How To Keep Newborn Puppies Warm
It’s very important that the puppies stay in a warm room. If they are with their mother, they will try to stay snuggled up with her and rely on her body heat and each other to stay warm. They can’t regulate their own body temperature, so they depend on outside sources for warmth. Have you ever seeing a pile of puppies? They like to snuggle for the warmth and comfort.
When mom leaves to go outside or just get a break, it’s important that they have another source for heat. You can either keep the room warm or put a heat lamp over the area where the puppies are being kept.
VCA suggests that the temperature be around 85 to 90 degrees F for the first few days. After that, it can be lowered to about 80 F by the end of the first week or so to about 72 F by the end of the fourth week.
Caring For Orphaned Newborn Puppies: Basic Care Feeding And Disease Prevention
Raising orphaned puppies can be very rewarding. It is, however, a serious responsibility that requires some time, money and work on your part if you want to help the little ones grow up healthy and happy. Close observation and prompt attention if any problems develop are especially important. If you have not raised orphans before, you should have a veterinarian examine the pups before you get started. Dont be disappointed if you are unable to save all the orphan puppies you can only give it your best effort.
Weeks Four And Five Of A Puppys Life New Things New People New Experiences
With all their senses now fully developed, puppies of this age will continue to learn through play. In addition, this is also a great time to start socialising them introducing them to new things such as people and sounds and getting used to being gently handled. This builds confidence and familiarity with experiences theyll come across later in their life. Its really important that periods of socialisation are appropriate to the age of the pup, are kept short and sweet and remain positive, so that the puppy remains confident rather than getting frightened or overwhelmed.
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Veterinary Checkup And Weaning
Visits to the vet. During the puppies third week, a visit to your veterinarian for a checkup is a good idea. The puppies eyes are still sensitive at this stage, so dont expose them to direct sunlight on this first outing. Ask your veterinarian about diet, deworming and vaccinations. Puppies in a foster or sheltering situation should start receiving vaccinations at 4-6 weeks of age and every two weeks thereafter until 18 weeks of age.
You should also talk to the vet about spay/neuter, since this procedure should be done before the puppies leave your care. The vet may want to evaluate each puppy and start individual records for their future human families.
Weaning puppies to gruel. During the third week, begin offering the puppies a dish of water. The dish should be one that isnt too large and cannot be tipped over, since the pups may attempt to climb into it instead of drinking from it.
Then, introduce the puppies to gruel. Make a gruel by blending a good-quality dry puppy food with commercial milk replacer. Put the gruel in a low pan. As the puppies discover how to lap up the gruel, you can gradually thicken the mixture. Feed gruel four times a day. By week six, most puppies can eat a diet of dry puppy food. Dont forget to give them a constant supply of fresh water.
Pit Bull Breeding And Adoption Tips
Please take the time to read over the following set of tips before you allow your female pit to be bred.
Never, EVER breed an aggressive animal. Just like people, character traits are passed on from parents, and although you may think it’s humorous that your 70-pound pit bull female viciously attacks the vacuum cleaner each time you run it, it is not a sign of quality temperament. Pleaseâfor the sake of this breedâdo what you can do help breed aggressiveness out, not in.
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Preparing Your Dog For Life With A Toddler
Many dogs who havent spent time around children find toddlers confusing and intimidating. Some find them downright scary! Read on to learn about what you can do to influence the developing relationship between your dog and your growing child.
Prepare in Advance
A wonderful thing about babies is that they start out not doing much at all and then become more active and mobile as they develop. These slow changes will help your dog get used to your newest family member gradually, setting both of them up for successful interactions. But before you know it, your baby will be a poking, grabbing, crawling machine! When your babys still young, start preparing your dog for a toddlers touch, movements and unpredictable behavior.
Handling
As they explore the world, young children do a lot of grabbing, poking and pulling. Youll eventually teach your child to treat your dog with gentleness and respectbut he wont be able to grasp these concepts as a toddler. So before he starts crawling around, its important to help your dog get used to rough and even painful handling.
