Dogs and Puppies

The number of puppies in a litter varies greatly by breed. Some smaller dogs bear only one or two puppies at a time, while some larger breeds bear ten or more. In some cases, one puppy will be the runt of the litter, being noticeably smaller than the others. The runt is generally quite meek or very aggressive because of its size compared to its siblings. Born after approximately 63 days of gestation, puppies emerge in an amnion which is bitten off and eaten by the mother dog. Puppies begin to nurse almost immediately. If the litter exceeds six puppies, particularly if one or more are obvious runts, human intervention in hand-feeding the stronger puppies will be necessary to ensure that the runts get proper nourishment and attention from the mother to thrive. As they reach one month of age, the puppies are gradually weaned and begin to eat solid food. The mother may regurgitate partially digested food for the puppies to eat or might let them eat some of her solid food. By the age of about seven weeks, puppies no longer depend on nursing for food. Although they may continue trying to nurse, the mother dog may no longer allow them to after this age; still, she might let them occasionally nurse for comfort.