Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 4: Prepare for the birth of your animal
• Part 2 of 4: Observe your dog after giving birth
• Part 3 of 4: Take care of your new mother
• Part 4 of 4: Taking Care of Newborn Puppies

The innate instincts of a pregnant dog will help her prepare for childbirth and successfully whelp. Nevertheless, the owner of the animal should be aware of how he can help the dog from his side, so that she and her puppies are healthy and feel safe.

Steps

Part 1 of 4: Prepare for the birth of your animal

1. 1 Take your dog to the veterinarian for a checkup. Make an appointment with your veterinarian to check up on your pregnant dog. The veterinarian will confirm the pregnancy and check the animal for possible complications from the condition.
2. 2 Prepare your dog's nest. Provide the dog with a nest at least one week before the expected date of birth. Give her the comfortable space she needs for birthing by placing a few towels or blankets in her bed or specially prepared nest box.
   • Place the nest in a secluded place, such as a separate room, so that the dog can retire and be quiet there.
3. 3 Place bowls of food and water near the nest. Make sure that food and water is always close to the dog and has easy access to them. This will give her the opportunity to eat and drink without leaving her puppies.
4. 4 In the last third of pregnancy, feed your dog with puppy food. In the last third of pregnancy, your dog needs a high quality puppy food that is rich in protein and calcium. Such food will prepare the dog's body for the upcoming production of sufficient milk.
   • Feed the dog with puppy food for the entire period, from the last third of pregnancy to the end of feeding the puppies with milk. A lactating bitch needs to consume more calories in order to produce enough milk to feed her offspring.

Part 2 of 4: Observe your dog after giving birth

1. 1 Supervise your dog during childbirth. If your dog is not worried about your presence, look after her during labor. However, direct human participation in the process is usually not required. Expect your dog to be uncomfortable during contractions (as do women in labor). This is an integral part of childbirth.
   • It is not uncommon for puppies to be born in the middle of the night while people are sleeping. So as your due date approaches, make it a habit to check on your dog as soon as you wake up.
2. 2 Make sure your dog scrubbing and grooming the puppies as soon as they are born. The dog should clean the puppies immediately after birth. Give her about one to two minutes to free the puppy from the membranes and start licking it. If the dog takes more time to do this, you can intervene, independently remove the fetal bladder from the puppy and actively rub to wipe it off and stimulate breathing.
   • If necessary, the umbilical cord can be carefully tied about 2.5 cm from the puppy's belly and cut with clean scissors.
3. 3 Make sure the dog starts feeding the puppies. Puppies should begin to feed on milk within 1–3 hours after giving birth. You may need to bring the puppy to the nipple and gently squeeze some milk out of it so that the puppy understands what's what.
   • If the puppies are categorically unwilling to feed or the mother refuses to feed them, they may have some kind of disorder, such as a split palate. Open the puppy's mouth and examine its palate. It should be intact without through holes to the sinuses. If in any doubt, consult your veterinarian.
   • You may need to tube feed or bottle feed your puppy if breastfeeding is not possible but the puppy will be healthy.
4. 4 Count the puppies. When labor is over, count the total number of puppies. This is necessary for accurate accounting and monitoring.
5. 5 Do not remove the placenta right away. The dog can eat the placenta. It won't harm her. Simply in this way, she will replenish those nutrients that her body has spent on maintaining pregnancy. Therefore, do not rush to immediately remove the placenta. But if the dog still doesn't eat the placenta, throw it in the trash.
   • In some cases, consuming the placenta causes dogs to vomit over time.
   • Remember that every puppy has its own placenta.
6. 6 Maintain a comfortably warm temperature in the nest. Newborn puppies are unable to regulate body temperature on their own, so they should be kept warm. For the first few days, keep one of the nest areas at around 29.5 ° C. Then it will be possible to lower it to 24-26.5 degrees.
   • Heating can be provided using an incandescent lamp installed in one of the corners of the socket box. If the puppies are cold, they will not move unnecessarily. Be sure to check that the nest box is warm and that the puppies stay close to the mother and to each other.
7. 7 Show the dog with the puppies to the vet. Make an appointment with your veterinarian to check the condition of your dog and her puppies after giving birth. The veterinarian will make sure the dog is recovering properly and the puppies are growing well.
8. 8 Keep other dogs away from mother and puppies. If you also keep a male (father of puppies), keep him separate from the whelping bitch and puppies. Other dogs should be kept away from the nursing bitch and puppies. This is due to the risk of fights between adult animals and the attendant risk to the puppies themselves. A lactating bitch can be quite aggressive in protecting her offspring. This is normal and should not be punished for this instinct.
   • Including cases of defensive aggression against people, so do not let children disturb the dog with puppies.
9. 9 Do not bathe your dog immediately after giving birth. Unless your dog is very dirty, wait a few weeks before bathing it with a gentle oatmeal shampoo specifically designed for dogs. Then, be sure to rinse your dog thoroughly so as not to leave any traces of shampoo on it and to prevent the nursing puppies from coming into contact with it.

