The puppies
are here. They have been weighed and identified; they have
nursed and are now sleeping quietly (except for the normal
twitching). Now what? Your job is far from done.
Nutrition and feeding
The bitch
will be ready for some food and water. Bring the dishes to
the whelping box, as she will not want to leave the
newborn puppies. Do not leave the dishes on the floor in
the whelping box, as the puppies could crawl into them.
Hang the dishes from the side of the whelping box or offer
her food and water at least every 2-3 hours to start. She
should be taken outside on a frequent and regular basis to
eliminate.
Within
2-3 days, the bitch's appetite will dramatically increase
to 2-4 times her pre-pregnancy intake. She will need a
near constant supply of a high quality puppy food (do NOT
use large breed puppy formulas, which are generally lower
in protein, fat, and minerals) and water to maintain her
weight and health while feeding the puppies. She should
still have her vitamin/mineral tablet. She should not look
gaunt or thin if her weight is maintained. Ideally, she
should weigh the same at the time of weaning, as she did
when she was bred.
A
healthy puppy is firm, plump, and vigorous. Puppies should
nurse every 2 hours or so. If they nurse until their
stomachs appear round and they sleep quietly, they are
eating enough. If they are crying and moving a lot, they
are not eating enough. They may be swallowing air, which
makes the stomach appear larger. As they become weaker,
they will lay still and not cry. A puppy may lose weight
in the first 24 hours (less than 10% of birth weight), but
after that, the weight should increase steadily. Their
weight should double in the first 7-10 days. Before,
during, and after nursing, the bitch will lick the stomach
and
perineal
area to stimulate urination and defecation. She will
continue to do this for 2-3 weeks.
Puppies
should gain 1-2 grams/day/pound of anticipated adult
weight. Weigh the puppy daily for the first 2 weeks, then
weigh at least weekly. A food scale typically works well
for weighing the puppies. Failure to gain weight is often
the first sign of illness in puppies.
At about 3
weeks of age, the puppies will begin to imitate the bitch
eating and drinking. A secure shallow water dish should
now be available at least part of the day. At 3½ weeks of
age, the puppies can start receiving puppy mush.
Prepare
the puppy mush by placing 2 cups of high quality dry puppy
food in a blender with 12.5 oz liquid puppy milk replacer
and fill the rest of the blender with hot water. This
should be blenderized until the consistency of human
infant cereal. (This feeds 6-8 puppies of a medium-sized
breed.) The puppies should receive 3-4 meals a day of this
to start. Once the puppies have checked it out, walked in
it, and have eaten some, the dam can be allowed to finish
it and clean the puppies off. Each week, increase the
amount of food, decrease the amount of the milk replacer
and water that is added and the time of blenderizing, so
by 7 weeks of age, the puppies are eating dry food. Once
they are on dry food, it may be left in with the puppies
(when the dam is out of the box) or the meal times can
continue. As the puppies eat more solid food, the bitch
may be let away from the puppies for an ever longer period
of time.
By
the time the puppies are 6½-7 weeks of age, they should be
fully weaned from the dam's milk, eating dry food, and
drinking water. If the weaning is not rushed, she will
naturally start decreasing milk production, as the puppies
increase their intake of solid food. As the puppies begin
eating the puppy mush at 4 weeks of age, start changing
the bitch's diet back to adult food to also help her
decrease milk production. Start by replacing 1/4 of her
puppy food with adult food. Keep increasing the adult food
and decreasing the puppy food until by the 7th week
postpartum she is eating only adult food. During the last
week of weaning, the dam's food consumption should be less
than 50% above the maintenance levels and declining toward
maintenance levels. Hopefully she has been fed well during
pregnancy and lactation so she weighs the same at weaning
as she did before pregnancy.
Sanitation and housebreaking
During
and after whelping, the bitch should be allowed to go
outside to urinate and defecate. Take her out on a leash
(bring a flashlight if it is dark), and watch her closely,
as she could have another puppy.
The
whelping box needs to be changed at least once a day at
this stage, and 2-3 times a day as the puppies begin
eating solids and the bitch is not cleaning up after them.
A large heavy paper may be laid on the bottom, several
layers of newspaper over that, and a tightly stretched
blanket over the newspaper. The blanket should be large
enough to fit under all 4 sides of the box. If the box was
made so the sides set into the floor, the sides are picked
up, the blanket stretched, and the sides set down to hold
the blanket in place. Puppies can become lost under
blankets or under wrinkles in blankets. When cleaning,
check the consistency and color of the puppy stool. It
should be brown and formed, but not overly firm. Any
deviations and the veterinarian should be called.
To
facilitate housebreaking, the puppies should be given
definite feeding, playing, sleeping, and elimination
areas. Once the puppies are mobile, they will use one area
for elimination. To assist in housebreaking, a low board
can be secured across the whelping box to divide the
elimination area from the eating/sleeping area. Cover this
area with a layer of newspapers with cedar or pine
shavings on top. The new owners then place a small amount
of cedar or pine shavings in the preferred location of
their yard to aid in housebreaking. Keep the elimination
area clean and dry.
