My 6-week-old chihuahua puppies won't eat solid food. Is this normal?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! At this stage you can try to feed him puppy food. You can water it down to make it softer or just feed him the wet kind. If he is not wanting to eat that yet, you may have to start him on a milk replacer until he is a bit older (perhaps a few more weeks) and try solid food again at that stage. Have a good night!

AT 4 weeks old it is good to try to start feeding them so they can be weaned by 6 weeks old. Each puppy is different and may take to it a different times. I would try dry puppy food mixed with water so it is soft, then feed them. They may not eat at all and play in it. If that happens, skip a day or 2 and try again. You may have to place some in their mouths to teach them. They will still nurse despite being fed so it does not have to be a lot of food as they are little and can't hold very much. The better they get and the older they are, you can decrease the amount of water added to get them used to dry puppy food.

The mom is probably weaning Trixie and so it is just time to start food! You can start mixing puppy food with milk replacer at 4 weeks, and after a week or so, Trixie should be on just puppy food and water. The puppy food will have feeding guidelines on the label, but generally keeping it available and letting her decide when to eat is recommended.

At four weeks of age, you should be able to start trying to mix in some solid food, or potentially a gruel with wet and dry food together. Dogs will start getting their first puppy teeth right around the age or 3.5 to 4 weeks so they shouldn't have too many problems with the mechanical digestion of the food. If you feel like the puppies aren't eating enough regardless and are failing to thrive, I would get them in your vet for a visit. Hope this helps.

No, this isn't normal that they aren't gaining weight. Failure to gain weight is a sign of illness in these newborn puppies, and I would have them seen by a vet immediately. They may need more food as well to gain weight, but I would have them seen by a vet to be safe.

Puppies get weaned between 4 and 6 weeks, so it is probably just time! I recommend mixing water with canned puppy food (or dry puppy food) to make it really wet and mushy. The puppies will often play in it and then lick it off their paws. Here is a helpful article: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2108&aid=887

It is better to nurse pups until around 4-5 weeks, then start the weaning process. Once they have teeth they are more than ready to be weaned off mom. At 6 weeks, they should have their teeth, so the sitter can start the process now. There is no harm in starting the weaning process between 4-5 weeks b/c that is the ideal time to do so and does not harm their growth in any way. Some momma dogs will still allow the pups to feed even after they get their teeth, but there is certainly discomfort for the mom and high risk of abrasions and infection of the teets if allowed to happen for long, so its best to get them weaned for mom's sake. : ) Best of luck with these pups and I hope that the weaning process goes well. Take care!