We wean our pups at 25 to 29 days, depending on their tooth development. For the first week, food is softened completely, so pups can get use to the grainy texture. Every week after that, until they go to their new families, I add less and less water/Nurse Mate to their dry food, until they are comfortable eating it dry. This is my favorite time. We all love interacting with the pups. My kids help in teaching them to eat, play, and run.

Above is our puppy pen. Pups spend most of their time in here between 4 and 6 weeks of age. They are taken out to eat every 6 hours, but most of their time is still spent sleeping and growing. It is 6' x 6', so pups have plenty of room to wander around and practice walking. We start paper training our pups using papers or puppy pads like seen in the photo above. At 6 weeks, they either stay in our oversized kitchen, or the front porch, if it's a nice day. When it's time to go nighty night, they are returned back to the puppy pen.

These pups above have only been eating for 2 days. It doesn't take them long to get the hang of it. I should have gotten a before and after picture. For all of you wondering about the mess, the answer is yes. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes to clean up the mess they make after they finish eating.