How to nurse puppies without their mother?
There are commercially prepared puppy formula and bottles and nipples to feed puppies when the dam is not able to take care of her puppies or the puppies need supplemental feedings. If a dam rejects a puppy or is not around to care for a newly whelped puppy a breeder must act quickly to provide nourishment. Puppies can die within forty-eight hours if they are not fed adequately.
A puppy needs to be carefully held horizontally. It must not be held upside down like a human infant would be held. The puppy can aspirate formula into its lungs if it is not suckled with its head and stomach held flat. The formula should be warm and a few drops should be expressed on the side of the mouth of the puppy. In response, the puppy should turn its mouth toward the nipple and the nipple should be gently guided into the puppy’s mouth. The puppy should then latch onto the nipple and begin suckling.
The bottle should be held an angle so that the puppy is able to nurse effectively. More than one person may have to assist in feeding the puppies especially if there is a particularly large litter. Puppies will need to eat about every two hours.
When do puppies start being nursed?
When a puppy is whelped, the dam should typically immediately turn her attention to the puppy. She will vigorously begin licking the puppy. She will eat any of the membranes (placenta, too) on the puppy. The puppy will be kept very close to the dam’s body.
The puppy, as soon as it is cleaned and stimulated by the dam, will seek out the dam’s body and teat, and ask for nourishment. If the dam is still laboring the puppy may not be able to continually nurse until its littermates are finally whelped. When all puppies are whelped, all the litter will be focused on sucking and staying close to its mother’s warm body. Puppies naturally will nurse every two hours on average. They are born with an amazing package of instincts that tie them to the dam, and more often than not, they need no interference from any human being.
In a first litter, the dam’s labor will be longer and there may be more interruption in the nursing of the delivered puppies. However, each puppy will naturally seek out and begin to nurse as soon as it is whelped. The puppy does not need to see its dam in order to recognize her. That recognition more than likely begins even before birth. This is thanks to the rooting instinct in which the puppy finds the teat, and stimulates the flow and production of milk.
Puppies will nurse until they are approximately four weeks old and puppies should be fully weaned by six weeks of age. Dams will begin to wean their offspring over a period of time, gradually. Weaning is best for the dam and for the puppies because a dam will gradually have her milk supply dry up, and the nutritional needs for the puppy will start requiring actual foods.
If nursing is prematurely and suddenly stopped, the dam will experience uncomfortable engorgement, and possibly mastitis—an infection of the mammary gland. If for some reason a dam is not available, softened solids can be introduced as early as three weeks. Weaning off puppies is best done gradually. The eruption of the milk teeth at around three weeks will cause the dam some discomfort when a puppy nurses and the dam will naturally start weaning her puppies.
A cookie sheet of puppy chow can be set out for puppies beginning at three weeks of age. The puppy chow should be softened with some puppy formula or with water.
What do I do to care for the newborn puppies?
The mother should spend most of her time with her puppies during the first few days after birth. For the first month of life, puppies require very little care from the owner because their mother will feed and care for them. In fact, in the vast majority of cases, the pet owner should not interfere with the mothers care.
The puppies should be kept warm and should nurse frequently. They should be checked every few hours to ensure they are warm and well fed. The mother should be checked to make certain that she is producing adequate and normal-appearing milk.
If the mother does not stay in the whelping box the majority of the time, the puppies body temperatures must be closely monitored. If the puppies are cold, supplemental heating should be provided but caution needs to be taken to avoid burns as puppies do not have the same reactions to heat as adult dogs do. During the first four days of life, the newborn puppies box and external environment should be maintained at 85° to 90°F (29.4° to 32.2°C). The temperature may gradually be decreased to 80°F (26.7°C) by the seventh to tenth day and to 72°F (22.2°C) by the end of the fourth week. If the litter is large, the external temperature does not have to be kept as warm. As puppies huddle together, their body heat provides additional warmth.
If the mother feels the puppies are in danger or if there is too much light, she may become anxious and not produce adequate milk. Placing a sheet or cloth over the top of the box to obscure much of the light may resolve the problem. An enclosed box is also an excellent solution. Some dogs, especially first-time mothers, are more nervous than others. Such dogs may attempt to hide their young, even from the owner. Moving the puppies from place to place may endanger the puppies if they are placed in a cold or drafty location. Dogs with this behavior should be caged or confined in a secure, secluded area. This type of mother has also been known to kill her puppies, intentionally or inadvertently, presumably as a means of protecting them from danger.