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My puppies have teeth, and mom bites them. How do I start weaning?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | unspayed

Hello..we have rescued a litter of puppies and were told they are around 4/weeks. I am little suspicious of this since they have almost all of there teeth erupting. And the mother is now biting them when they try to nurse.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on June 25th, 2017

Puppy teeth should all be erupted by six weeks of age. They could be 4-6 weeks old. At this age, they should begin weaning. This can be done by introducing a slurry or gruel made by mixing puppy food with an appropriate puppy milk replacer such as Esbilac or PetLac. Over the next few weeks, gradually decrease the amount of liquid until the puppies are eating dry or canned food by around 8 weeks of age.

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    Answered By Britni Miller, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Ages are often guesses on puppies but they may be older. If their mother is starting to become annoyed with them it is time to start introducing them to puppy kibble. You can start by softening it with warm water or warm milk replacer. They should start to get the hang of eating it and nurse less.

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