How To Take Care of A Newborn Puppy?
The initial week of a puppy’s life is crucial and needs healthy growth. He needs warmth, proper feeding, care, and safety. It is the perfect time to develop social skills as well. If the puppy is with the mother, feeding will not be a problem. However, if he is abandoned or separated from the mother, you need to provide milk for its survival.
Nursing a puppy without the mother dog can be challenging. It needs constant attention and care. As soon as the puppy is born, you need to check possible birth defects. To keep the puppy warm, you need to use a heating pad wrapped in a towel or warm his sleeping place and make sure that your furnace is working.
How often do they need to eat?
You need to consult a veterinarian who can give you the best ideas to take care of a puppy without a mother. You need to know the proper way to use a bottle for milking the pet and the necessary injections he needs to take. Some types of puppies react negatively to cow’s milk. They might have diarrhea or other health conditions.
In the first few weeks, the puppy needs to drink milk every two hours. After a few weeks, the interval increases and by the fourth month they can have solid food. Before shifting to solid good, you need to offer puppy kibble. Soak it in warm water with milk alternative and make the consistency as smooth as possible.
You can give this to the puppy many times and then reduce giving the milk replacer gradually. The puppy can eat dry kibble around the 8th month and you can stop the milk replacer completely. You need to ask the veterinarian about the feeding schedule and quantity of food you need to give every time.
What is the ideal weight of a puppy?
To ascertain the proper development of the puppy you need to check the weight. The birth weight of puppies varies according to the breed. During the first few weeks, they might way more than they should. This is not unhealthy and simply shows speedy growth. If you get in touch with the pet sitters of Buckhead Paws they’d give you an idea about a puppy’s ideal weight.
Newborn puppies are healthy, firm, and vigorous. They tend to crawl for the first two weeks and can walk within 16 to 21 days. They don’t open their eyes before 12-15 days and need constant support and supervision at that time. You need to consult a vet if there are any noticeable disparities.
How to toilet train a puppy?
Puppies cannot urinate or defecate on their own for the first few days. Mother dogs help stimulate such function by exercising and licking it. You can also use your hands to stimulate the puppy’s urination or excretion process.
Many veterinarians recommend you to dip in a sterilized cloth in warm water and massage the anal and urinary areas after feeding the baby dog. It works like the mother’s tongue and helps them excrete. It takes around a month to watch the puppy excrete on their own. You can then start off by giving him proper toilet training practices.
Puppies that have a healthy growth can get their vaccination done within the first 6 weeks. In the first vaccination, you might see the veterinarian recommend an injection for parvovirus. However, the puppy might need de-worming and physical checkup as well. You need to consult the vet beforehand and schedule a proper program.
Common conditions faced by puppies
The following condition is common among puppies and you might need to consult the vet:
- Low weight gain
- Lack of appetite
- Vomiting
- Breathing difficulty
- Diarrhea
- Wheezing
- Constant sobbing
- Pale gums
- Discharge from the eyes and nose
- Bowel problems
Things to note
If you are a new pet owner, you might have to learn plenty of things about pet care. You need to understand the basics of managing a puppy to give good health. Many times you might have to hire expert pet sitters who visit your dog and teaches them pet etiquettes. There will be things that you cannot do on your own, and it is smart to ask for expert aid.
If you find situations go beyond your reach, you must consult a good pet sitting company and take their services. They also care for your pets when you are away at work and there is no one at home. Services like walking the dog and giving him timely meals are essential aspects to cover.
You need to know about pet care to know different ways to protect your dog. If you keep your pet happy, you will see how the home environment brightens up. You simply need to ensure that he is healthy and offer care and support.
