Shouldnt mother wean by eight weeks.

[joanie]

I was wondering when mothers usually wean their puppies. Mine will be eight weeks Tuesday and she still is letting them suck. Not as much as before but they seem to still be eating off of her quite a bit still. I feed them two to three times a day. And they nibble on her puppy food to. Should i be concerned about them still not being weaned are will she wean them when she is ready. She looks good and one side seems to already be drying up so i thought she would be weaning them already. thanks for any advice i may get. Joanie

[JulieM]

She will wean them when she is ready. I know another breeder who was in the same situation as you - she swore her bitch would *never* wean those pups But, somewhere between 8 & 9 weeks they were weaned....I don't have my NR books right now but I'll look in them when I get a chance - as long as they're getting enough "real" food it should be fine.

The only other thing I can think is that if this is her first litter, she may be reluctant to wean. (Then again, the other litter was the bitch's first, too....)