A newborn puppy is completely dependent on its mother. The first week of puppy life is mainly about sleeping and eating, so it will thrive.
The birth of a puppy is an exciting time. It’s nice to see a mother taking care of her newborn babies, especially in the early stages of life.
All You Need to Know about Puppies
Newborn Puppies should remain with their littermates and mother until about eight to 12 weeks of age. However, it is most important to be a mother during the first few weeks of life. A newborn puppy that has been separated from its mother will need human intervention. Raising a newborn puppy requires a lot of time and intensive care. It’s not exactly the same thing as taking care of a young puppy.
A newborn puppy is completely dependent on its mother. The 1st week of a puppy’s life is mainly about sleeping and eating, so it will thrive.
The birth of a puppy is an exciting time. It’s nice to see a mother taking care of her newborn babies, especially in the early stages of life.
Newborn Puppy Physical Development
Newborn Puppies are born with closed ears and eyes. They cannot see and hear very little, if at all. Yet they are capable of making noise that sounds high-pitched. They do not have teeth at birth and are unable to walk. Newborn puppies are unable to defecate or urinate on their own. A newborn puppy cannot regulate its body temperature.
Most newborn puppies are able to instinctively find their mother’s nipples and begin weaning soon after birth or from home. Once cleared (by the mother’s or human hand), they will crawl to the mother’s warm belly, find the nipple, and begin suckling.
With proper feeding and mother’s care, a newborn puppy should double its weight in the first ten days of its life.
Fun facts
Behavior Changes
Newborn puppies will spend about 90% time sleeping in the first few weeks of life. That is, more than 22 hours a day, but sleep does not come together. Puppies will nap throughout the day and night, warmed by littermates and the mother’s body heat. Between her naps, they spend the rest of the time being prepared by mom and eating. Newborn puppies eat approximately every two hours or more.
Since newborn puppies can’t see, hear or walk, they don’t have much to explore. Puppy’s world is all about mom, box, and the littermates they all sleep in.
Newborn Puppy Health and Care
During the 1st few weeks of a puppy’s life, the mother dog spends most of her time providing food and care. The mother keeps her newborn puppies clean and nurses them. She licks each puppy’s anus and genitals to encourage urination and defecation.
During this time, humans can gradually hold and pet the puppies for short periods of time, as long as it does not bother the mother dog. Human contact is more likely to be welcome if those humans are part of the mother dog’s family.
In general, it’s best to let the mom do her work and just let the pups do the petting. However, there are situations where the puppy’s mother is unable to care for her pups. Or, the mother may be doing well, but one or more of the pups is not growing properly.
This is when human being intervention is the only possible good way to save the puppy. If you At once decide to care for an orphaned newborn puppy, be prepared to spend most of your precious time with the puppy for the next 2-4 weeks.
WARNING: Any time a puppy becomes orphaned or does not gain weight well, that puppy should be taken to the pet vet as soon as possible to assess its health. Puppies can get sick very quickly without proper care. When in doubt about a puppy’s health, don’t delay a trip to the vet!
Orphaned Puppies Proper Care
If the puppy was rejected by its mother, it might be due to a health problem detected by the mother. In the meantime, you also will need to do everything possible to take care of his mother.
- Create a safe place warm environment for the puppy to sleep in. A small box with a blanket and heating lamp is ideal. Keep the lamp at an appropriate distance so that the atmosphere does not overheat. A heating pad and blanket can also work; just make sure the heating pad is well covered to prevent burns.
- Bottle feed a special puppy formula every 2-4 hours. You should be able to find puppy Pure milk replacements at a pet food store or through your vet. Do not feed cow’s milk to puppies, as it does not provide enough nutrition and can lead to digestive issues.
- Use a clean, warm cloth or cotton ball to stimulate urination and defecation immediately after each meal. The amount of stool and urine will be very less. A normal stool will be pale and soft.
- Massage the puppy’s body regularly and clean the puppy as needed. Massage will mimic mom’s sense of grooming, something experts believe is an integral part of development.
Newborn Puppy Food and Nutrition
In general, a newborn puppy gets all its nutrition from its mother’s milk. The first milk a mother makes contains colostrum, a substance that contains additional antibodies that help the puppy fight off infection. This can be absorbed by the puppies for the 1st day or two of life and provides the mother with some temporary immunity against any disease.
Keep in mind that commercial puppy formula will not provide colostrum. Bottle-fed puppies that do not receive colostrum are especially vulnerable to disease and may not thrive. A pet veterinarian may be able to give a puppy serum from another dog within the first day of its life to mimic the effects of colostrum.
A Newborn puppies will not have teeth for several weeks and are unable to digest puppy food. Do not introduce any type of dog food until puppies are ready to begin the weaning process, usually around 3-5 weeks of age, unless it is otherwise recommended by a veterinarian.
Newborn Puppy Training and Socialization
A newborn is too young to undergo any kind of training, but there may be some things you can do to get him used to the people and his environment. If the mother allows it, handle the puppies regularly for short periods of time.
Take care not to keep the puppy away from the mother for more than a few minutes. You can use the time to hug and pet the puppy, introducing him to the smell and feel of humans and the environment.