Content
- Temperature and environment of the newborn dog
- Feeding a Newborn Dog
- dog development
- What you need to know more to care for a newborn dog
- Breastfeeding Problems
Having to feed a newborn puppy is a very complicated task that needs to be done. dedication and time. The dog is a very sensitive being that needs constant care on your part. Don't offer to do this if you don't have all the time available or at least a trusted person to help you.
The most common reasons that lead to having to feed a newborn dog are abandonment or rejection by the mother and, although it is a wonderful experience, we emphasize the importance of being the bitch to feed it. If you find yourself in this situation, read and follow all the recommendations we give you in PeritoAnimal, as the risk of dying is high, find out how feed a newborn dog in the following article.
Temperature and environment of the newborn dog
All over the world and generally linked to pet shelters or refuges, there are so-called shelters for dogs and cats that have just arrived in the world. If you believe that you will not be able to take care of newborns because of the multiple demands that this requires, we recommend that you go to these people and leave them in your care.
- To start, you should create a stable environment for the dogs. A cardboard box, comfortable carrying case or basket will suffice.
- dogs need a body temperature between 20°C and 22°C. It is very important to respect this temperature and never increase or decrease it, even in winter as the dogs cannot regulate it themselves. We can use a water bag that we will have to change regularly or a heating pad (always covered and protected with towels, preventing dogs from chewing on the cables). Pay attention to temperature control.
- Cover the heat source with a towel and over it with a blanket, isolating them well from direct contact.
- Once the environment is created and the dogs inside, we must cover the basket with a blanket leaving a gap so that the air can pass. It must look like a burrow.
- As an extra recommendation we can add a watch covered by a blanket that will simulate the mother's heartbeat.
Puppies that are less than 15 days old are easy to identify, as they haven't opened their eyes yet. It is important to bear in mind that we shouldn't touch them outside feeding hours.
Feeding a Newborn Dog
The main cause of mortality in dogs is incorrect feeding.
If you have found newborn puppies on the street, you should bear in mind that it is quite likely that they will not survive once they need to be fed every 3 or 4 hours. If you miss a meal, your chances of survival decrease dramatically.
How do I feed a newborn dog?
- Go to a clinic or veterinary center quickly and after explaining the situation to them, they will provide you with no problems. artificial breast milk.
- You must have several bottles, one for each member of the litter. It is important that everyone has their own, as in the case of pneumonia or any other type of illness, it would be very easily transmitted to each other. It is also important that we have one or two teats for each bottle, in addition you should check which one adapts best to the puppy's snout.
- Heat the milk a little and confirm that it is warm.
- Take the first puppy (with the teat full of milk without a drop of air) and encourage him to wake up. To feed it, the puppy must be in the puppy's normal position (on four legs) and must never hold it like a human baby and then have to give it milk (about 10 milligrams).
- If you consume a little more milk, it's okay, the important thing is never to feed it below these amounts.
- You must be very attentive when giving him milk and if we notice that he makes an excessive, strange noise or that he expels milk through the nose, we must take him immediately to a veterinary clinic. These are symptoms that the milk has gone into the lungs. That's why we emphasize the importance of not giving you milk like a baby.
- After you have ingested the milk, take a cotton ball or a wet washcloth for newborn babies and make it a genital massage, you will see how in that instant you will do your needs. This procedure is usually done by the mother with her tongue under normal conditions. Therefore, it is important not to forget this step.
- Finally, and after all puppies have been fed, wash the bottles with boiling water, without using any detergent. To find out which one is for each dog, you can make a mark or buy them in different colors.
Once the feeding process of each of the puppies in the litter has finished, they must be put back in the basket, which must continue at the temperature indicated in the previous point. never fail to feed a dog, although I see him sleeping or listless.
It is very important that you continue to drink milk every 3 - 4 hours, otherwise the newborn puppy could die. Also, we never owe milk that has been left over for more than 12 hours.
dog development
From day one, each dog must be weighed and its weight recorded on a table. To make sure they ingest the correct amount and develop properly, we should check that increase in weight every day by 10%.
Up to 2-3 weeks of life, we must strictly comply with this ritual of feeding every 3 - 4 hourss including how it is clear at night. It is convenient that we have someone who can help us in this process and come to our house to feed and watch over them if we are not there.
After the 3 weeks we should start to increase the time between each meal, this change should be done gradually. The first two days will be every 4 - 5 hours, the next ones every 5 - 6 hours and so on until 4 weeks of life. In addition, in these three weeks we must increase the dose to 15 milliliters or 20 if you accept. We must never force him to drink more.
At 4 weeks you should see more restless, active and developed puppies. It's time to reduce their milk consumption by 5% and give them for the first time a tablespoon of moist food, ration soaked in water or pate. It must always be soft food.
From the moment you start to ingest soft food, we should gradually reduce the dose of milk until reaching a month or month and a half, in which you will only be fed moist food and soft food specially designed for puppies.
What you need to know more to care for a newborn dog
If at the time of feeding them you find a dog that is listless and just moving, it may be suffering from a drop in tension. With a syringe without a tip, apply water with sugar in the mouth or put some honey in the muzzle, so you will lick it little by little.
It is important to know that bottle-fed puppies lack some natural defenses that breast milk has. That's why it's important that you don't let them go outside and don't let any dogs get close to them. Furthermore, it is not recommended to bathe them either.
If you see fleas, ticks or any other parasite, it is very important that you go to the vet as soon as possible, he will know what to do. Do not try to remove them yourself with repellents under any circumstances.
From 6 - 8 weeks it will be the ideal time to go to the veterinarian to administer the first vaccines such as distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, coronavirus, parainfluenza and leptospirosis. From then on, you should take it regularly to be given boosters and other vaccines that should be given at an older age. It is also the ideal time for you. put the chip and register the animal in someone's name, this is a very important thing in case it gets lost or something happens to it.
Breastfeeding Problems
The odds of success for an entire litter are not always 100%, because sometimes, and unintentionally, it may not comply with all the steps or the dog may be affected by some problem.
Next, we'll explain the most common breastfeeding problemss:
- When drinking from the bottle, puppies may choke. This happens sometimes due to a bad position when feeding the puppies. It can be very serious and lead to the animal's death, for this reason we recommend that you consult the veterinarian as soon as possible, as he will show you how to use a soda.
- See the dog weak and without strength. Is the dog taking the amounts it should? If you're not sure you're drinking the proper amounts you should make sure you stick to your diet by putting the exact amount in the bottle (and even a little more) and making sure you drink it. But it's very important that you don't force it.
- The dog has a fever. This is a very common problem that can be a consequence of lack of temperature stability or food shortages. You should urgently see your veterinarian to make sure your life is not in danger.
in front of any strange symptom in the behavior of dogs should consult the veterinarian urgently because sometimes, and due to the weak immune system, they won't have much chance of surviving if they don't give you the treatment in record time.
Now that you know how feed a newborn dog, don't forget to comment on this article and share your experiences and give suggestions!
