Postpartum And Pediatric Care:
Careful management of the pregnant bitch (prenatal period), birth of the pups (parturition) and the postpartum (neonatal) period is critical to assure the best possible outcome. In other words, YOU are in control of your puppies’ destiny. Carefully handled, you can set a goal of raising 100% of your puppies. Unfortunately, the veterinary literature often reports a “normal” death loss of up to 40% in the first 4 weeks of life. The goal of this information is to arm you with ammunition you need to maximize your success rate. We cannot expect our bitches and puppies to thrive unless we manage their health, nutrition and environment carefully.
It is critical to keep the pups warm with supplemental heat at this point – we use a towel and heating pad on low and wrap the pup like a taco while doing the initial handling and drying. The umbilical cord can be clamped and tied with thread or dental floss, cut 3/4″ from the abdominal wall, and treated with iodine to prevent infection. The placenta/umbilical cord can be left attached if the pups are being delivered quickly. The pups should be left with the bitch if possible during subsequent deliveries to nurse, as this nursing will stimulate uterine contractions.
If the pups must be separated from the mother, they should be kept warm by placing them in the chest pocket of a shirt turned wrong side out. (You or an assistant wears the shirt, not the bitch!) This avoids burns associated with external heat source misuse and your movement will keep the pup stimulated. If the pups seem reluctant to nurse or are crying, a rectal temperature should be taken and if it is under 97 degrees, they should be warmed up to 97 degrees prior to feeding. If the rectal temperature exceeds 99 degrees, this indicates overheating or illness.
Environmental temperatures should be checked with a thermometer. Puppies do not have the mechanism to maintain their own body temperature. The area should be 80 to 90 degrees the first week and dropped 5 degrees a week until weaning. Specialized whelping nests are available commercially which provide a controlled and safe heat source. Light bulbs, heat lamps, hot water bottles, towel wrapped heating pads, or incubators can be used with caution to keep the pups warm. Only half of the box should be warmed so as to allow the pups and mother to move to warmer or cooler areas to best suit their needs.
Once (or more daily if the pups are not thriving), at the same time each day, the pups should be weighed and have a rectal temperature taken, recording it to monitor for adequate nursing and weight gain. At least once a day, you should really LOOK and LISTEN to your litter. Pick up the puppies, roll them over, feel how they hold their body, their body condition, their attitude and their general appearance. Don’t worry – Mom should let you do this and she won’t reject them. After all, you tend to her needs and she looks to you for this.
Stools should be formed, light brown with a yellow–seedy appearance. Urine color should be assessed on a cotton ball at least once daily to monitor for adequate nursing and dehydration. The urine should be pale yellow in color. If the urine is darker yellow in color, this signifies dehydration. If the pups fail to gain weight, are fussy or weak, the urine is dark, the stools are abnormal, or the pups do not have good body tone, contact your veterinarian.
The first week of life is the time of greatest risk for the newborn. The pups should be kept warm, free from drafts, away from other dogs, and the neighbors and their children. Healthy well-nourished pups should be quiet, eat and sleep (with some jerking during REM) 90% of the time, gain weight daily after the first 2 days, and show increasing strength and body tone.
Each pup should gain 2 to 7 grams per day per kilogram of anticipated adult body weight. By day 10 to 12 of age, their birth weight should double. This is an average of 1 to 3 oz per day per puppy as neonates.
Daily, you should also examine your bitch. Assess her appetite, water consumption, urination, stools, temperature, and attitude. Look at the color, character and volume of her vaginal discharge. Take note of any unusual odor. Feel each mammary gland for texture and temperature (they should feel soft to firm, never hard) and look at a few drops of milk from each nipple. Colostrum, the first milk, will be yellow and thick. After the first 2 days, the color and consistency should very closely resemble cows milk. Thick milk of any color other than white should be noted. Report any abnormalities to your veterinarian. DO NOT START MEDICATIONS without consultation as some medications can harm the pups.
Post-Partum Examination:
Normal postpartum discharge is dark green for the first 1 to 2 days, then becomes bloody. There is usually a lot of discharge for the first 5 to 7 days. It should gradually decrease in volume and become thick and clear or gray by day 10. Abnormal, excessive or foul smelling vaginal discharge may indicate an infection, and you should consult your veterinarian. Postpartum complications include uterine infections, retained fetuses, retained placentas, poor return of the uterus to normal, mastitis, eclampsia (low blood calcium), and fetal death.
It is recommended to have the bitch and puppies examined within 24 hours of delivery to assure there are no retained pups, that the mammary glands are normal, and to have the puppies examined for defects or illness. The first day or two after whelping, the bitch may be reluctant to eat and have diarrhea. Drinking adequate fluids must be encouraged to assure adequate milk production. The mother’s diet should be a high quality puppy or performance food to assure adequate consumption of calcium, protein, and calories. She will eat 2 to 3 times the amount she ate prior to breeding. Adding salt to her food and increasing the water availability will help assure adequate milk production. Do not administer any medications at this time without your veterinarians advice as many drugs can pass through the milk and affect the puppies.
Taildocks and/or dewclaw removal, if standard for your breed, are done between 3 and 5 days by your veterinarian.
From day 3 to day 16, we recommend the Early Neurologic Stimulation program by Carmen Battaglia be instituted to help the pups grow up as tolerant well-adjusted adults.
By days 10 to 14, the pups ears and eyes are usually opening. If bulging of the eyelids (Neonatal Ophthalmia) is noted prior to the eyes opening, you should seek veterinary care at once. At this time, the pups become more aware of their surroundings. By 3 weeks, the pups are becoming active.
Often, a runt pup is noted in the litter. It may help to direct the pup to nurse on one of the mammary glands between the back legs as these have the most milk. Nutritional supplementation may also be indicated. (See our tube feeding page) Frequently, this pup will catch up by weaning time, and often this pup has the most spunk. This pup should not be destroyed.
How do I know if my newborn puppy is dehydrated?
10 Signs & Symptoms of a Dehydrated Puppy
FAQ
Is it normal for newborn puppies to have yellow poop?
Why does my puppy have yellow poop?
How do you know if a newborn puppy is overfed?
How do I know if my newborn puppy is dehydrated?
…
Signs that he is dehydrated:
- His skin that stays tented or returns slowly.
- His pee appears dark yellow, orange or brown (rather than light yellow)
- His pee feels thick.
- His mouth and gums feel sticky or gummy, not moist.