WindWalker Pugs

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WindWalker Pugs

Weaning & Litter Box Training

Weaning

Weaning starts when mom can feel the puppies' milk teeth and she starts to want to get away from them quickly, as soon as she's let them nurse long enough she's no longer uncomfortable.

You must be careful not to let her do this too fast, or she'll get mastitis and you'll have a real mess on your hands. By that I mean she'll get an infection which can be life threatening. It can happen very quickly.

Nursing for a dog is just like nursing for a human. So, if you've ever done it, this is easier to understand. If not, you can still understand, but it will require you to read more. The main point is do it s-l-o-w-l-y. Once you can see it is time to wean your litter, decide when you will start and when you want to be done, but expect it to take at least 2 weeks.

I start by reducing the amount of time mom spends feeding the pups. If she's feeding them every 3 or 4 hours, stretch the time to an hour or two longer between feedings. In other words, take one feeding a day out of their schedule.

Do each step for 2 or 3 days. So, if you go to every 6 hours starting on Sunday, make the next step every 8 hours on Wednesday. Monitor your pups to make sure each one is still doing OK.

At the same time, you're giving them some solid food. Remember they suck milk, and they will suck whatever they are eating at first. If it is too soupy, they will suck it up and choke or snort it. Not good! I feed mine previously frozen low fat (10 - 15%) ground beef. (I freeze it to kill off any germs.) I put it in the small zip lock baggies and freeze it for at least a day before I thaw out one day's worth at a time for them. I let them suck it from two of my fingers. Like little baby birds they wait their turns.

You can also use canned finely chopped dog food, no chunks! Anything that they can lick, or suck down without choking. You want it thick enough they can't snort it, smooth enough they won't choke on big chunks.

Once they are eating something solid, they will need some fresh water. This is when they learn how to lap up liquid without sucking it. So, it is a good thing to give them before the solid food, so they can try it. Some breeders us the lick it bottles. Those work, too.

Next, we use softened kibble. I soak the puppy kibble and keep it in the refridgertor until I feed it to them. You can put some small pieces of the hamburger in the mix, or some small curd cottge cheese. I slowly reduce the amount of water I add, so that by the time they are 8 weeks they are eating dry kibble only. I leave the kibble with them at all times and they eventually get four, them three then two meals a day by 6 months.

Be sure to watch mom for any swelling, hard lumps and/or redness while she's nursing and drying up. If you notice any issues, contact your vet immediately! Your vet will probbly want to see her, so he can prescribe an antibiotic. Until then, and every time you find a hard lump, you can help her.

First run some hot water and wet a clean wash cloth or hand towel. Get it as hot as you can stand to touch. Apply it to the lump until the heat has disapated. repeat as often as you can until the lump has become soft. Once it is you can try to relieve the pressure by expressing some milk from that teat.

This is your first line of defense against infection setting in and it can reduce the infection that is already present. You will still need a trip to the vet, but at least this will prevent a serious problem before it can get worse.

Litter Box Training

Since we live in the Pacific Northwest, land of liquid sunshine, having a way to let them go potty without having to get soaking wet (them and us) seemed like a great idea for us and our puppy buyers. Having raised many litters with soggy, stinky messy newspaper, the idea of the mess being contained was a really great idea, too!

Weaning and litter box training all starts when the pups can walk and are pretty steady on their feet. When we see them starting to move off their bed to pee and/or poop, we add a litter box. A short sided one the little pups can easily get into and out of. The box typically takes up half or more of their space at this point.

Once they are bigger and needing a bigger pen, we use more than one, and keep the sides short.

By the time they are ready to go to their new homes, they are ready for high sided litter boxes. Otherwise, they kick the litter out of the box and that can get messy.

We use Yesterday's News Original newspaper litter. We used pine stall pellets, which smells good, but when it gets wet it turns to saw dust and can get into eyes. Not a good idea. You also want to ensure any they eat will not harm them. Like toddlers, puppies taste everything. So, this is important. However, most of the time the pups will mouth, but not swallow any pieces of litter they taste.

If you want to start an older pup, the best thing to do is to start them as soon as you bring them into your home. If you can. Use a paper towel to wipe up any urine, then put that wet paper towel into the litter box and cover it with a small amount or one layer of the paper pellets to provide a smell they can relate to in the litter box.

Once you see them preparing to go again, put them immediately into the box. This takes close observation, so you can also use a crate to control the time when they will want to go.

The litter box training can also make it easier to house break, by moving the box out to the place where you want them to go in the yard. At that point you can even just use the litter on the spot.

Check out this link for a a quick guide to litter box training a Pug.

Litter Box Training