Feeding, Training

Question
My Chihuahua gave birth to 4 gorgeous puppies on Nov. 15, so they are almost a month old.  First,  when do I know they are ready to start puppy mush?  The mother is spending more time away from them now, wanting attention from her humans more than anything right now.  

Secondly,  since being pregnant, the mother has decided to use the house as her bathroom.  How do I get her out of this really bad habit?  It's funny, because she does actually use our bathroom to go....our other Chi goes outside like she's supposed to.  We got the mother when she was 3 weeks pregnant (unbeknownst to us at the time, but its ok and we love them all), so we didn't have anything to do with her initial housebreaking.  Help?

Thank you!

Answer
Hi Donna

The pups can start on puppy food any time. You can do a mixture of kibble with either goats milk, warm water and/or meat.

If the dam is going in the house, I would think she is getting over fed.  A common enough problem.  Close the bathroom door and start crating the female.  It's important to break the habit, especially if she's fairly new to the household or you will never get her to stop.

Good luck.