puppies

[priyawarekar]

till what age(month) do the dog pups drink their mothers milk.Someone told me 3 months is it true

[Goofy]

Most puppies are sold at about 6 (or sometimes 8) weeks old, so would give up milk then.

[lankeela]

Most puppies are 'weaned' off their mothers at about four -five weeks of age, but would still try to suckle every time their mum goes near them for a couple of weeks after that. She will tend to get a bit ratty with them by that time and jump away, or growl at them if they come near her. If they are getting proper nutrition they should not need to feed from her, and will start to leave her alone. Certainly by the time they are ready to leave (I wouldn't let one go before 8 weeks) the mum should be completely dried up. Some bitches will produce milk for another bitches puppies (my oldest one did when her daughter had puppies).

[gessoo]

Left to their own devices they would probably take mothers milk for quite a long time, but most cat and dog mums will soon let their offspring know when it's time to stop feeding from them!! They will teach their offspring to eat normal food and will start to push them away if they try to suckle, sometimes becoming quite aggressive.

[gessoo]

Posted at the same time as lankeela!

[lankeela]

If for any reason the bitch cannot (or will not) feed the puppies, they can be hand reared and given milk substitute, and they can be weaned as early as two weeks, although feeds would still need to be 'mushy' or liquidised to start with.

They get lots of goodness (antibodies and immunity) from their first feeds of mother's milk, so it is important that they are allowed to feed from her if at all possible.

[drgnrdr]

I agree, they need the first few days of mom's milk, with all the good stuff in it, when those puppy teeth start coming in, mom usually starts to push them away ...OUCH!