At what age can puppies start eating dry food? Do I need to soften it?

Congratulations on your new puppy - Phoenix is absolutely adorable! Puppies begin to get their baby teeth around 5-8 weeks of age, so Phoenix is just around that age. You can check his mouth for signs of teeth eruption and begin feeding him dry food if a majority of his baby teeth are present. He can continue to have moistened puppy food, but slowly transition to dry puppy food over the next week or so.

Great question! To help them wean and to get used to dry food, I would soak a high quality puppy formulated dry food in water water until soft. Then mix that with puppy formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry puppy food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until they are eating the dry puppy food only.

Most dogs this age can eat hard puppy food just fine - so if he likes it and doesn't seem to have trouble chewing it, I wouldn't worry :) If he seems to have some difficulty, you can moisten it with some warm water and let it soak for a few minutes to soften before giving it to him, or feed canned food instead.

Trusty can of course eat dry food! Sometimes if they seem uninterested you can add a little warm water to soften the food but this most likely is not needed. I would recommend sticking with a basic hard puppy food and not mixing in human foods. Giving human food to dogs is a hard habit to break the earlier you start it. IF Trusty is on a well rounded dog food she should not need supplementation. Hope that helps

If he can eat the dry food with no problems than it is ok to stop moistening the food. You could try a small amount and see if he is able to eat it. If he has any problems than you will need to continue to moisten it longer.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! At 4 weeks you can start to wean bottle feeding. I would start with soft canned puppy food for 1 week then mix in wet dry food over another week. By 6 weeks the puppy should be able to eat dry food or moistened dry food. I hope this helps and I wish you and Cujo the best!

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.