by G. Emma Ryder

Created on: January 16, 2010   Last Updated: January 17, 2010

The day comes that your little ones need more than their mother can offer.  Each day the signs of this emanate fact comes to your notice. This will depend on the breed and the number in the litter as well as the aggressiveness of the individual puppy.  But as they get fed by the mother, they will continue to be hungry following her  and wanting to nurse longer.  She wants to get away and limit the nursing.  This weaning process can take a few days or few weeks or even one day.  But the fact remains this is the time to introduce supplemental nutrition to satisfy their need to eat and help the mother with the weaning process.

Pick up the puppy food from any number of sources.  The cost of puppy food and quality is completely up to the choice of the owner and the suggestions of veterinarian, groomer or friends.  Learning the joys of flavor and taste of food with new puppies is just too much fun to mention.  A little cottage cheese will have the puppies licking each others face and feet.  The best judge of what your puppies will thrive on is best left to the owner who is aware of  the activity of the puppies.  Keep check of their stools if they change from what the mother provided to what you have introduced then  the food maybe too rich or as simple as a slight food allergy.  Remember, no chocolate, no sugar and limit food scraps.  Try to get them in the habit of eating their meals from a bowl.

Their nutrition is not entirely based on the puppy  food in the beginning.  But this beginning will establish their need for food as well as their toleration of the food and ability to eat it.  A little hot water to soften the food is excellent.  By the time your puppy needs puppy food daily, they will have their first teeth to chew up the little bits of crunchy goodness that they will eat with gusto.  Limiting their food will lead to their becoming a fat pet in their later years.  Letting your puppy eat until full and the learning process of eating too much are all lessons each must learn.  Observing the puppies as they eat , you will be able to identify bad habits that you will want to correct immediately.  Guarding a bowl, not allowing others to eat and lack of eating are all behaviors that need to be observed and action taken. 

Putting out enough food is always difficult to judge but they will only eat what they need. Depending on the breed, they may only eat a few bites and return later to snack again.  Others will eat until they will hold not one bite more.  Miserable they will groan and move slowly,  its a learning process for them.  The next day they will again eat too much but just a little less. Each day a little less as they confirm in their minds, they have all they need.  Any number of  behaviors will manifest, this is a process that can be a clue of each puppy personality.  

Have fun discovering the joys of pet ownership and responsibility.  Remember they depend on you to provide for them but if you forget, they do know where to go:  the cat's dish, garbage or to a neighbor's door.

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