mom and her puppies

Question
I have 9 puppies who are 4 weeks old (born Jan 2, 2012). Dad is American Bulldog/Shepherd mix, mom is Blackmouth Cur mix. Puppies look large like the American Bull. I started feeding them Purina Puppy Chow Complete & Balanced with DHA, about a week ago. I followed the directions which suggested 3:1 food to water mix. I'm only doing this once a day to help mom.  Mom is a young Cur and seems overwhelmed by her large puppies. She didn't seem to be bothered by nursing until recently. Her belly is cut and scratched and I think that's why she doesn't want to nurse the pups any longer. I have tried separating her from the pups and letting 2 pups nurse at the time but even then she seems uneasy. Do you have any suggestions?

Answer
Well you are doing the right thing and you might as well wean this guys starting now. I would still bottle feed them once at night and maybe in the morning but get them on the dry/wet food soon.

I would use better food however, like Science Diet large breed puppy growth. That way they will actually get some nutrition. Purina puppy food also is coated in milk which puppies cannot digest and it will cause diarrhea.

So get them on some good quality food and rotate them to her when you can. Getting her spayed now will also help calm her down a lot.