when to start your puppy on puppy food?

Question

She is now 4 weeks old..

Answer 1

I have always started weaning my puppies at about 4 weeks. I start them on formula and soft food. They should still be allowed to nurse on their mother at this point.

At about 6 to 7 weeks old, they should no longer be allowed to nurse on their mother and I mix hard food and the softened food (hard food soaked in water or watered down formula) together.

By the time that the puppy is about 8 weeks old, it should be old enough to eat hard food.

Answer 2

well firs of all the puppy should be on food and still nursing on mom till 6 weeks. they should not be away from mom yet. you can feed the pup the solid food but make sure that your pup is getting the milk from the mother til she is 6 weeks then you can take her away from the mom. i breed golden retrievers and i start to wean when they are 3 weeks and they still get mom but when they are 6 weeks they will not have mom and be on the solids for good. plus the puppy should not have been sold til she reached 8 weeks. that is a very young age for a puppy to be sold. if you don't have the mother then get some mothers replacement milk for the pup til she reaches the age of 6 weeks then you can just feed the puppy food. when you do feedpuppy food take the dry food(chicken soup) and soak in warm water til the food is soft and i mix canned food (chicken soup) and then give the food to the pups but make sure that you take mom out while they eat because she will try to eat their food. but you can start them on the solids when they are 3 weeks old after their teeth have broke through their gums. good luck with your puppy.

Answer 3

Normally a puppy is weaned from it's mother at 8 weeks & is started on dry puppy food then (dry is better for their teeth) or you can add a teaspoon of can dog food for the first 2-4 weeks then stop & only give dry. My puppy started dry food when she was 6 weeks because she was taken from her mother to early (I resued her when she was 6 weeks from the neighbor who didn't want a puppy.) She is now 5 months & doing great according to her vet!

Answer 4

A mother dog will naturally wean her puppies. At around 6 to 8 weeks of age, you will notice the mom will stop allowing her pups to feed. At this time you should invest in some puppy food and a few bowls. No matter what breed of dog you have, until the pup is about 10 week old, you should wet down the dry food with hot water. Let it soak in. The pup WILL eat the brown mush even though it may look unappetizing for you. Puppies should be given one cup of food three times daily until they are about 12 weeks old. At that time, their food intake may increase depending on the breed and rate of growth. Bigger pups will start eating more food daily. At 12-13 weeks, lunch should stop being given. They don't need it anymore. I have found Eukanuba to be the best food for dogs, but your opinion may differ. I just dont' like putting cheap food into my dog. He's worth more than that to me. I advise keeping dogs on a schedule for when they eat. My 15 month old lab eats at six in the morning and six at night. I hope this helps. Best of luck with your pups!!!

Answer 5

I have 5 boxer puppies at 3 1/2 weeks i would soak dry food and feed the like 2 times a day since they are still drinking their mothers milk gradually you add less water until they are on solid food. good luck

Answer 6

I have started my puppies on puppy chow with warm water till its soggy when they are 3 weeks old just put it on a cookie sheet and let it sit for a while till it gets like mush and then let them eat for 20 mins.. 3 times a day and still should be nursing from mom untill mom completely weens them and that is about 6 weeks old,,, i hope this helps and good luck with you puppy

Answer 7

Dogs should not be separated from their mothers until they are at least 8 weeks of age. Not only do they receive the proper antibodies from their mother's milk to make their immune systems strong, but they also learn important socialization skills from their mother and litter mates. It is a fact that dogs removed from their litter earlier than eight weeks grow up to be susceptible to diseases, and they become biters because they weren't allowed to benefit from the rough play of their brothers and sisters, and correction from their mother.

That said, the proper time to introduce puppy chow is after the mother weans the puppy. Mix a little bit of chow and warm water and let her eat as much as she wants, or according to the directions on the bag.

Answer 8

We start the puppies at our shelter on raw hamburger when they're about 3 weeks old. We make little meatballs, freeze them (to kill bacteria), and then give one to the puppies twice a day.

We slowly start adding rice pablum (baby food), and then slowly introduce puppy chow (kibble) into their diet from about week 4 on to week 8.

Don't start on the kibble too fast or give the pup too much to begin with. Her little bowels can't handle a lot of solid food quickly; she'll end up with bloody diarrhea if you force a lot of the dry kibble on her too soon.

Once the pup starts eating more solid food, it will also need ready access to clean water to help in its digestion and to keep itself hydrated.

Answer 9

yes now would be a good time to start yor puppy on puppy food just start off with soft food. dont wait until she stops drinking from the mother because a puppy should be ready to be sold at 7 weeks.

Answer 10

When the puppy stops drinking his mother's milk. At about 6 to 8 weeks.