owner to feed the pups a diet that is more satisfying for them than the diet you are feeding the mother of the puppies.
- it quickens the weaning process, due to the fact that the pups will learn to consume solid foods at an earlier age, than if not.
- it starts the bonding procedure between the pups and his owners due to the social interaction.
- once you start to feed your puppies solid foods, you will be able to reduce the food that you feed to the Mother, as she will reduce lactation, this will also prevent her from overeating.
Weaning a puppy is a learning procedure in which the puppy's digestive system is conditioned to consume solid foods.
While in the Mothers womb the puppies are being fed with pre-digested nutrient. When he is born, he drinks his mother's milk, which is the most digestible nutrients a puppy can consume. When a puppy is being weaned, his digestive system must learn to handle all the new food he is presented with. This is a process that can be taught only as fast as the puppy's ability to learn, this should never be rushed or neglected.
When you are in the process of weaning your puppy, you must begin formulating your pups diet, you must make sure to add the right ingredients, which needs to be highly digestible and non-irritating to your puppy. One thing you can get is puppy food from the store and mix it with a little half and half, or something that can substitute the Mothers milk. This mixture can be beaten with a wisk or mixed in a blender.
As for the larger breed pups, it will be better to use the higher quality, dry foods in addition with the canned foods, and blend it with the liquids. Adding dry foods will also help these larger, faster-growing pups to get the right amount of nutrients in the quantity of food they are eating. Once a puppy reaches the age of six to seven weeks, he should only be eating solid foods.
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