Weaning

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Weaning

Birth to 6 Weeks

Feeding the puppies places a demand on the mother to eat, digest and absorb very large amounts of food/nutrients. This then enables her to produce sufficient milk to support the growth and development of a number of puppies.

The following is a feeding guide for the mother:

Week 1: You may need to feed the mother up to 150% of the recommended feed rate of Extra/Mini or a mix, 50/50 with maintenance.

Week 2: You may need to feed the mother up to 200% of the recommended feed rate of Extra/Mini or a mix, 50/50 with maintenance.

Week 3 to Weaning: You may need to feed the mother up to 300% of the recommended feed rate of Extra/Mini or a mix, 50/50 with maintenance.

At this stage the mother’s milk provides the only nutrition to the puppies. Most of the puppy’s antibodies will have passed from the mother during the final days of the pregnancy. These antibodies will last for the first 8 weeks of life.

With all breeds it is important that weaning (changing the puppy’s diet from mothers milk to dog food.) does not begin until the end of the third week after birth. This process should be done gradually taking up to 10 days to change the puppies onto the food.

The Burns food can be mixed with tepid water to make a porridge. The puppies will need 4 meals a day as well as still feeding a small amount from the mother. The gradual introduction of dry food will encourage the puppies to learn to chew and this may be started at around 5-6 weeks of age. Puppies should not be removed from their mother until fully weaned at around 6-8 weeks of age.

For advice about managing specific health problems or simply fine tuning feeding amounts contact our
Pet Nutrition Helpline

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