It’s no surprise to imagine that newly born puppy care is not different from newly born baby care. You must be careful when nursing and feeding a newly born puppy as you are when you care for your babies. If your puppies live with their mother just after their birth, it can alleviate your stress to care for them. But if you bring an orphan puppy and want to care or you are a new owner of a newly born puppy, you must have a good piece of knowledge to help your puppies grow into healthy and active fluffy cute puppies.
Newly born puppies are just like newly born babies who depend on their fellow beings to accomplish even their basic tasks.
Don’t worry; you can know everything from feeding a newly born puppy to socializing it with strangers by reading this post just within 5 minutes.
Newly born puppies care-tips, rules, and precautions:
Living space and bedding:
Have you ever seen a mother dog hiding its newly born babies in a secret place to keep them away from any danger zone? You must know it if you are a pet parent. It is because their mother already knows that their newly born puppies are fragile and cannot defend themselves from their enemies. So, she keeps them in a secret but comfortable nesting area. Dogs and animals can manage it easily in the wild, but what if they live in your home.
A newly born puppy can’t even hear unless it’s one or two weeks old, and they can’t judge any alarming sound. Obviously, you have to provide its babies all the facilities without any further ado for adequate newly born puppy care.
It’s not rare for the puppies to get caught up in a soft nest, and they may even die because of suffocation. So, instead of using soft bedding, use soft paper for bedding, and once they are active enough to move freely, you can shift them to soft bedding.
Arranging a comfortable whelping box in an almost dark place will greatly favor the puppies and is the first step of newly born puppy care. Most female dogs will be anxious and stressed if they feel their puppies are too exposed, so you must ensure that the whelp is covered with a blanket or not placed in any much-visited areas. Puppies are more prone to getting hurt if they are not kept in a peaceful environment, and the stress can impact their health.
Proper feeding and weaning to gruel:
Newborn puppies’ care is mostly done by the female mother as far as feeding and nursing the puppies is concerned. But if unluckily you are nourishing a newly born puppy who is an orphan, proper feeding and nursing care by the pet owner will decide the health status of the puppy.
Puppies mostly feed after every 2-3 hours; it’s better to avoid cow milk. You can use a milk replacer formula such as Esbilac and goat milk for the sake of newly born puppy care to avoid any problem. Avoid milk replacement before 3-4 weeks after birth, but if the poor puppy is an orphan, you don’t have any other choice.
Slightly warm milk is preferred, and you can check it just by dipping your finger in the bottle. Position the puppy with its head levelled up and feed it slowly once the puppy has done feeding, pat it on its back to avoid vomiting and gas bubbles.
After 3 weeks of birth weaning the puppy to water dish is highly recommended, but the dish should be large because most puppies try to step in instead of drinking from it. After 4 weeks, you can wean your puppy to gruel or semi-solid food and ultimately, after six to seven weeks, puppies never mind eating dry food, and same do their health.
Maintaining temperature:
The next step in newly born puppy care is to ward off chilling and cold in puppies as they are more susceptible to catching a cold than grown-up dogs. Heating the whelp with a direct heat source is not appropriate, just use a warm blanket to warm up the newly born puppies smoothly.
Maintaining a temperature of 85 Fahrenheit to 90 Fahrenheit is a must within the first four days after birth and then it is diminished to 80 Fahrenheit after 7-8 days. Ultimately a temperature of 70-75 Fahrenheit is well suited after four weeks.
Weigh puppies regularly:
Insufficient feeding and improper nursing can weigh down the new puppies. Keeping an eye on their weight will help minimize the risk of weighing down and guarantee a perfect puppy’s weight. To make sure puppy is gaining gradual pounds, you can weigh it regularly. All the breeds have unique ideal weight requirements, but you can judge this by pinching the puppy skin. If it ensures maximum flexibility and fluffiness, your puppy is going well. But if unfortunately, this isn’t the case, visit to the veterinarian is due.
Maintaining a Subdued light:
It will be shocking for you to know that the puppies open their eyes four or five days after birth. The eyes of these new furry family members are very sensitive to the light. So, the intelligent female dogs keep their puppies away from direct light. If you are nourishing an orphan puppy or with its mother, it’s your responsibility to ward off direct light from the nesting box, or you can simply cover the crate with anything that can stop direct light.
Diarrhea:
Parasites, bacteria, viruses, food changes, and overfeeding can contribute to the suffering of newly born puppies from diarrhea. If it’s mild, simply reducing the feeding doses can handle the situation. But if it’s persistent, you should try diluting the formula with water and encourage the puppy to gulp some water. If the condition is still uncontrollable, call the veterinarian.
Dehydration:
Chilling, diarrhea, improper nursing, and insufficient newly born puppy care leads to dehydration in most puppies. Dehydrated puppies can’t feed and thrive properly.
A slight pinching and skin flexibility can help differentiate between the hydrated and dehydrated puppies. Moist and shiny gums are another indication of hydrated puppies. On the contrary, sticky gums may be alarming, and it indicates that the poor little pup is dehydrated. So, proper newly born puppy care can help your puppy stay hydrated.
Internal parasites:
Slow development with a large belly may be a sign of internal parasites in the newly born or small puppies. It’s time to visit the veterinarian.
Hypoglycemia:
Orphan puppies are most prone to hypoglycemia which may lead to lethargy and low strength. Placing some drops of Corn Syrup under the tongue or gums effectively control this situation, but call your veterinarian if the condition is still uncontrollable.
Be careful while touching the puppies:
Female dogs don’t allow their owners mostly to touch the newly born puppies, but it’s not the case always; some female dogs may be generous too. Newly born puppy care requires a careful hand to pick them up if you can’t resist. Puppies may also be stressed if you or your kids disturb them again and again. Picking the puppies before two weeks is forbidden, but you can cuddle them once they successfully pass this age.
Avoid visitors:
Most cruel owners start searching for new owners as soon as the puppies are born. So, the new owners keep visiting them. It’s very painful and disturbing both for puppies and mother dogs. Behave like humans and let them grow well. If you are in charge of newly born puppy care, you must address this issue in your family.
Once you feel your puppies are growing well and it’s the time to socialize them, introduce the puppies with the rest of the pets in the home, whether they are dogs or other animals. Invite other guest dogs to the home under your strict supervision for proper newly born puppy care and socialization.
Introduce the puppies with your babies and keep an eye on both the baby kids and baby puppies as both can harm each other, although they don’t have the intention to do so.
To accustom them to the noisy, rough, and scary voices, you can turn on the TV.
Nail trimming:
Clipping the nails regularly with a human nail clipper is a crucial part of newly born puppy care.
Conclusion:
Newly born puppy care is exciting as well as tough responsibility. You can enjoy the process of nourishing the newly born puppies if you follow the tips and tricks mentioned above. Newly born puppies demand as much care as nourishing a human kid. It’s easier to take care of puppies with their mother as compared to orphan puppies. If unfortunately, puppies die, although you follow all the newly born puppy care rules, don’t regret it. Some puppies die even when they have their mother to care for them.
You can read more articles on dog care, dog health, dog nutrition, and dog breeds by visiting Dog Vet Tips.