How we Wean our Labrador Litters

Do NOT try this without the aid of a safety net !! …

 

I can only describe how I go about this… everyone has a slightly different method.

Depending on the size of the litter and how mum is coping I start weaning at about three and a half weeks of age.

I start when all are up on their feet, eyes open and focused. I take each puppy and hand feed it a little defrosted but raw chicken mince in a small meatball. Maybe half a golfball size. I do that for two days, twice a day. On the third day I put two meatballs on a saucer and have two pups stand and eat them. Its messy but they love it! I do that twice a day *that* day.

I often get asked about raw mince. The problem with meat is when you start to cook it, and then either cook it till it has no taste and is rubbery, OR is underdone… that is when problems occur. Raw you are feeding it as nature intended without messing about with having to worry.

On the fourth day of weaning, I soak up some puppy food, and add some of the chicken mince to it then use a hand blender to mush it down to a substance they have to chew but can lick at too to a certain extent. I then do half the pups and then the other half, standing anyone up that falls over and shoving pushy puppies over to one side leaving the smaller ones their own bit of food.

I stick to that for about a week to ten days slowly going from twice a day to three times to four when they are about 5 weeks old.

At the stage when they are hoovering it down with the chicken mince in it I slowly wean that out until its just soft puppy complete. Then between 5 weeks and 7 weeks I dry up the food until its just puppy complete with a splash of boiling water in the bowl and it tossed about in it then put down when just about cool enough.

From about 5 weeks onwards, once or twice a day I make up a measuring jug of very warm puppy milk for AFTER their solid meal. This just tops up anyone who didn’t snaffle as much as the others, and puts a lovely bloom on them.

I use ‘The Animal Health Companies’ Nutrolac which i’ve found superb:

http://www.animal-health.co.uk/eMerchantPro/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=32

I like to use meat to start puppies because we are trying to teach them to chew, not lap milky foods such a rice pudding and sloppy puppy weaner foods. They KNOW how to suck and lap… its chewing they want teaching!
I like the uncooked chicken mince to start as it makes them keen eaters and they are familiar with it through mum as I feed it with complete food to her throughout nursing, and then through the meatballs they have to teach them to chew. It probably does unbalance the puppy food but I do it only for a short time to get them ‘cleaning up’ and it puts a nice big fat belly on them and they seem to love it! Its blanded into the complete very well so they hardly notice once they get to the keen stage that I am slowly removing it!

At 7 weeks for example, I would have 8 puppies on 500gms per meal of puppy complete then  milk afterwards, so 2000gms a day between the 8….

Do email any questions or for this info as a word document.