Chihuahua weaning

Question
QUESTION: My 3yr old chihuahua had a litter of 6 puppies, no problems whelping. During the first 2 weeks she avoided the puppies a lot and wouldn't nurse or clean them properly (I had to employ a surrogate mother to make sure they were healthy). When the puppies hit 3 weeks she started feeding them on a regular basis and her weight dropped.  When an increased diet didn't help, she and the litter were taken to the vet.  The puppies are now 5 weeks old and at the suggestion of my vet I started them on a mixed diet of mushed puppy food and mother's milk. The odd thing is that now when I'm trying to wean them and they are become more curious of the world outside their box, she's started trying to nurse them a lot (there were a few incidents when I saw her feed them, leave the box when they had fallen asleep, then wake them up before even a half hour had passed and try to nurse them again). All but 2 (which are 1lbs even)of the puppies are about 1.7lbs with healthy plump bellies.
I'm at a loss for her behavior and would appreciate any insight you could give and suggestions on what I should do.

ANSWER: Hi Helen

Some females are just not all the keen on motherhood, and this is very typical of the small breeds -- no matter what you try.  And some are just slow learners.  Is this her first litter?  

Now that she's experienced she might be a better mother, it also takes some females longer for the mothering hormones to kick in. Be that as it may, she just might never be a attentive mother.

5 weeks is old enough to be on solids and should be weaned almost completely by 6.  

Good luck.

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

QUESTION: This is actually her third litter and on the past ones she was very attentive, which was why it confused me this time. I was a little slow to switch them to solids because not all of them had their baby teeth coming in yet, which I think may be due to the size of her litter. I have noticed that most times when I leave the room, she's prone to follow me rather than stay with the puppies. Does that mean anything?

Answer
Your answer could be in the possibility that she had three litters in a row. Her body and mind are having a hard time adjusting and she could be just to exhausted to care.

Ideally a female should sit between seasons, especially small dogs.  Hormonally, it takes about a year for their system to get back to normal after whelp.  Their health can adversely effect the dam and the pups.