Temperature
Newborn
puppies are able to maintain a body temperature about 12°F
warmer than the air temperature. The temperature under the
heat lamp in the whelping box should be around 85°F for
the first 2-3 days, and then can be dropped to 75-80°F
depending on the surrounding temperature. A temperature of
70-75°F on the far side of the box is fine. Puppies head
toward the heat source to nurse so do not have the heat
source warmer than the bitch. Hanging a household
thermometer on the inside of the whelping box will help
you know the temperature in the box. Puppies typically lay
side by side or on top of each other to share warmth. If
the puppies are scattered throughout the whelping box and
away from the heat lamp, the temperature is too warm. If
they are all piled on top of each other, it may be too
cold. Puppies need the extra heat, as they are unable to
regulate their body temperature until several weeks old.
The rectal temperature of newborn puppies is about 97°F
and rises each week until about 4 weeks of age when it is
a normal adult temperature of 100.5-102.5°F.
Health of the bitch
Each
mammary gland and nipple should be checked at least once a
day for redness, hardness, discharge, or streaking color.
If mastitis develops, the veterinarian should be notified
immediately. If caught early, milking out the affected
gland and applying hot compresses will help prevent a
spread of the problem. Sometimes, antibiotics are
necessary. If she gets multiple glands with mastitis, the
puppies will need to be bottle fed. The puppies' nails
should be trimmed weekly starting within days of birth.
This will help prevent some of the scratches on the dam's
mammary glands. The deciduous teeth start coming in around
day 11. Check the mammary glands of the bitch daily for
bite marks.
The bitch
will have a bloody discharge from her vulva which may be
quite heavy for several days. It should decrease in amount
and become darker and be almost gone within 2-3 weeks.
The
bitch's hair coat may have become very thick and luxurious
during the pregnancy. Around the time of weaning, the
bitch starts to shed. This extreme loss of hair coat is
natural and it should be back to normal in about another
4-5 months. This shedding is more extreme than a normal
shed cycle and some bitches become quite bald. This is
often called 'blowing a coat.'
Puppy health care
Unthrifty
puppies should be examined as soon as possible by a
veterinarian to check for birth defects. Some defects,
such as a cleft palate are not compatible with life. These
puppies should be humanely euthanized.
Dewclaws
are removed and tails docked at 2-4 days of age. Make an
appointment with your veterinarian for these procedures to
be done. Check your breed's standard, as some breeds need
to have dewclaws left intact in order to show. Tail length
changes, so again, the current breed standard should be
consulted. When the puppies are at the clinic and having
these procedures done, the bitch should be taken for a
walk around the block until the puppies are done. She
should not be close enough to the clinic to hear the
puppies crying. Once they are put back with the bitch, the
puppies normally nurse and then sleep.
Vaccinations are started at 6-7 weeks of age. Some
breeders give a parvo virus vaccine at 5 weeks of age, if
the puppies are at a high-risk. Ask your veterinarian if
your puppies should be vaccinated early for
parvo
virus.
Strategic
deworming is a practice recommended by the American
Association of Veterinary Parasitologists (AAVP) and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They
recommend puppy deworming for roundworms and hookworms
start at 2 weeks of age and be repeated at 4, 6, and 8
weeks of age. Thereafter, use a heartworm preventive
medication that is also effective against hookworms and
roundworms. Drs. Foster and Smith suggest that owners of
newly acquired puppies obtain the deworming history of
their new pup and contact their veterinarian to determine
if additional deworming is needed. The bitch should be
dewormed at the same time as the puppies.
A
health check done by a veterinarian at 6-7 weeks of age
before the puppies head for new homes should include
checks for heart murmurs, hernias,
cryptorchidism,
demodectic
mange, other parasites, eye disorders, etc.
Normal puppy development
The
umbilical cord normally falls off within 2-3 days of
birth. Infections of the umbilicus are rare in clean,
well-managed kennels.
Puppies
normally twitch and jerk while sleeping. This helps with
the development of their nerves and muscles.
The
puppies crawl well by 7-14 days, walk at 16 days, and have
a normal gait at 21 days. They
need to be on footing that offers traction. By 4 weeks of
age, the puppies follow each other and carry toys in their
mouths. They will play-fight with each other and learn how
to inhibit their bites. If a puppy bites a littermate too
hard, the littermate will yelp and stop playing with him.
If the puppy is allowed to bite humans, he will not learn
to inhibit his bite. It may be cute as a 7-week old, but
it will not be as a 7-year old.
Puppies
are born without teeth. The deciduous (baby) teeth start
to erupt at 2-4 weeks of age. All of the deciduous teeth
are usually present by 8 weeks of age.
The
puppies' eyes will open around 12-15 days of age. The
retina matures around 21 days of age. Puppies should see
clearly by 4 weeks of age. Do not pry open the lids for
any reason, as the immature eye is not yet ready to handle
light. If the eyes appear swollen before they open, take
the puppy to a veterinarian immediately as an eye
infection may be present that needs to be treated to
prevent loss of vision. Some puppies will take a day to
open the eyes while others will take 3-4 days. The eyes
will have a bluish color to them at first and then change
to their adult color over time. If the eyes appear white
or solid blue, take the puppy to the veterinarian right
away.
The ears
open at 14-17 days of age. They should hear clearly by 4
weeks of age. Deafness may not be noticeable while the
puppies are together and first noticed when the puppy is
in her new home.
Interactions between the bitch and
puppies
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