why is my dog producing milk?

i got a new puppy for christmas who was 4 weeks old. shortly after she was introduced to my other dogs, one of them started nursing her. she has completely taken the mother roll in the pups new world. the other dog has never had a litter of pups herself, and she has started to produce milk.

Asked by Member 552797 on Jan 1st 2008 in Behavior & Training


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Any intact female dog can produce milk, no matter if she has pups herself or not. The act of a pup attempting to nurse will stimulate the female to begin producing milk. So if your pup tried to nurse a few times, your female would definitely begin producing milk.

At the age of 4 weeks most pups will still be doing some nursing (this is a reason why usually you don't take a new puppy home until around 8 weeks if possible). That would explain why your pup even attempted to nurse.


Marlowe, CGC

4 weeks old is way way too young for a puppy to be away from it's mother, which is why you should only bring a puppy that young home if the mother has already rejected it and it needs bottle-raising or fostering. Your other dog identified your new puppy as basically an infant in need of care and if she's intact she can certainly lactate. Most mammals can do this actually--it's a hormonal thing.

Marlowe, CGC answered on 1/2/08. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Why do u have a 4 week old puppy!!? Pups should not leave their moms until they are between 8-10 for proper health and socializing.
Female dogs will produce milk if they are not spayed,which seems to be another issue in your home. Let them care for her now but in 2 weeks if this is still happening you need to stop the puppy from nursing so the mother(non-mother) doesn't continue to produce milka and so the pup will start eating solid foods only.
