Want a life story? The boy went to take out the garbage and heard that someone was squealing in the container. The child was brave, climbed into the container and pulled out a newborn puppy. The boy pressed him to himself and ran home, with tears in his eyes, begged his mother to leave the baby. Mom agreed, the find was fed. The result was a wonderful dog, he lived in the family for almost 15 years.
How to feed a newborn puppy? What did that woman feed the son’s find? And how to care for the baby? Now let's find out in detail.
Make a nest
First of all, the puppy needs to build a nest. A large cardboard box is suitable for this purpose. Cover the bottom with a soft cloth. It is necessary to ensure that threads do not stick out of the fabric. Puppies have very thin legs, they can get tangled in these threads.
The baby needs heating. The fact is that a newborn cannot adjust to the ambient temperature if it is below 37 degrees. Therefore, the presence of a heating pad in the nest is mandatory. It may be a plastic hot water bottle or a rubber heating pad. The disadvantages of these methods are that the objects cool quickly. A good option is an electric heating pad with temperature control and insulation.
We clean the intestines of the baby
Before answering the question of how to feed a newborn puppy, we will consider caring for it. We figured out the nest and heating. Now we will talk about massage the tummy of the puppy. This is necessary for the regular release of his intestines. The bitch licks her babies, helping them recover. What should a person do to help a puppy?
- A soft cloth is moistened in warm water.
- In a circular motion massage the puppy’s stomach after each feeding.
- The skin from the anus to the root of the tail is gently wiped several times with the same rag.
Why so many difficulties? Such a massage helps to free the intestines from its contents. The anus and the root of the tail are wiped in order to remove possible residues of feces.
Feeding Options
How to feed a newborn puppy without a mother? Suppose a bitch abandoned her babies, died, or you found an abandoned baby. There are two options: find a nursing dog or feed yourself. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each of them.
Nurse
The ideal option is a bitch with puppies of the same age as an orphan. But her search will take a lot of time. Until the nurse is found, you will have to feed the baby yourself. If you are lucky to find a lactating bitch quickly, what to do next? How to put a puppy to her?
- From the nest of the bitch you need to take a small piece of cloth and wipe the puppy with it. Only then can you try to put it on the adoptive mother.
- If the bitch growls at the baby, then he and two native cubs are taken from the nest. After a while, the kids get hungry and begin to squeak. Now they should be returned to the mother along with the "foster".
- If no manipulations help, and the bitch refuses to accept an orphan, you will have to look for another nurse.
The advantages of this method are that the puppy will receive all the necessary conditions for living next to the adoptive mother. Disadvantages - time spent searching for a nurse and her possible refusal to adopt a puppy. This method is more theoretical than practical.
Self-feeding
What can feed newborn puppies? Blend milk substitute mix. You can buy one at pet stores. Several manufacturers produce mixes for puppies, Beaphar and Royal Canin are considered the best. How to feed baby before buying a milk replacer? There are recipes to help out for this occasion. But keep in mind that they can not be used constantly. The basis of homemade mixtures is cow's milk. It is less oily and nutritious than canine.
Recipes
Can I feed my newborn puppies with milk? As mentioned above, cow's milk is not the best alternative to bitch. The fat content of dog milk is above 9%. Cow's milk barely reaches 4% in fat content.
But when there is no choice, you can feed the homemade mixture of babies, only very briefly. So, recipe number 1: beat two chicken eggs with 0.5 l of whole cow's milk, give the mixture warm.
Recipe number 2: one chicken egg is combined with 100 g of milk. Vitamin A and D are added dropwise. The mixture is heated in a steam bath before giving the puppy.
What to feed?
What to feed the newborn puppy, we found out. Now let's talk about what babies are fed from. First of all, these are special bottles for puppies. They are sold in pet stores, often complete with a mixture. The number of bottles equals the number of puppies.
If it is not possible to buy bottles, then the "mechanism" for feeding can be built independently. To do this, you need a two-liter plastic bottle and nipples. Rubber nipples are sold in "human" pharmacies. They need to make holes in them so that the warm milk flows freely into the puppy’s mouth when sucking. Holes equal in diameter to the nipples are cut out in the bottle. Fix the nipples in them. Then the structure is filled with warm milk mixture.
How to feed?
How many times to feed newborn puppies and how to do it? In the first week, babies are fed every 2 hours around the clock. From the second week, a break in feeding is 2.5 hours. From the third week of life, you can take night breaks in feeding.
After two weeks, it's time to start feeding the baby. The emphasis is on liquid curd diluted in milk. A little later, from about three weeks old, porridge is added to the curd. Of course, they must also be liquid.
If the owner decided to feed the puppy with dry food in the future, then he will be taught to him from the age of 17 days. The food is soaked in warm water until porridge and offer a puppy. The first portion should fit on the tip of the finger of the owner.
What to do if a pet refuses to feed? Usually, the baby is smeared with new food for his lips, trying to get a little bit of it into his mouth. After this, the puppies show an interest in food and begin to try to eat actively.
Puppy position when feeding
How much to feed a newborn puppy is already clear - every 2 hours in the first week of life. What position should the baby have when feeding? We know that when a bitch feeds puppies, they actively work with their front legs, as if massaging their mother’s nipple. Such a massage is the development of motility, which in the future is the main one when satisfying the food instinct. In dogs with impaired motor skills, this same instinct is also violated. How to avoid this?
The puppy is placed in front of an improvised feeding trough on its tummy so that its head is slightly raised. This is why a plastic bottle with nipples is so good for feeding. The baby can imitate the massage of the "mother's nipple".
If a puppy has milk bubbles from a nose, it means that together with milk he swallows a large amount of air. In this case, the puppy is weaned, the milk is wiped from the nose and fed independently from the syringe without a needle or from a pipette. It is necessary to strictly monitor that the baby does not take in air with food.
It also happens that the puppy lacks milk, then you need to increase the serving. Just take into account the fact that the crumbs do not have a brake light. He can eat until he "bursts". The degree of saturation can be determined by the tummy. If he is too swollen, the puppy definitely over-eaten. After eating, as mentioned above, the baby needs to massage the genitals and abdomen in order to defecate his intestines.
Conclusion
The main purpose of the article is to tell the reader how and how to feed a newborn puppy. We highlight the main aspects:
- Puppies in the first week of life are fed every 2 hours.
- For feeding you need to purchase a special mixture.
- Feed from a bottle for puppies or make a "feeder" on their own.
- After eating, you need to help the puppy empty his intestines. For this, the baby is given a massage of the abdomen.
- They make a nest for crumbs. They can serve as an ordinary box, covered with a clean cloth. The box should have a heating pad to maintain heat.
We found out how and how often to feed newborn puppies, and what else is needed for babies besides food. If you have the time and desire, it is quite possible to feed an orphaned puppy. And he will certainly repay the master with unlimited devotion when he grows up.