When to Wean Great Dane Puppies?

Great Danes are giant dogs that require special care as puppies due to their rapid growth rate later on. All newborn puppies start off nursing from the mother, but when to wean puppies from the mother differs from breed to breed. If you are caring for Great Dane puppies, learn about the appropriate weaning process to ensure your pups are not weaned too quickly or too late.

  1. Age

    • When Great Dane puppies are three and a half to four weeks old you can start the weaning process. To wean a puppy means to introduce it to solid food besides the mother's milk. This process is done gradually. Even if you start weaning your puppy at four weeks, it can take several weeks until the puppy is fully weaned from its mother and eating completely dry food.

    Dry Food

    • At the start of the weaning process the Great Dane puppy still gets to nurse from its mother, but it also eats prepared meals with dry food. Dry food may be blended up in the blender and combined with water to turn into a mush that the dog laps up. Until now, the Great Dane puppy has been used to suckling, not lapping, which is why you want to start with soft-solids.

    Canned Food

    • When the Great Dane pup reaches five weeks of age you can introduce a high-quality canned food to the dog. By this time the puppy has gotten used to eating dry food but is still in the weaning process. Introduce a little bit of the wet food at a time so that the dog does not get a stomachache from the new consistency and ingredients.

    Separation

    • At six weeks is when the Great Dane puppy can eat independently of its mother. The pup no longer relies on the mom for milk, and is completely nourished by dry or wet dog foods. At this time you can also introduce the dog to some natural foods, such as bits of carrots and banana.