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Can my 4-week-old puppies start solid food if mom won't feed them?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Boxer | Female | unspayed | 2 years and 3 months old | 50 lbs

Hello. Our puppies are going to be 4 weeks this Thursday Dec. 6. Can we already start giving them solid food in a mush? Momma doesn't really want to feed them anymore and they do not accept the bottle. Can I already start getting them used to eating solid food? Just a little bit..not too much either.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on December 4th, 2018

Yes, it's fine to start weaning them onto solid food. To help them wean and to get used to dry food, I would soak a high quality puppy formulated dry food in warm water until soft. Then mix that with puppy formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry puppy food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until they are eating the dry puppy food only. Best of luck.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 17th, 2017

    Great question! Sometimes puppies appear interested in their mother's food early, and you can start weaning bottle feed puppies around three weeks of age. To help them wean and to get used to puppy food, I would soak a high quality puppy formulated dry food in warm water until soft. Then mix that with puppy formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry puppy food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until they are eating the dry puppy food only. You can also do this with a wet food, just mix it with the KMR and warm water until you get the oatmeal consistency before giving it to them. As with the dry food, over the next two weeks increase the amount of wet food and decrease the amount of KMR until they are eating the wet food only. I hope this helps!

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    2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 8th, 2018

    It's fine to start introducing them to puppy food now if they are three weeks old. To help them wean and to get used to dry food, I would soak a high quality puppy formulated dry food in warm water until soft. Then mix that with puppy formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry puppy food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until they are eating the dry puppy food only. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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