Poke the Pup
To prepare your dog for the way your baby will touch her, teach her that wonderful things happen when her various parts get poked and prodded. Use small, delicious treats, such as chicken, cheese or hot dog, to pay your dog for tolerating each and every slightly uncomfortable sensation.
Movement: Introduce Baby Moves
Resource Guarding Prevention
Teach Your Dog to Retreat
Walking Away Is an Option
Teach Your Dog To Like Other Children
Your child will eventually want to have friends over to play, so its important for your dog to become comfortable with unfamiliar children.
If you have friends with kids, ask them to visit as often as possible. Make sure your dog has a wonderful time during these visits. If she already likes kids, ask young visitors to toss her favorite toy or tell her to sit or lie down to earn tasty treats. If you dont have friends with children, take your dog on frequent outings in well-populated areas. When you encounter friendly children who would like to interact with your dog, take advantage of the situation. Coach them carefully to ensure good experiences. Always give them treats to feed or toss your dog. If your dog is great with your own child but nervous, fearful or aggressive around other children, seek assistance from a qualified professional as soon as possible. Dont wait until your child matures and your dogs behavior becomes a problem. Please see our article on Finding Professional Behavior Help to locate a behaviorist in your area now.
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How Can I Help A Puppy To Go To The Bathroom
Newborn puppies cant go to the bathroom on their own. Their mother licks their genital and anal areas, which stimulates the muscles and nerves and causes the pups to eliminate their waste. If your puppy is orphaned or wasn’t trained by their mother, you can use a washcloth or cotton ball soaked in warm water and gently stroke these areas, which simulates their mothers licks.
Create Some Pittie Space
Youve welcomed a beautiful American Pitbull into your home, which now makes him or her an official member of the family unit. And that comes with some Pittie personal space rights. It is important that you create a comfortable environment for your dog, a private space where they can feel familiar and relaxed.
Your Pitbull will need his own bed, food and drink bowl and blanket which he can claim for his very own. And for such an intelligent, inquisitive and playful breed as a Pitbull, he will need his toys, so try to provide a good variety that will keep his interest such as chew toys, food puzzles, stuffed animals and rope toys.
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Is This The Same As Milk Fever
No. Mastitis is an infection of the mammary glands. Eclampsia, or milk fever, is due to a depletion of calcium in the blood of the mother due to heavy milk production and is not due to infection.
Eclampsia occurs most commonly when the puppies are three to five weeks of age and the mother is producing the most milk. Eclampsia is not due to an overall lack of calcium it merely indicates that she cannot mobilize sufficient supplies of stored calcium quickly enough to meet her metabolic needs. Females that are particularly good mothers and especially attentive to their puppies seem to be more likely to develop eclampsia. Signs of eclampsia include tremors, weakness, and a form of paralysis called puerperal tetany characterized by stiff limbs and an inability to stand or walk. Eclampsia is an emergency situation and medical attention should be sought immediately.
My Puppy Is Still Hungry
What if your puppy is always begging for food?
First off, make sure your pup is not underweight and is getting the right amount of calories.
When thats settled, and your pooch is still hungry, try distributing the total daily food portion onto more feedings throughout the day.
If that still doesnt help, you could try some treats in between meals. But make your puppy work for them.
Kibble is very handy to use for puppy training. It can also be filled into food balls or dog puzzles to exercise your puppys developing brain.
Its not advisable to just give your puppy treats whenever she is begging.
This teaches your pup really quickly that the begging eyes work, and you wont get another quiet minute.
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How Do I Feed My Puppy
Commercially puppy formula is the ideal option to feed as it is specifically formulated to meet all of a puppy’s nutritional requirements until they are about 3 to 4 weeks of age. After this puppies are ready to start eating moistened solid food. Cow’s milk is not suitable as it can result in diarrhoea and subsequently dehydration of the puppy.
Bottle feeding is generally the easiest and most successful form of feeding, but if you are having difficulty with this please speak to your veterinarian or veterinary nurse about alternative techniques.
