Mother dogs are absolutely necessary for the survival of their young ones. During the first two weeks, puppies will do nothing except sleep and eat in order to build up greater fat reserves. Puppies are born without eyes, ears or ability to regulate their body temperature which makes them depend on their mother and other littermates for warmth and food. If a puppy is not orphaned, avoid touching it within 3 weeks so that they don’t get cold or stressed.
Development of Body Structures in Puppies
Physical transformation in newborn puppies occurs within one to four weeks from birth. They begin opening their eyes at around day 14 although vision is still blurred initially. Hearing also improves while sight and sound perception clear between two and a half and three weeks old respectively. They’ll start to explore as well, making mistakes by walking into things before eventually becoming more adept with age.
Puppies cannot see, hear well, or have any teeth when they are born. Newborn puppies behave rather like premature babies. For the first fortnight of existence, all that matters is sleeping and eating for little pups until they can walk in about three weeks’ time. By the time they reach twenty-one days old, they start learning what it means to be a dog from observing older dogs moving around near them; among many other slow changes including raising their eyelids that usually happens between day 10-14 and beginning to hear clearly at 14 days.
Nourishing Newborn Puppies
During the initial month after birth puppies depend on mother dog’s milk entirely to survive. In this early stage they nurse every hour or two then fall back asleep, ensuring that nutrients essential for growth are provided through nursing sessions only.Making sure that these little guys stay warm through frequent checks every few hours is important if you want them getting enough milk from their momma dog.Newborn puppies should gain double their birth weight within the first 7 days of their life. Weigh your puppy with a kitchen scale every few days to track his growth.
Bottle-feeding will be required if something happened to the mother or the puppies are orphaned. Newborn puppies need pet milk replacement because cow’s milk is not enough. When you feed a puppy, do it slowly using either spoon or dropper while keeping her tummy down (to avoid choking). At the end of each feeding session, burp your doggy by firmly patting her back until she releases all trapped air.
How to keep Puppies Warm
Newborn puppies don’t have body temperature control mechanisms, so they need to be in warm environments that average around 85 – 90°F for the first few days. They use their mothers’ heat and each other to stay warm. Additionally, providing an alternative source of heat such as a heat lamp is critical if mothers leave them alone. The temperature can go down gradually every week until it reaches about 72 degrees F at the close of week four.
Waste Management
When they are born, puppies will often need help going to the toilet. In order to make them want to urinate and defecate, their mother usually licks them. If you do not have a mother dog with you, softly rubbing her backside for just a short while with warm wet cloth after feeding might help. This is important because until about three to four weeks old, puppies cannot do this on their own.
Socialization and Play
Puppies see, hear, walk by themselves and begin urinating/defecating independently at around 3-4 weeks of age. This signifies the beginning of intense play and socialization between members of a litter. From four through seven weeks expose them to as many new experiences as possible: introduce them gently to humans; let them encounter various stimuli.
Almost fully weaned by week six, puppies depend less on their mother’s milk. They are also more cautious about novel experiences; hence it is important that such encounters be well managed in future phases of their lives. Pups can start venturing out into the wider world once they have been vaccinated at or about 16 weeks old.
When to Seek Veterinary Care
A puppy should no longer go for two weeks without opening its eyes before it goes to see a vet. An infection may be present if there is swelling, bulging or discharge. Look for appropriate growth and development of the pups and consult a veterinarian if any sign of disease or abnormality occurs.
Newborn puppies undergo rapid changes to nosey little fireballs and with proper care can grow up well and strong