What age does a dog start to eat hard food?

Question

I recently bought a mini dachshund and this friday she will be 7 weeks old the breeder told me when i take her home she will still be on formula and that i have to put just a little bit of hard food to make it softer. I was wondering at that age should they still just mostly be on formula or when i take her home if i should give her mostly hard food and use the formula to soften it? Whats the best way to do this?

Answer 1

there're good  quality dry foods out there that are soft enough for a puppy :()

Answer 2

i have had my pups since they were both 10 weeks old, and they have been eating hard food since then. But if a pup still needs formula, I believe it was taken from its mother too young because milk is something they get naturally from their mother. I don't believe you should feed it soft food unless you are always going to feed it this kind of food. That's what my vet told me anyway, so you might want to check with your own they are the only ones that really know

Answer 3

She should not have given you the pup until 8 weeks old and the dog should be off formula and already on dog food. Give her solid food (water it down just a bit to make it softer) and feed the dog that. Don't give the dog anymore formula. What kind of breeder did you get your dog from?

Answer 4

at 7 weeks, your dog does not need to be on formula.  however, your dog is still too young to handle eating dry kibble by itself.  you an soak the kibble in warm water to soften or you can mix some canned puppy food with it.  do this until she is around 10- 12 weeks of age.

Answer 5

After 8 weeks you should take your pup off of a formula and start it with what I think is the best iams puppy food then after it turns 2 give it iams dog food

Answer 6

She should have been on hard food already. Buy some Wellness Just For Puppy and when she gets older, change to Wellness Small Breed.

Answer 7

Seven weeks was definitely too young to be taken from the mother and litter mates.  This is not done by responsible, knowledgeable breeders who normally keep puppies until at least 10 - 12 weeks when they are much better at adapting to a new home.  But you already have your dog and need help.

First, you will need a good quality puppy food.  Do not get the junk that is sold in the grocery stores.  Go to a Pet Emporium like PetsMart or PetCo and get a good food as it will mean not only a healthier puppy but your pup will actually need less of a quality food than they will from a cheap food.  

You will need to feed your puppy at least 3 times a day.  Take about a quarter of a cup of the food and let it soak with an equal amount of very hot water until the water has been soaked up and the food softened.  Make sure that the food has also cooled before giving it to the puppy.  At first, you can add a small amount of the formula to the cooled puppy food just to wean her off of it but she does not need formula at this age.  You can also add a tablespoon of unflavored yogurt or cottage cheese to her food.  These will assist in digestion and will give her some additional calcium.  As your puppy gets older and is eating the dog food well, you can reduce the amount of hot water that you add to the food so that it becomes less and less softened until the puppy is eating the dry food.  Even my adult dogs get water on their dog food though it is regular cool tap water.  

Answer 8

Let the dog keep eating wet food. Every week or so, try to add more hard food to get her off the soft stuff. The soft stuff is more fattening than the hard food.