Many think raising a puppy is just as much fun as raising a kid. You’ll be familiar with the kids’ every tic and naughty grin before they shred the toilet paper. Despite their adorableness, puppies need the same care as brand-new infants. You need to know how a puppy eats, how to care for a puppy, and how long a puppy sleeps to bring up a healthy, happy puppy. Take note of these guidelines for tending to newborn puppies.
Exercise Caution Around the Puppies
Puppies are especially vulnerable to sickness in their first two weeks of life, so resist the urge to hold and pet them if you don’t want to put the mother and her puppies through unnecessary stress. Caution should be used when approaching the puppies, as some mothers may bite humans or other pets if they feel threatened.
Puppies grow into more energetic dogs with increased needs for rest, play, and socialization. You should let your dog take breaks here from caring for the puppies, but she should check on them regularly.
Provide A Warm Environment
Puppies have little control over their body temperature until they are about 3 to 4 weeks old. Therefore, you should provide a clean, warm box or blanket for the mother and puppies to snuggle up in for the first four weeks of their lives.
To keep the puppies warm, a light bulb heater should be placed over them. The puppies need to find a cool place to rest if they start to overheat. The temperature of the puppies should be monitored. The average temperature of a newborn is between 96 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the first week of life.
Milk that is served to excessively cold puppies may curdle in their stomachs. Puppies should not be used with heating pads since they may become overly reliant on them and overheat. If the temperature is too high, burns may develop.
There are times wherein we need to get out of town for business and if that is the case, visit sites like https://www.stoneypointevet.com/site/veterinary-services-rochester/boarding to learn more about pet boarding.
Begin Socializing the Puppy
If the mother dog allows it, you can acclimate the puppies to your presence. Guaranteeing a child’s smooth integration into a family unit through early socializing is possible.
Poor performers, sometimes known as “runts of the litter,” are puppies much smaller than their littermates and are not growing as quickly as they should. Puppies should be weighed twice each day for the first week or two and then once per day after that. A puppy’s weight should never be allowed to drop or remain stable; either of these situations requires immediate medical attention and maybe dietary aid.
Puppies should be kept from their mothers and siblings before they reach social maturity. Puppies under the age of eight weeks old cannot be abandoned. If you can wait until they’re ten weeks old, your pup will get the most out of bonding with mom and the rest of the litter.
Weaning and Feeding
They must be fed every two hours for the first two weeks of a puppy’s life. If they continue to gain weight and perform well, they can increase the feeding intervals to 3–4 hours. When the puppies are around three to four weeks old, you can begin weaning them onto puppy food. To make eating easier, dilute high-quality commercial puppy food with water or canned food. It’s necessary to pre-soften the dish.
They need to be able to nurse whenever they want since mom needs to keep them close. As the weeks pass, they’ll start to wean off mom’s milk and onto puppy chow. Typically, canine parents wean their pups between the ages of 5 and 6. Breastfeeding could be painful for the mom if her puppy has developed powerful teeth. Keep your guard up and watch for any mastitis symptoms.
As you know, puppies will eat almost everything given to them, which is why parasite prevention and dog vaccinations in Rochester, NY, are very important to keep them in good shape.
Conclusion
The first few weeks with a new dog are hectic but go by quickly. Saying farewell to your pups after they’ve been adopted is a bittersweet experience for most people. Have fun with the puppies while you can, and know that you gave them the finest possible start in life when the time comes to let them go.
