Taking Care of The Newborn Puppies: A quick guide

If your dog is welcoming some new puppies, or you're fostering some, you definitely should prepare for their arrival. Here are some steps you should take, and what you should know.

How To Feed Newborn Puppies - Nursing and Bootle-feeding

Puppies usually nurse every couple of hours and sleep the rest of the time. To make sure puppies are getting enough milk, check them every few hours to make sure they are warm and nursing.

If something has happened to the mother, raising orphaned puppies can be very heart-warming, and difficult to do. The puppies must be fed every couple of hours. If you've never done it before, work with your veterinarian or a rescue group that specializes in puppies for advice.

Everything You Need to Know About Dog Pregnancy

You'll feed newborn puppies milk replacement formula that is made just for puppies. Prepare the formula as directed on the package and use the guidelines suggesting how much to give the puppy. Generally, it's 1 cc of formula for every ounce of body weight

Keeping NewBorn Puppies Warm 

The puppies must stay in a warm room. If they are with their mother, they will try to stay snuggled up with her and rely on her body heat and each other to stay warm.

They can't regulate their body temperature, so they depend on outside sources for warmth. Have you ever seeing a pile of puppies? They like to snuggle for warmth and comfort.

Source: Treehugger

Potential Health Problems

The breeder should perform an inspection to make sure they are each healthy and normal. If this is your first time breeding, talk to your veterinarian about what to expect and look for. Healthy newborns should have a healthy suck reflex, a normal and functioning urethra and anus, no cleft palate, pink and moist gums and mucous membranes, and a healthy coat.

Puppies rely on their mother’s antibodies to get them through their first few weeks of life. Puppies start to lose this immunity between six and eight weeks of age, at around the time they receive their first vaccines. 

However, maternal antibodies are not a guaranteed protection against infectious diseases. Keep your newborn puppies away from unvaccinated dogs and talk to your vet about parasite control in puppies.

Source: American Kennel Club

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