My pomeranian had puppies on 8/13 when should I start introducing food to them?

Question

I also wanted to know if regular cow milk can be used to soak the puppy food

Answer 1

Cows milk will given them diarreah. Here is a great article on weaning.
HOW TO WEAN PUPPIES:
Weaning is an important part of puppy care. Whether the puppies are being cared for by their canine mother or are being orphan raised, the method and timing of weaning can have lifelong effects on the babies. Learning how to wean can help the puppy develop emotionally and socially.

Timing is Everything

About 3 weeks after birth, the mother dog normally begins to evade the puppies and discourages nursing. At this time, the puppies also naturally begin to show a decline in the length of time they nurse. More of their time is spent exploring their new world.

At this point, it is time to start offering food for the puppies to sample. Even if the puppies are being orphan raised, begin offering food around 3 weeks of age. At this point, increased gentle human handling can improve the puppy’s physical and social development, and make them more accepting of people.

Feeding

At around 3 weeks of age, begin offering food to the puppies. Offer the puppies small amounts of soft food in a shallow dish.

(You can soften food by placing it in a microwave for a few seconds with a glass of water)

Up to this point, the puppies have been suckling to get their nourishment. Now, they need to learn to open their mouths and bite to get food into their mouths to be swallowed. Learning to do this results in some messy feeding times.

Puppies will typically walk and fall in the food dish. They may even try to nurse on the food, resulting in some pretty messy pups. Eventually, they learn normal eating behavior. Some people will place the food on a cookie sheet and place it in the bathtub and let the puppies learn. This allows for easy clean up.

Offer the food several times a day for about 30 minutes at a time. When the puppies no longer seem interested in the food, clean them up and put them back with their mother. During this time, allow the mother increasing time away from the babies.

For some mothers, you may have to be persistent. Some mothers and some babies may not wean properly. Mothers that do not begin to push away their puppies by 4 weeks of age will need help. Weaning should progress slowly, to reduce the incidence of anxiety and mammary gland inflammation in the mother.

Several times a day, remove the babies for 1 to 2 hours at a time. Food should only be offered for short periods of time but keeping the babies separate from the mother can encourage natural weaning. As the puppies age, more time should be spent away from the mother until finally, the puppies are on their own.

By the time the puppies are around 8 weeks of age, they should be eating solid food and no longer nursing. At this tender age, pups are ready for their new homes and life without their mother

Answer 2

No cow's milk - you can either get puppy formula or goat's milk, but most people soak puppy chow in a bit of warm water - that's good enough because they're still nursing. I always started feeding my puppies a couple of times a day at about 4 weeks. Just put a saucer or real shallow bowl filled with soaked puppy chow in with them and help them find it. They'll make a mess and walk in it, but they'll get the hang of it.

Answer 3

Check with your vet as different breeds nurse for different lengths of time. Most are weened by 5-6 weeks depending on their size but the mother usually makes that call when she gets tired of nursing or runs out of milk. Make sure her diet is a good one!!!

Most puppy foods are mixed with water as ANY other kind of milk will give them the back door trots.

Answer 4

Ok, you might not like what I'm going to say, but didn't you research all this BEFORE you bred your dog?? I don't care if you meant to breed her or it was an accident. It just floors me that people breed their dog and then after the fact don't know what to do or how to take care of them. Whether it be the mom or the puppies. Do you know how much at risk you put your mom pom in??? And people wonder why we have SOOO many dogs in shelters that need homes. You asking this question AFTER the birth just acknowledges the fact that people do it for the $$$ not for the love of the breed. Sorry, I said you wouldn't like what I was going to say, but had to say it.

Answer 5

I'd say 3 weeks old....start trying them with food......plus I just soaked the food with hot water.

Answer 6

Oh pom pups! Where are you from? I'm looking for a pom puppy, preferably Female.

Answer 7

if you want to learn them to drink drop them one at a time in a very lage and deep bucket...they either drink or drown eithers fun to watch

Answer 8

now.they must be hungry after 2 weeks!