When can a puppy stop drinking milk?

[Tamminammi]

I got this 1 month old puppy. Its mum won't let him drink from her anymore. My puppy drinks water, eats solid food and I give him milk twice a day. I use powdered milk mixed with water.

Until when should my puppy drink milk?

Thanks in advance.

[Cearbhaill]

I would be moistening the dry food still, but you can stop with the milk any time now.

Do you have mom and littermates as well, or just the puppy?
I ask because removing the puppy from mom and littermates too early can have long lasting consequences behaviorally- nursing is only a small component of the benefits of keeping them altogether until at least 9-10 weeks.
I would also be in close contact with a veterinarian regarding your vaccination schedule as who knows what sort of maternal immunities this puppy has received.

Is the mother weaning them early or has she a medical issue?

[jnc_mcguire]

At 4 weeks old i always mixed some milk replament in with the dry food until they are 5 weeks of age then i would add water to the dry food for a week or so then i would wean them over to the dry with out anything in it.

Do you know why this mother weaned this pup? Or did she wean all of them. Like Cearbhaill said that pup needs to stay with the litter mates for at least 8 weeks. When i was rasing puppies i never let one go to its new home until it was 8 weeks old. Even if i had to bottle feed one.

What kind of pup is it?

By the way welcome to the forum. Would love to see pics of the pup.

[yogi b]

I would be looking for goats milk to help soften solid food. I blend mine and slightly heat it. Never dairy milk, goats milk has more nutrients and is far better also most dogs have lactose issues. Goats milk is more inline with mothers natural milk.

[Tamminammi]

Thank you for the replies. You see I'm an amateur to raising a puppy since this is my first time to actually take care of one. It's a Japanese Spitz I took from my neighbor. When I got there, my pup's brothers and sisters are already taken too. My neighbor said the puppies' mum does not like her pups to drink from her anymore cuz they got little teeth now.

I'm kind of worried about that 'long lasting consequences behaviorally' Cearbhaill said.

[Cearbhaill]

Originally Posted by Tamminammi

I'm kind of worried about that 'long lasting consequences behaviorally' Cearbhaill said.

Raised like this the puppy will have zero bite inhibition- you or the new owner will have to teach it.
The dog will grow up having no idea how to properly interact with other dogs and will have to be taught.
It will not recognize common behavioral cues that dogs use amongst themselves and will need to be introduced to other dogs carefully.
The dog may not fully grasp the concept of pack order and will have to be guided.

I would strongly suggest that the moment you feel comfortable immunity wise that this puppy be taken for regular play sessions with other puppies of a similar age. Puppy kindergarten is almost mandatory IMO. I think that time spent with other puppies is so important that it needs to be made the highest priority.

[Tamminammi]

Ohh.. I thought he might have some autism thingies. Anyways, thank you. You are such a pro.