Newborn animals all need special care, and so do newborn puppies. Taking care of newborn dogs, especially pet dogs, not only needs to rely on the instinct of the mother dog, but the owner also needs to know. How to take care of a newborn dog effective, scientific standards. The following article will provide you with the necessary information on this issue.
How to take care of a newborn dog in the first days
When a new puppy is born, you need to pay attention to the following issues:
Do not cut the umbilical cord for puppies: Cutting a puppy's umbilical cord before the septum is elastic can cause bleeding. So you should leave the umbilical cord intact and should not be cut, it will soon dry out, shrink and fall off.
- Do not touch the puppy's navel: You do not need to apply anti-infective medications to the puppy's navel. As long as the puppy's nest is kept clean, the baby's umbilical cord will not be infected.
- Keep the puppy's litter clean: The puppy's litter box should be kept clean by regularly changing the litter box or newspaper, but care must be taken to avoid disturbing the mother. Throw away the dirty newspaper and replace it with a new one as soon as the mother dog is out.
– Do not touch the puppy in the first days: You should let the mother dog and the puppies create a bond for the first 4-5 days because this is an important time to create a bond between the puppy and the mother.
– Restricting the movement of puppies: It is necessary to limit the movement of the puppy in the first time. Only move the puppy when you need to clean the box but wait at least 3 days after birth.
- Adjust the temperature of the rearing: Newborn puppies get cold easily because they can't regulate their own body temperature, so if the mother is not there, you need to provide a source of heat for them by using a heater.
Check puppy weight: Use a portable electronic scale to weigh your puppies daily for the first 3 weeks to make sure they are healthy and getting enough nutrients.
- Do not let puppies come into contact with strangers: Visitors to puppies are often the cause of infections because their shoes and hands can carry bacteria or viruses.
– Do not let other animals near the puppy: Other animals can carry dangerous diseases and bacteria to newborn puppies and new mothers because they are still very weak.
Taking care of newborn dogs with mother's milk
Newborn puppies must lie next to their mothers and suckle their mother's milk for at least the first 5 days, which is a source of colostrum with many antibodies to help dogs fight off diseases. When a newborn puppy has no teeth, the ears are closed, all movement is very difficult, so it can only automatically find the mother's breast and suckle.
If a litter is too many, the last puppy born is usually the weakest, so you need to prioritize breastfeeding first. If the clumsy mother dog does not help the baby, then you need to help bring the puppy close to the mother dog's breast to make it easier for them to eat.
Colostrum has many nutrients such as vitamins and proteins, magnesium, enzymes, high hormones, so let newborn dogs drink enough colostrum. This will help keep puppies healthy, laxative, promote gastrointestinal activity, and immune to infectious diseases for newborn puppies.
In particular, if the mother dog is vaccinated before 1 month of pregnancy, the mother's milk antibodies will protect the puppies until 16 weeks of age.
Supplementing nutrients for mother dogs and vaccinations is the best way to take care of newborn dogs
1. Full nutritional supplement for the mother dog after giving birth
After birth, the mother dog needs to be supplemented with nutrients and best cared for with an increased diet in both the number of meals and the quality of food so that the mother dog can ensure enough milk for lactation.
For the first 5 days of life, puppies can only drink breast milk. Then, at about 15 days old, you can give the puppy solid food with porridge cooked with meat and green vegetables for 1 meal and a calcium chloride tube mixed into the milk every day.
From 20 days old, you can increase the amount of solid food to 2 meals / day and add a few drops of trivit to the milk for the puppy to drink. Weigh the puppy regularly to assess the puppy's development.
2. Vaccinations and deworming for puppies periodically
Vaccinating and deworming puppies are important when caring for newborn dogs. Because puppies under 2 months old are very easy to die from diseases, in which the most dangerous is pravo and care, if infected with these diseases, 60% puppies will die.
Pravo and care disease can be prevented by vaccination, so when the puppy is about 3 weeks old, the first dose can be given, the 2nd dose at 6 weeks, the 3rd dose at 9 weeks and when the pup is 7 years old. After 8 months, get vaccinated against rabies.
Besides vaccination, you also need to periodically deworm to ensure the development of the puppy. Here is the course of deworming for puppies:
– When the puppy is 15 days old, give the puppy bleach at 4, 6 and 8 weeks old
– After 8 weeks, deworm once a month until the dogs are 6 months old.
– From 6 months, every 3 months deworming 1 time until 1 year old
- From 1 year old, 1 year deworming 1 time until the end of life.
Notes on how to take care of newborn dogs who have lost their mothers
This is the unfortunate but not unheard of case. If this is the case, you need to keep in mind when taking care of a newborn dog that has lost its mother as follows:
– Puppies may have difficulty breathing or not cry at birth, this is a false death, then you should turn the puppy's head down, gently rocking the body.
– At birth, puppies have not yet adapted to new living conditions, so you need to give them full attention in all aspects.
The puppy's place needs to be clean, dry, and warm, so a heating lamp should be installed to make the newborn dog's sleep better. And you need to pay special attention when the weather changes abnormally.
– If the newborn dog loses its mother, in the first days you need to pair the flock or find a milk source for the newborn puppy for at least the first 5 days.
– Newborn puppies are very fragile and weak, so try to take care of them carefully to keep your dog healthy.
Here is some information about How to take care of a newborn dog that we want to share with you. Wish you have healthy, lovely puppies. If you need to know more about other ways to take care of puppies, contact http://vanchuyenchomeo.com/ for advice.