Pitbull Puppy Feeding Chart
How Much?So how much to feed a Pitbull puppy when hes 4 week old, 6 week old or 8 week old? A Pitbull puppy from 8 to 12 weeks will need about 2 cups of food, divided into equal meals.
Female Pitbulls will eat less food than males will, on average. At 3 months, your puppy will need more food, around 3 cups each day, eventually getting up to 4 to 5 cups a day.
What to Expect: Your puppy will not eat much before 3 months, then his appetite will increase until about 6 months, when his growth will slow down.
Careful: Watch your puppys weight, making sure that he is not excessively gaining any extra weight. It is hard for Pitbulls to shed the extra weight. Stick to our Pitbull puppy feeding chart to keep your puppy healthy.
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When To Intervene During Labor
If your dog has produced a puppy but does not seem to know what to do with it, you will need to intervene. Carefully tear the embryonic sac away from the puppy, cut the umbilical cord about 1/2 inch away from their stomach , and present the puppy to the mother to stimulate their breathing by licking its stomach. You may then place the puppy on the moms nipple until they being to receive their first milk. You may need to squeeze a bit of milk into the puppys mouth at first.
Note: Cutting the puppies umbilical cord to short may result in a hernia. Many breeders prefer to cut all of the puppies cords by hand to prevent the mother from chewing the cord too short, which may cause a hernia. If a puppies has a hernia, it will most likely cause no threat. However, it will need to be examined by a Vet to determine if surgery is necessary.
After you are sure that all of the puppies have been born, take the mother and pups to your vet for a checkup. They may administer a shot to the mother to clear their system out of any excess fluids.
Characteristics Of An American Bully
The American bully is a relatively new breed that first appeared in the early 1980s, and is an offshoot of the pit bull family. Its physical appearance makes it look like a strong, fierce dog, not only because it resembles a pit bull, but also due to its thick body, large head and high set ears, which make it look somewhat bad-tempered.
These dogs are ideal companions that are loyal to their families, and have a gentle nature, even around small children, who they love playing and spending time with.
As far as caring for your dog is concerned, it’s important to consider the basics: hygiene, food and especially exercise. They are not dogs that need lots of looking after, and are usually very healthy.
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German Shepherd Puppy Teething Guide
- Mom may not be so happy about cleaning up after the pups, as big as they are getting. This week will likely find you washing and rewashing box blankets, pillows, and other paraphernalia. Often.
- They have become the world’s most ferocious eaters. Watching them at this point makes me think that they closely resemble a pack of wolverines nursing. You may have to begin preparing a puppy cereal for them to eat soon.
Puppy Gruel
Purchase a good quality puppy chow and run it through the blender, add puppy formula or goat’s milk, baby rice cereal and baby strained chicken. Mix until it’s fairly thick. After they have mastered that for a few days, start adding softened puppy kibble.
First Day of Gruel
You may need some tips on how to do this, and it does get nasty. Personally, I have what I consider a fairly strong stomach, but the results of nine pit bull pups moshing, rolling, and rooting around in a pile of gooey mess still required me to give it a good strong swallow or two while watching.
More Breeding Best Practices
A supplemental heat source may be needed for the first two weeks when puppies rely on the dams body heat and the warmth of littermates to maintain a normal body temperature. A heat source in the center of the whelping box encourages puppies to stay away from the edges where there is a greater risk for the dam to lie on them. Appropriate heat sources include heat lamps, electric or water-filled heating pads, and microwavable heating pads.
The best bedding materials for a whelping box are soft, warm, have good traction, and are easily cleaned and disinfected. They should be insect-free, moisture resistant, and not easily ingested by puppies. You should avoid hay, straw, shavings, or stiff particles that can cause eye and skin irritation. Materials such as rags, blankets, or carpeting that allow puppies to crawl underneath and potentially be smothered by the dam also should be avoided. Waterproof bedding on the bottom can be layered with a flannel-top whelping pad that repels moisture to help keep puppies warm.
Getting a new litter of puppies off to a good start requires a breeder to pay careful attention to signs of problems. Experience in breeding litters helps you gain confidence and know when to take steps to help a puppy in distress.
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