How do you wean pups?

Technically, mama dog weans the pups, but you can help things along by watching the mother dog and following her lead.

At first, mom will let the pups nurse to their hearts' content. When you notice that she's beginning to get up and walk away while the pups are still trying to nurse, that's a sign that she's begun the weaning process. By four weeks of age, you need to make some puppy food available. If you give them dry food, you might moisten it a bit at first. (You might want a video camera handy too...a litter of puppies' first encounter with a pan of puppy food is often hilarious!)

Over the following few weeks she'll let them nurse less and less, and they'll eat more and more. Finally, the mama dog will refuse to let them nurse (usually at 6-7 weeks). You want them to be well accustomed to their food by this point, because mama can be sternly insistent when she decides that it's time for them to go without nursing, to the point of growling or possibly even biting to make them stop trying. That's it...they're weaned.