I have foster puppies, who are now 10 weeks old.  They stopped nursing last week, and mom really has no more milk.  But they still try on rare occasions.  They try on everyone, check to see if any of us have milk, including the cat.  Mama dog just pushes the puppies away. They are nearly her size, probably half her size, and developmentally probably 4-5 years old, so I think it's fine that they are weaned, and mother dog obviously agrees,  but the puppies disagree.  

Oh and they spent their first night in the crates.  They  had been, at night, in my closet, all together.  However, we are having an ant issue, and the puppies are far from diligent at keeping bits of food from getting under the newspapers, and/or under the cardboard which was protecting the floor from their "accidents."  So last night we put them in the three crates we have, one in a small crate, two in a larger crate, and the last three in the largest crate.  I felt like I was ferberizing.  They were unhappy with it.  I did not get very much sleep as I tried to comfort them.  We can't have them running all over the house, they can be destructive with their teeth and are "mostly" housetrained, plus I am worried about electrical cords, etc.  Can't leave them outdoors, we have coyotes and other wild live in the area...  We'll see how they do in their crates tonight.  I was saying last night, over and over, "puppies aren't humans, they are dogs, puppies aren't humans, they are dogs."  I let them out twice, once at midnight and once at 4:00am, and then this am at 7:00 am.  

Joylyn

Joylyn
--
You must be the change you wish to see in the world--Ghandi

---- Morgan Gallagher <[log in to unmask]> wrote: 
> Had to share this with you all.  I've just been told off, royally, by 
> the eager young vet at my new practice, for still allowing kittens to 
> nurse from Mama cat, at 12 weeks old.  Apparently it's bad for them, and 
> makes them clingy and they knead a lot as adults, and they should have 
> been forcibly separated at 8 weeks.
> 
> When asked for scientific evidence to support the premature weaning of 
> any mammal, her response was "It's just how it's done."
> 
> And we wonder why we have so many problems with humans!
> 
> *sigh*
> 
> Morgan Gallagher
> 
> (In the UK, for reference.)
> 
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