Table of Contents
Suckling Puppies
Puppies should search for a nipple vigorously when woken. This is called the “rooting” reflex. Puppies vocalize in a series of squeaks and whines. When the pups are full, they go back to sleep. In the first week, this occurs every two hours. It is important that the puppies suckle often because the mother’s milk is necessary for the pups’ growth.
Newborn puppies need to be supervised to make sure the litter is well-fed at all times. Don’t rely on visual observation of the litter to check the puppies’ weight. If you notice the pups are not getting enough food, you may need to keep an eye on them. Puppies who cry a lot might be hungry and need help. The nipples closest to the hind legs produce the most milk, so make sure to place the struggling pup there during feeding.
Daily Weight Checkups
It’s important to make sure your pups remain healthy. To find a way to tell the puppies apart, you will need to recognize the birth weights of the breed and find a way to tell them apart. It may be necessary to mark the puppies with a non-toxic marker to identify them.
Digital scales can be used for weighing puppies. In the first weeks of life, they give the most accurate reading. Be gentle as you weigh the puppy. A good way to do this is to put the puppy in a bucket or blanket and place them on the scale. You need to subtract the weight of the extra materials if you do this. Every day, record the date and weight of the puppies in a chart.
Monitoring the Mother’s Behavior
The dam should clean the pups after they are born. This is an early sign of rejection if she doesn’t. Spending long periods away from the litter, physically moving the pups away, purposely injuring the pups, and excessive crying from the pups are some of the later signs of rejection. You will need to jump in to make sure the litter survives if the dam exhibits these behaviors.
It is a physical illness.
The dam should be checked frequently for any signs of infections. Seek veterinary advice if you suspect that your dam is unwell. Mastitis can be life threatening if left to get worse. In early cases of mastitis, the dam won’t show overt signs of illness, but her puppies won’t gain weight as quickly as expected. The mammary glands become swollen and discolored as the infection progresses. This makes nursing her puppies very painful.
Emotional distress.
If you think that the dam is rejecting her litter because she is tired or overwhelmed, be prepared to help her wherever you can. hormones are stimulated during labor and nursing Get the dam to lay on her side and place the pups near her teats if the pups don’t automatically latch onto a teat. If you are going to get help from a trusted person, make sure it is not going to cause stress and anxiety for the mother.
Keeping the Puppies Warm
Newborn puppies can’t regulate their temperatures on their own. The temperature of the whelping box is very important. The box should be around 30C in the first week. The temperature can fall to 28C in the second week. It can fall to 27C by the third week. A comfortable 24 to 25C is appropriate at week four. You will need to maintain these temperatures.
There is a A lamp and hot water bottles. A device to measure temperature.
Keep hot water bottles away from your puppies. Wrap hot water bottles in towels or blankets to prevent burns.
Take the rectal temperature of the puppies to check the effectiveness of your heating. Your goal is to keep their body temperatures above 36C. Your puppies should have a rectal temperature of 38.6C by the fourth week. It is safe to stop monitoring their temperature at this point.
Preparation
Before your baby is born, make sure you have all the necessary equipment. You don’t want to find that you don’t have the correct supplies halfway through the birthing process, and you shouldn’t leave the litter unattended from birth onwards. Leaving your puppies alone to grab more supplies from the store is out of the question because of this.
There is a A box. Newspapers to line the dam’s whelping box for easy cleaning, comfortable bedding, dry, clean towels, heating pads or hot water. Iodine is needed to clean the puppies. Baby scale. You have your vet’s phone number. The emergency clinic has a phone number.
Pick the location you want to put the whelping box in to avoid stress. Make sure that the whelping box is placed in a warm place that won’t be too loud for your whelping dam.
