no interest in nursing

[bdarby]

Our golden retriever has been a great mom, but recently she has lost all interest in nursing her puppies. They are going on 4 weeks, and we have started to wean them, but besides going in with them to clean them up she will not lay down to nurse. I can give her commands to lay down, and then she'll allow them to nurse, but I'm not sure if this is the best way to go about it. Any suggestions?

Thank you,

[Dax]

Sounds like your dog is right on track. Time to buy puppy food LOL

Feeding Puppies
For the first seven to ten days of life, the newborn puppy's eyes remain closed. Yet during that time, puppies double their birth weight and become increasingly more active. As a rule of thumb, each puppy in a litter should gain approximately its birth weight each week during the lactation or nursing period (the first week may be slightly less than that and the final weeks may be more than that).

While most females are excellent mothers, some nervous or inattentive dams may require special attention to help them calm down and accept their new offspring. This may involve working with both the dam and/or puppies, and placing pups near nipples at feeding time. Poorly nursing puppies may be smaller in size, cooler in body temperature, and weigh less. Routinely handling the pups will allow for an opportunity to check their condition and progress, although excessive handling may be stressful for the dam and pups and should be avoided.

The typical introduction of a puppy to solid food (around 3 to 4 weeks of age) usually amounts to the pup romping around and through the dam's food bowl, and licking moistened dry food from its paws. Puppy traffic will tend to compact the food, so stirring the compacted diet or offering fresh amounts periodically should be considered. By six weeks of age, most puppies are ready to be weaned. If they have started to eat solid foods from the dam's dish, it is not unusual for puppies to begin to wean themselves at about four to five weeks of age.

The nutrient requirements to support normal growth and development of puppies are greater than those for an adult dog. For this reason, nutritionally complete and balanced diets designed for growth and reproduction or all life stages are recommended. No additional supplementation in the form of vitamins, minerals, meat, or other additives is needed.

A puppy's stomach capacity is not large enough to hold sufficient food in one feeding to provide its daily requirement of needed nutrients. Young puppies should be fed at least three times a day until their food requirements, per pound of body weight, begin to level off as they mature. Feeding schedules can be reduced to twice a day when pups are four to five months old, and once a day when they are eight months or older. Fresh water in a clean bowl should be available at all times.

As with pregnant females, dry food can be moistened with warm water to encourage food intake. Milk may also be used to moisten dry food, however, too much milk can act as a laxative and cause digestive problems for some puppies and adult dogs. One hour should be allowed for a puppy to eat, after which the uneaten portion should be discarded. Moistened dry food or canned food left at room temperature can become unpalatable and may even spoil if left out for several hours.

Establishing routine eating habits by feeding a puppy in the same place and at the same time each day is recommended and can help in housebreaking. Offering human foods from the table is not recommended because it encourages begging and may create a finicky eater. Puppies consuming a complete and balanced diet do not need supplemental vitamins, minerals, or meat. In fact, oversupplementation has been shown to be detrimental to proper development of young, growing pups.

The amount of food offered to a puppy will vary depending upon its size, activity, metabolism, and environment. Puppies should not be allowed to become overweight. An overweight puppy not only presents a poor appearance, but the excess weight can cause bone abnormalities. If a puppy appears to be gaining too much weight, its food intake should be reduced. If a puppy appears to be too thin and there are no health problems, its food intake should be increased. Anytime owners have questions or concerns about their animal's body condition, they should consult their own veterinarian.

http://www.purina.ca/dogs/nutrition.asp?article=132

[Country-Side Br]

Definately time to wean them off. Make sure you do it gradually so that you don't end up with mastitis. Otherwise, if you're going to go cold turkey, take away all of her food and water for the first 24 hours and then gradually increase it by 25% each day. That'll stop her from making more milk.

[Pooch_]

Time to wean them and get em' on puppy food, like the above posters said, my dog was 4 weeks old when I got him, so deffinetly time to wean them.

[Country-Side Br]

4 weeks! That's a bit young isn't it...did he come from a shelter and you nursed him through?

[doglovin]

Normally the momma does a good job of training weaning herself!

By two and a half weeks u can start giving them puppy cereal pablum.

By 3 1/2 weeks, pablum cereal mixed with softened puppy food.

By 4 1/2 weeks,sortend puppy food.You can begin to soften the food less and less so that by six weeks they are eating solid food.

This is my chihuahua schedule!!!lol!!!!

[doglovin]

Originally Posted by Pooch_

Time to wean them and get em' on puppy food, like the above posters said, my dog was 4 weeks old when I got him, so deffinetly time to wean them.

Oh 4 weeks! That is so sad to hear stories like that! Was he a rescue?Or did u buy him from a breeder at that age??