Weaning puppies

please could anybody advise me on the best time and food to give my puppies so i can start to wean them

I am not saying this is the best - just what I do.
To get puppies to wean you have to be offering them something more palatable than the bitch's milk. In nature, the bitch would begin to regurgitate a bit of her meal so the pups would be getting some body temperature, chewed partly digested meat. What I do is buy about 500g of best quality low fat minced steak and freeze it in 100g portions to reduce bacterial content. Then thaw one portion fully and warm gently in a microwave - you are aiming to get body heat. Then with care, put a little bit direct into the mouth of the pup and watch that it is swallowed, a second little bit can be offered, then move onto the next pup. Second day, repeat as before and try to ensure everyone has two mouthfuls, and the bigger even three. Third day, with any decent puppy kibble make a slosh with warm water - aiming for body heat again and give a mouthful of slosh and a follow up of mince. Day four, more kibble slosh than mince, still hand feeding. Day five, you are now on your last portion of mince so make up two or three little bowls of slosh (depending on how many pups you have) and top with titbits of mince. Pups should now be able to snuffle about in the bowls (they seem to eat with their feet!) and lap the mince and slosh.
Any mince you had over on any day is of course then Mum's treat.

I start weaning at 2.5 to 3 weeks but Springers have big litters and this takes some of the strain off the bitch. Pups need to have eyes open and be reasonably mobile to wean, otherwise you still need to bottle feed Whelpie or whatever your vet recommends if the bitch is struggling to produce milk. It is best to keep the bitch away for at least an hour before you offer the mince as the little ones need to be a bit hungry but don't distress her if she doesn't want to go. As the pups get bigger, reduce the amount of water in the slosh to thicken it up and put water down separately - aim to have them eating dry kibble a week or so after you first put bowls down for them.

Sgurr

Hi

Thanks for your advice, i will try this method.