Friday, July 3, 2009

The weaning process



The weaning process continued. We used to start puppies on soaked puppy food as soon as 3 weeks. My neighbor has a litter of Bernese Mountain Dogs only days older than ours and they are almost completely weaned. We have just started! New evidence is that puppies really should be on their mother's milk for as long as is practical. As Maeve starts to be harder to keep weight on, the more food will be fed to the puppies. This process will continue until the puppies are ready to go to their new homes. Maeve will tell us when the time is right to quit nursing, and we will not force her to stop nursing them until then. Maeve has wonderful mothering instincts and does her job well.
Today some ground raw chicken was added to their egg and goat's milk. Over the course of the next few weeks raw food, fresh vegetables and puppy kibble will all be rotated through their diet, helping their systems prepare for the food at their new homes.

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