What do you need for a 4 week old puppy? Get Your Pet Thinking

What should I expect from the puppies during the first few weeks of life?

Puppies are born with their eyes closed. Most puppies will begin to open their eyes within seven to fourteen days of birth. If there is swelling, bulging, or discharge underneath the eyelids, they should be opened gently. A cotton ball dampened with warm water may be used to assist opening the lids. If the swelling is due to infection, pus will exit the open eyelids and should be examined by a veterinarian immediately. If the eyes have not opened within fourteen days of age, the puppy should be examined by a veterinarian.

Puppies should be observed for their rate of growth. They should double their birth weight in about one week. Careful and routine daily to weekly weighing should be performed to ensure the puppies are growing normally. Failure to gain weight may indicate a problem and the need for veterinary care.

At about two weeks of age, puppies should be alert and trying to stand on their own. At three weeks, they generally try to climb out of their box. At four weeks, all of the puppies should be able to walk, run, and play.

Puppies should begin eating solid food about 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 weeks of age. Initially, make gruel by mixing a milk replacer in puppy food soaked in water and place this mixture in a flat saucer. The puppies noses should be carefully dipped into the mixture two or three times per day until they begin to lap; this usually takes one to three days. Next, canned or dry puppy food should be placed in the milk replacer or water until it is soggy. As the puppies lap, they will also ingest the food. The amount of moisture should be decreased daily until they are eating the canned or dry food with little or no moisture added (usually by four to six weeks of age).

Just like babies, puppies are completely individual and often require different schedules and food formulas to ensure optimal health and well-being. However, there are certain things that tend to work well for most four-week-old puppies.

Both milk substitutes alone and soft foods are best made fresh, so refrain from premixing the food when at all possible. Below is a recommended plan to feed your puppy four times per day: morning, midday, afternoon, and evening.

The last supper should be around 6 pm. This is usually an important meal because it will help keep your puppy’s hunger at bay throughout the night. Sometimes, though, puppies will wake up during the course of the night. You can make them a small mix of milk or soft food to ease their hunger and help them fall back to sleep. If you haven’t noticed yet, this is a full-time job!

Mix together milk substitute in a bowl and offer it to your puppy. If your puppy has trouble drinking from a bowl because they are still used to his mother, you can use a small baby bottle to assist in feeding.

At four weeks old, most puppies begin transitioning from solely milk to a combination of milk and food. It is normally referred to as soft food, where water and/or a milk substitute is added to dry food to make a mushy, gruel-like meal.

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.

What To Feed Puppies At 4 Weeks Old

If youre raising puppies, it doesnt get more exciting than the moments after delivery when you finally get a chance to meet the new litter. How many puppies are there? What colors are they? How many males or females? Its a heartwarming time as the mother dog forms a bond with her new puppies.

Even if you have a healthy mother dog that loves her litter, youll still be involved with newborn puppy care week by week. Heres a rundown of some things you want to keep in mind.