my dog, gave birth to 5 puppies today,how long should the mother nurse them ?

Answer 1

I think about six weeks, or a little longer.

Answer 2

If I understand your question correctly...
Your dog should nurse the puppies for approximately 20 minutes per feeding if you can get all of them to latch on properly. When they are full they will fall asleep comfortably.
Then they will wake up hungry again about 2 hours later and start the whole thing over again.
This is the routine for the first week, on week two you can have them nurse a little longer and spread the time between to 3-4 hours.
During week three you will introduce water and mushy puppy food, either canned or ground up kibble soaked in water. The pups will not be good eaters and drinkers and need a little help to get the hang of it. They should continue to nurse throughout the weaning process to about 7 weeks.
Also, around 5-6 weeks start serving regular puppy kibble that is dry. You should have them completely off milk by 8 weeks and on an excellent puppy food.

Congratulations!

Answer 3

Your female should nurse the pups until they are able to eat solid food on a regular basis, not simply a few kibbles here and there. Generally, the female will wean the pups somewhere between 5 and 7 weeks. If she hasn't weaned them by 7 weeks, you need to seperate the mom from the pups for a day or so until her milk dries up. (Some mamas simply don't want to let go!)

At about 3 to 4 weeks, you need to start introducing the pups to other food. Get a good product from a local pet supply store, a formula for growing pups. Put the liquid into a flat pan and show it to the pups with the mama confined elsewhere (or else she will drink it all!). Gently press the chin of the pups into the liquid and they will lick their mouth and learn that the stuff tastes GOOD! So they will start lapping at it. Anything they don't finish, let mama have.

Between 4 and 5 weeks, add puppy kibble to the food, in small amounts at first. Let the kibble soften before giving the pups the food. They will mouth the food at first, might not eat it right away. But they will gradually catch on that this also tastes good! Again, let mama clean up the leftovers.

By the time the pups are 6 weeks, stop letting mama have the leftovers, as you want her milk supply to dry up.

After the pups are weaned, you need to keep the pups for at LEAST two more weeks. Mama dog doesn't really start teaching the pups lessons they need until they are weaned. Mama dog has to teach the pups that no means no, that there are limits in life. She also, with exaggerated body language, teaches the pups how to communicate with other dogs. She also teaches them that biting hurts and they need to stop when told to.

Good luck with your babies. Please research more into the vital needs of the babies, including worming and innoculations.

Answer 4

Once the pups are 4 wks old you can start giving them a gruel (dry puppy food softened with either goats milk, puppy milk replacer found at the pet shop or water). I like to wean the pups gradually by starting them out with the gruel in the morning, then let mom nurse them the rest of the day. After a couple of days you can add a second meal of the gruel in the afternoon. They will begin to nurse less and less from mom once they start eating more of the gruel. After about a week they should be only eating the gruel, as they get older you can begin to make the gruel with less liquid so that it's a little drier. Once they are about 7 wks old they should be able to eat just the dry puppy food (I feed mine an excellent dog food good for all life stages). Then once the pups are at least 8 - 10 weeks they can go off to their new homes.

Good luck and Congratulations!!

Answer 5

It's usually 5 to 6 weeks. Watch them carefully and see how the mother reacts. Start giving the puppies watered down warm milk when the mother acts as though she is losing interest and introduce puppie food to them. It might sound gross, but watch their stool. If it looks solid, fine, if it looks watery, they need some solid food. Believe me, I've been a nurse for a few years and I care about people and animals.

Answer 6

She should nurse them no less than 6wks. At this age the pups teeth are developing and by week 8 she may be hesitant to nurse them as much because their teeth irritate her teets. Around week 8 is also when you should introduce them to puppy food. I would moisten the kibble so it is not hard for the pups to chew. I would introduce them to water at 6wks. I am a firm believer that pups should stay with their mom the full 8 wks. Somewhere around 8-12wks you could have her neutered if that is what you are looking to do.

Answer 7

Four to six weeks but around the fourth week you should begin weaning the the pups by offering them very wet mushy food two to three times a day but continue to allow them to nurse. As the pups get older they eat more and it is very taxing on the mother that is why you need to help with the feedings between 4 to 6 weeks. She will not let them nurse once she decides they are ready to be weaned and if they try she will move(run) away from them, pull them off,growl at them,etc.

Answer 8

She should nurse them exclusively for about 4 weeks, then during the 5th week begin to introduce softend puppy food (Puppy food mixed with water until its easy to crush between your fingers, let it sit for about 5 mintues then drain the excess water off). By week 6 feed dog food regularly 4 to 5 times a day and slowly decrease to 3 feedings a day.

Answer 9

In most cases the mother should nurse the puppies until they are approximately 6 weeks old.

Answer 10

the mon will start weaning them around 6 to 8 weeks,,, you need to start putting soften puppy food down for them around 3 to 4 weeks so the puppies get used to food I hope this helps and Congrads!!!!! on the puppies where are you from and what kind of puppies are they cause i know someone that is looking for a dog you can email me at hunterdog_34 @yahoo.com and we can discuss then

Answer 11

6 to 7 weeks the mother will get tired of them after then and ween them herself.Start giving them a little puppy chow soften with water or goats milk when they are about 4 weeks old.You have to work with the puppies to get them to eat and they will.