when do you start feeding a litter solids or gruel ?

I was at a breeders today that had them started at 3 weeks which seemed to early to me

I wait until they show some interest in their mothers dish. My pups are usually sampling a bit at 3 weeks. I don't really push it though and by 5 weeks they are usually dish diving full bore. Three weeks isn't too early if it is a fairly large litter.

Some research indicates that the longer you can wait to introduce solids, the better. Early weaning can cause "allergies" later in life. My litters also show interest in Mom's food at quite an early age but the more reading I do, the more I think if you can wait til at least 4 weeks to offer 'real food' -- the healthier the pups will be as adults.

thanks, i guess nature knows best, they get their teeth at about 3 weeks so it would only make sense, it just seemed early to me.

would the same rationale also hold true for weening pups, just let the mother do it naturally?

As soon as I see the mother start to wean them ,Im ready to take the pups and start feedin them. My theory behind that is I dont want anything imprinted that could interfer with the building of their confidence {like the mother's corrections}.

I have to say that I don't agree with David. Unless your female is not a good mother (in which case she shouldn't probably have been bred in the first place) then it totally benefits a puppy to interact with her as long as possible. A good mother teaches the pups proper 'dog etiquette' and social skills. I see too many dog agressive or socially retarded dogs out there......... I really believe that you should let mom teach them the ways of the dog world as much as possible before isolating them.

I am not saying to let the pups be with mom 24/7 but let them interact with her and have her show them how to be DOGS.

Don't be in such a rush to make them grow up.

I never actually wean them as in taking them away from mother. I have flat top doghouses so the bitches are able to get away from the pups and nurse at her will. They are usually completely off their mother by 7 weeks but still in with her.
My bitches are pretty much all "pukers" and provide puppies with "gruel au natural" - grosses some people out but very natural - puppies seem to thrive on it.

Trust me Im not trying to be argumentative here but I will go on to express my reasoning{that I didnt envent}.Im not talking about incase of poor mothers or in case of good mothers and Im certainly not talking about creating socially reataded dogs. But you hit the nail on the head when you said The mother teaches the pup how to be a dog.Why do I want her to teach it anything,I dont want her to teach it how to roll oner on its back submisively when she's had enough,and I dont want her to teach it that dogs are much better playmates than I am. I want the dog to think that Im the perfect playmate,nothing is complete without me,and never have to learn to be submissive.Id rather my dog think its more human than dog.I like my dogs to look at other dogs and not care one way or the other,be neutral, be more concerned with what Im going to do next.Dogs become socially retarded from other dogs teaching them to be submisive or they learn at a young age to dominate other dogs.Why would I want a dog training my dog how to act like a dog.I mold my dogs attitudes.Thats how I want it.

I have met a lot of people that have the same "reasoning" and I feel it's very sad.

Let's look at it this way, you get a new girlfriend and don't allow her to talk to anyone, go shopping with her friends, visit her parents because you don't want her to 'learn' anything other than you only want her to know what you ALLOW her to learn.

Seems like you are a bit of a control freak to me. Don't get me wrong, I used to think very much like you do............

I have 5 dogs and I have raised all but one from a puppy. I used to isolate them from weaning from all other dogs, never let them play with other dogs or interact because EVERYTHING is supposed to come from me, the pack leader. Guess what? If you are a good pack leader, it is possible to let your dog be social with other dogs, play occasionally with other dogs and they still look to you above everything else because they want to, not because they have no other experience. So by not letting mom teach them the rules of dogdom, some dogs have problems later in life. I especially see this when it's time to breed these dogs. Many females freak out when it's time to be bred because they simply don't understand dog behavior. If you own a stud dog that has been used very much you will know what I mean.

So to keep this on topic, I prefer to raise pups the way tiggy does, let mom get away when she wants to but still take care of the pups if she so wishes.......... it's better for the puppies psyche. I too had a bitch that would 'urp' her last meal for her puppies. While not very appealing to us, it's the way things are designed to work.

 Quote:

Originally posted by Cindy Easton:
I too had a bitch that would 'urp' her last meal for her puppies. While not very appealing to us, it's the way things are designed to work.

Isn't that like the best probiotic out there? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />