The appearance of a small eared and caudate miracle in the house can be compared with the birth of a new family member. In this significant period, it is necessary for the baby to create the most comfortable conditions for strengthening his health and psyche.
Properly equip a place
From the first minutes of life, their mother takes all care of the child. All that the dog owner has to do is provide her with good nutrition and comfortable conditions. It is necessary to allocate a certain place to the newly minted family so that it was warm and calm.
Since the body of a newborn puppy still cannot heat itself, therefore the litter for dogs needs to be soft, warm and dry all the time. If needed, you can use an electric foot warmer to warm your offspring.
Just in case, you should stock up on a milk replacer. It also happens when the bitch is not enough, or puppies are born weak. They have a poorly developed sucking reflex, then they have to be fed from a syringe.
24 hours duty
If a mother-dog first gave birth, next to her you need to ensure round-the-clock duty. Some dog breeders take a vacation of at least 10-14 days to help mother and newborns. Others ask for help from family or friends.
Births can have such stress during childbirth that, in shock from what is happening, she will eat her own babies. Therefore, caring owners should always be on the alert and help the pet.
More experienced mothers cope with their duties themselves. They feed and lick the kids. And these are very important events for them, because during licking blood circulation, breathing and digestion in puppies returns to normal. Until two weeks of age, babies are not able to defecate themselves. And mom will lick the puppy’s tummy and stimulate the intestines.
When the dog is not able to do such manipulations, in this case its owner must cope with everything. It is necessary several times a day to wipe the babies' tummies with a damp, soft and warm cloth.
Feeding newborns
In caring for a puppy of the first month of life, proper nutrition is very important for him. It is necessary to provide babies with maximum access to the maternal nipples. Indeed, in the first five days, the bitch produces the most valuable colostrum. It contains immunoglobulins and nutrients necessary for development.
Therefore, if the dog after birth is weak or has undergone a cesarean section, you must regularly bring the cubs to it. During feeding, they will stimulate the flow of milk to the mammary glands with their paws.
Not all puppies hold their nipples well, so some weaker ones have to help. They need to open their mouths, insert the mother’s nipple into it and hold it with food. Before feeding, you need to lightly massage the mammary glands so that the milk begins to arrive.
Do not forget to control the dog's nipples. It happens that puppies do not eat all the milk, which leads to hardening in the mammary glands and mastitis. Regular treatment of inflamed areas with camphor oil will help prevent the disease.
Weaker babies are fed with a syringe or pipette. In the first three days, every two hours it is necessary to give the baby one ml of a substitute for breast milk, around the clock.
Then, gradually increase the milk rate and feed it after three hours. By the age of two weeks, the calf should eat up to 10 ml of the milk mixture per feeding.
Body weight control of a newborn
To be sure that the kids are developing correctly, electronic scales will be needed. With their help, it is necessary to observe every day how many grams the newborns gained in weight. Caring for a puppy of the first month of life is extremely important to control the increase.
From the second day after birth, it is necessary to weigh the crumbs daily. If the children have enough mother’s milk, then they will gain weight every day. If this does not happen, then they need to be supplemented additionally.
Caring for a puppy in the first month of his life
From the first minutes of birth, along with the baby, its claws grow. Their sharp tips should be cut off already on the seventh day. Otherwise, during feeding, they will cause pain and even scratches on the tender near the nipple area. In the future, the claws must be trimmed regularly, every 7-10 days.
Every day you need to inspect the umbilical cord of puppies. If redness and swelling is observed, it is necessary to immediately treat the area around the navel. Here the opinions of veterinarians differ. Some insist on greasing with green, others are categorically against such a processing method. A solution of brilliant green is capable of causing burns to the delicate skin, therefore it is recommended to treat with hydrogen peroxide or chlorhexidine. This procedure is done twice a day.
Lure puppies of the first month of life
Lures for puppies begin to be introduced in the third or fourth week of life. During this period, their teeth are cut milk teeth. Kids are already more active, they sleep less, play and frolic more.
Feed changes are carried out in stages and only if the puppy is strong and healthy. First, the product is administered once a day and the condition of the pet is monitored, whether his stomach hurts or if there is diarrhea. Lures are best started in the morning.
If there are no changes in the state of health, then within one to two weeks you need to transfer the babies to other feeds. Shredded, not salted boiled cereals (oat, rice or buckwheat) are added to food. Boil them in chicken or beef broth.
Frozen or processed with boiling water low-fat minced meat (from chicken or beef), low-fat cottage cheese.
All lure should be fresh and warm. The amount of porridge should not exceed 400 grams per day, cottage cheese should not exceed 20 grams. Meat products are introduced with 5 grams (half a teaspoon). Puppies up to 1 month old should be eaten every three to four hours, at night the ventricle of the babies should rest.
