I have a 5 week old puppy that we are trying to wean. We have tried giving her softened dog food, plain rice and a kibble at a time. Every time she eats a very small amount she throws up. She doesn't do this after she feeds from her mothers milk, only puppy food or rice. Does anyone have any advice as to what to do? She is much smaller than the rest of the other puppies.

Have you tried using baby formula? I'm trying to remember what we used when we raised labs.

Just regular baby formula mixed with water?

It just hit me what we fed the labs when we were weaning them... rice baby food. Don't use just plain right.

Are all the other puppies accepting the food change? With this pup being a bit smaller, she may need a little bit more time with mom before given softened puppy chow. Give her another week nursing if that is what satisfies her. The average age for weaning is 6 weeks.

Has she seen a vet? There could be a physical problem. The dog guide school I volunteer for breeds hundreds of Labs a year, and starts solid, or at least moistened puppy chow at 4 weeks. I think their veterinarian staff is more experienced than most vets in private practice.

What did the books you read say? People that are going to breed dogs have an obligation to educate themselves first. A good place to start is Successful Dog Breeding, by Chris Walkowicz, DMV