my pups are 5 weeks now all on dog food dont need there mothers milk anymore, which i think she is very glad of, how long does it take for her teats to go down and she starts looking normal again? they've only been off her all day for the past 2 days

[Corky/Max]

What it says in my Home Veterinary Handbook: The right time to wean depends upon several factors, including the size of the litter, the condition of the dam, the quantity of mother's milk and the inclinations of the breeder. If a dam with a small litter is left to her own devices, she might continue to nurse her puppies for 10 weeks or longer.
WEANING SHOULD BE A GRADUAL PROCESS. For larger breeds, begin at about 3 weeks of age. For Toy breeds begin at about 4 weeks of age. Weaning should not be completed before 6-8 weeks of age. Early weaning and separation from the mother and littermates may result in adjustment problems later in life.
To stimulate the pups' appetites for solid food, remove the dam 2 hrs. before each feeding. After the meal, let her return to nurse. She should remain with the litter at night.

10 weeks, there leaving at 8 weeks, well they are a large breed started weaning about 3 1/2 4 weeks on mushed food still on mothers milk, for the last 2 days they havent been on mothers milk just eating dried food and drinking water, they'll be 6 weeks on saturday, the mum wouldnt let them feed now anyway, have i dont it wrong taking her away? at this point, think i might phone the vet as i dont see any reason for them still being on the mothers milk, there happy and settled on there food and they drink plenty of water

There are other reasons, besides weaning and getting them on solid food, that makes it important to leave them with their mother for longer than 8 weeks.

Mother and the litter mates will teach the puppies important things about being a dog. Puppies learn bite inhibition that way. We'd have a lot fewer dogs that are willing to bite with intent if they had just stayed with their mother a few weeks longer.

Another issue; fear/intimidation imprinting. It's a psychological phase puppies go through between 8 and 12 weeks. If the puppies are handled incorrectly they can learn to be afraid and intimidated by many things. Anything a puppy learns at this age is learned for life.

Puppies not only need a healthy start in life, they need a healthy psychological start. And the best way for that to happen is to let mother teach them how to be a dog.

[Kingsbridge Cav]

Love your response Vetgroomer!
I work with a young gal who just adopted a lab at 6 weeks of age. Need I say more? The pup is weaned just won't sleep at night! A pup this young should have been left with it's litter for another 3-4 weeks minimum to learn all of the imprinting and a soft mouth. Now it will sleep in bed with a young woman because it needs the warmth and breath of a living being when it tries to sleep.
The implications are immense! Will she ever be able to train this large dog to be submissive to her? Probably not.
Pups should not be taken from the litter till they begin moving away from the litter pile to sleep on their own. They either need the heat or the comfort or both and learn a multitude from Mama and the litter that we as humans could not imagine that they even need.

To answer the question p[osed in the original post: My Bitch takes at least 4 weeks to start to look 'Normal" again and after 3 months has a normal bottom line. After repeated breeding this may not be the case and she may never regain her youthful appearance.