Weaning

Question
QUESTION: I have the Father and Mother Jack Russell and have bred them. We have a litter of three, 2 girls and a boy. I got the Father at 4 weeks old and the Mother at 5 weeks old from very responsible friends that breed Jack Russells.

I planned and bred them in February.....the puppies were born April 10th. I have a list of friends that want the puppies, but I want to be sure they are "ready" to go.  I read where you do not let your puppies go for several weeks, and I received mine "early on"....and they have wonderful attitudes.

How do you decide when the puppies are "ready" to go?  Mine have been in to the vet to get their tails docked and dew claws removed at three days old, and received their first oral worming at three weeks.  They are little butterballs and quite happy little puppies.  The Mother is beginning to separate from them and let them nurse for only very short periods of time.

I have introduced food, but they are not very interested at all...any suggestions to make it more interesting?

I am beginning to let them take naps in separate crates during the day time, but they all stay together at night.  

How do I prepare them to go and live separate lives when we all live together? I want it to be a smooth transition for them.

ANSWER: Hi Cynthia,
I'm not sure where you are writing from, but here in the U.S. many studies have been done and it has been determined that puppies are not ready to leave their moms until at last 8 weeks of age. Some breeders don't let them leave until 10 to 12 weeks of age. In my own experience as a breeder, I am not comfortable letting any of my puppies leave until around 9 weeks of age. My puppies are still nursing at 4 weeks old. I am amazed that you got your puppies so early. They weren't NEARLY ready to leave their mom at that time.
Important bonding and socialization within the "pack" is happening during the 4-8 week period and you are lucky that your dogs are well adjusted, you must have been a phenomenal caretaker.
Puppies need to be weaned slowly over 3 weeks, you can't just STOP the nursing and put them on solid food. We use Esbilac which is a puppy milk and mix it with crushed puppy food increasing the food and lessening the milk as the weeks go by. The mother will naturally and slowly push the pups away over this 3 week period and this gives the mothers nipples and milk supply time to diminish and get back to normal properly. Your puppies aren't interested in the food because it's much too early to introduce it. Get some puppy milk at a pet store, and warm it up with very finely crushed puppy food and introduce a tiny bit from your finger into the puppies mouth. They will taste it and mush it around their little mouths and not eat too much - two to three finger fulls is enough - and you do this at least 3 times a day - and increase the crushed food and lessen the milk. The puppies will still be nursing, but by the time they are 7 to 8 weeks old, they will be eating the food dry.  They will still try to nurse but the mom will push them away with more intensity as time goes on. It's necessary for the puppies well-being AS WELL AS the mothers to wean them off slowly over this 3 week period. I know you said your friends are responsible breeders but letting a puppy leave it's litter mates and mom at 4 weeks old is not responsible at all.
The worming schedule here is different from what you are doing - we usually worm the pups at 7 weeks and then again at 12 weeks. Remember to worm the mom and dad as well - one ingestion (swallowing) of a worm and they will be infested again. Most breeders (in the U.S.) supply the entire set of first vaccinations to the puppies before they go to anyones homes - and then it is up to the new owner to make sure they get their booster shots at 12 and 16 weeks of age.
I wouldn't separate the puppies yet either. They are so young! Let them live, play and sleep together until the last week in your home. That is when it's a good idea to separate them for naps - right now they NEED eachother and the warmth and bonding and socialization that the litter mates supply. I admire you VERY MUCH for writing and finding out the right thing to do for the puppies - I can tell how much you care! You're wonderful to care about their transitions to new homes and getting them properly weaned. More breeders should be like you. I wish you the very best of luck with the puppies - I KNOW how tough the last month is (they are messy, loud and a lot of work!) but you are doing the RIGHT thing for them by taking the time to do it right. Please write again if you need any further advice. They sound adorable. Good luck Cynthia!  


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I have another question. Do you think it is a bad idea for me to keep any dogs out of my own litter at our home? One of the females has beautiful markings and will be wonderful to breed.  Two other friends of mine have males they have already said they would like to breed with her if we keep her.

Answer
It's not a bad idea, I have always kept one pup from my litters, this is actually how you start a "pedigree" (tracing the parents back). Just make sure you DON'T breed her until at least her 2nd heat, preferably her 3rd cycle - and of course you want buyers before you bring any puppies into the world.