Care of Puppies
by D L Jensen.

Learning to recognize a healthy pup from a fading pup. Supplementing mothers milk by bottle feeding or tube feeding for a pup that refuses to nurse. Treating a pup that has gas or colic. Weaning your puppies. Vaccination Schedules for the puppy






Learning to recognize a healthy pup from a fading pup

What is a Healthy pup - A Healthy pup feels warm, and has a full belly of milk. He twitches and never lies perfectly still. (Activated sleep) - The muscles are getting stronger during activated sleep

A Puppy in trouble will feel cold to the touch. Lays limp and refuses to nurse. This puppy needs your assistance in hope for survival.
Colic Puppy - A Colic puppy scream in pain for days. I found giving a puppy plain yogurt helps ease a colic puppy.
Gas - Gas is another culprit for causing a puppy to cry in pain. I give them a few drops Gasex and a lactate intolerance over the counter drug.
If all this fails to relieve the puppy, you need to ask your vet for some medication.

Feeding Methods - Bottle feeding or Tube feeding.
Alternative feeding methods will are necessary when the mothers milk is dried up or the mother is ill.
Note ~ if you have another nursing mother you can give her the litter but you will still need to
help her by bottle feeding or tube feeding the pups.

Bottle feeding - Bottle feeding satisfies the natural instinct to suck. It also gives the puppy a choice on the amount it wishes to consume. Pups can get gas if they are not burped after feeding.
Their is always the danger of a pup inhaling milk into its lungs and then getting pneumonia. Make sure your nipple hole is not to large or to small. Stick a hot paper clip in the nipple. Hold it upside down the milk should drip out, but never flow.
Encourage the pup by wiggling the nipple across his lips.
You will know if he is getting the milk by measuring the amount in the bottle and after burping can you see if he has a full belly or he needs more.
The puppies mouth may have little bubbles on the side of his lips but the milk should not run out the sides of his mouth.
Making up formulas and feeding a litter of puppies is very time consuming. It seems like as soon as your finished its time to began again.

Tube Feeding - Tube feeding advantages are that it takes very little time and you always know how much the puppy is getting. Burping is not necessary in tube feeding. The disadvantages are the puppy's become lazy eaters.
If you tube feeding because the puppy has a congenital defect like a bad heart or other life endangering defect his chances of survival are poor. A puppy that has no congenital problem has a good chance of survival.
Directions on tube feeding- Measure the distance from the pups mouth to the last rib and mark the tube, changing the distance as the pup grows.

Be a good Breeder- Many breeders will just let a fading pup die because it is very stressfull on them. I believe that I am responsible for the pup being born in the first place because I chose to bred the two dogs. There has been times when my husband Jay would come home from work and find me crying because I'm exhausted by lack of sleep and stress from listening to its screams for days. The vet has no idea what to do and I've tried every remedy in the book and the puppy is still failing. Then just when I'm at the end of my rope, I go in the nursery and he's alert and hungry and looking at me, like he knows I was there for him. There isn't a better feeling. This is why I do it. No matter how much stress it puts on me, I will do anything in my power to save a fading puppy.

CANINE DEVELOPMENT

Handy development charts to help you understand your dog's growth


 
AGE VETERINARY CARE DEVELOPMENT LEARNING
1-4 weeks Usually none if the puppy is healthy. Take to vet at one or two days to check for congenital malformation. Tails can be docked at this age. Dew claws can be removed. Eyes and ears open at about day 10. Day 15 puppy can stand up. Day 20 pup begins to walk. Puppy still very much needs mother. Puppy learns by relationship with mother. Important for close ties with others later on.
4-8 weeks Distemper-Measles shot at about six weeks (temporary vaccine for early the weaned). First permanent shot at eight weeks consists of the following: distemper, hepatitis, parvo corona, parainfluenza complex. Submit stool sample for worm analysis. Blood sample may be required to check for anemia. Get advice on puppy food and vitamins. Mother begins to wean pups. First teeth start to come in. Puppy likes contact with litter-mates. Puppy learns to relate to other dogs and develops a pack hierarchy, or pecking order, through play.
8-12 weeks Week 12: second in series of shots will include above plus first leptospirosis vaccine. Rabies vaccine can be given at 12 weeks. Ask vet to show you how to clip pup's nails. Puppy needs lots of human contact. Should be weaned and he should leave his mother. Learns to develop close ties with people. Lots of people contact at this age is beneficial. Introduce collar and start house training.
12-16 weeks Week 16: third in series of shots. Recheck stool for worms. Can start puppy on heartworm prevention program. Puppy's size increases rapidly and motor control is better developed. Likes the outside world. Puppy learns confidence and how to handle new situations (such as going up and down stairs, going through doors).
4-6 months Spay and neuter dogs at five to six months, depending on development. Recheck stool for worms. Possible x-ray for hip dysplasia. Puppy begins to lose puppy teeth. This means lots of chewing on things, so be prepared with chew stick or rawhide bones (large enough so he won't choke). Most puppies can now be trusted through the night. Can learn the simple commands sit, stay, come, down. Will know his own name.
6-12 months Re vaccinate at one year and yearly thereafter for the rest of the dog's life. Test blood for heartworm each spring and maintain preventive medicine. Repeat stool analysis twice a year. Discuss diet change with your vet.   Begin formal obedience training now with use of training collar. It is important to start a good behavior pattern at this time as the dog will not just outgrow those awful puppy habits (jumping up, mouthing, chewing, barking) unless you make him. This is doggy adolescence.