Part 3 of 4: Take care of your new mother

1. 1 Feed the nursing bitch with puppy food. The lactating bitch should eat high quality puppy food that is rich in protein and calcium. This will allow her to provide enough milk. You should keep the dog on this food until it finishes breastfeeding the puppies.
   • Let your dog eat as much as he wants. The feed intake can often be up to four times the normal feed intake (in the absence of pregnancy). It is simply impossible to overfeed the dog during this period, since it takes a lot of calories to produce milk.
   • However, be aware that for the first 24 to 48 hours after giving birth, your dog may eat little or no food entirely.
2. 2 Do not add calcium supplements to dog food. Do not increase your dog's calcium intake without first consulting your veterinarian. Excess calcium in the future can cause lactational mastitis.
   • Lactational mastitis develops due to a sharp decrease in calcium in the blood, which usually occurs at 2–3 weeks of lactation. This causes the dog's muscles to become constrained, causing it to tremble. In addition, excessively low blood calcium levels can lead to seizures.
   • If you suspect your dog is lactating mastitis, contact your veterinarian immediately.
3. 3 Let the nursing bitch get used to the new routine. For the first 2-4 weeks, the lactating bitch will be very busy looking after the puppies. She will not want to leave them for a long time. It is important for her to have constant access to puppies to warm, feed and clean them. Take her to the bathroom for short walks (only 5-10 minutes).
4. 4 Shorten your long-haired dog's coat. If your dog has a long coat, give it a “hygienic haircut” around the tail, hind legs and mammary glands to make it easier to keep these areas clean after puppies are born.
   • If you do not know how to properly use clipping tools, a groomer or veterinarian can help you trim your dog.
5. 5 Check your lactating dog's mammary glands daily. Sometimes infectious inflammation of the mammary glands (mastitis) occurs, which can worsen very quickly. If you notice severely reddened (purple), hardened, hot, and painful breasts, then your dog is clearly in trouble. In some cases, mastitis can potentially kill the nursing bitch.
   • If you suspect your dog has mastitis, take it to your veterinarian immediately. Even if you need to go to the 24-hour emergency veterinary care for this, it should be done immediately.
6. 6 Do not be intimidated by the appearance of vaginal discharge in your dog. Vaginal discharge in lactating bitches for several weeks after birth (up to eight) is normal. This discharge has a brownish red color and a viscous consistency. They sometimes have a mild odor.
   • If you notice yellow, green, or gray discharge with a musty odor, take your dog to the vet. These may be symptoms of uterine inflammation.

Part 4 of 4: Taking Care of Newborn Puppies

1. 1 Observe the condition of dairy puppies. Make sure your puppies feed every few hours for the first few weeks of life. They should eat at least every 2-4 hours. Satisfied puppies are sleeping puppies. If they squeak a lot, they probably don't have enough milk. Make sure your puppies have round, well-fed tummies and clean fur, which indicates good grooming.
   • Try to weigh the puppies daily on an electronic scale to ensure that they are gaining weight. In the first week of life, the weight of the puppies should double.
   • Do not ignore the condition of a puppy who looks thinner than others and is less active than the rest. Show it to your veterinarian immediately. He may need extra bottle feeding or other help.
2. 2 Watch for developmental abnormalities in puppies. If after a few days you notice that all the puppies are growing and one is still small and thin, this could be a symptom of a lack of nutrition or other problems. Take your puppy to the veterinarian as soon as possible. Newborn puppies, like babies, can get sick and quickly become dehydrated due to illness.
3. 3 Keep the nest box clean. As the puppies grow up and their activity increases, the limited space of the nest box will become more and more dirty. It is necessary to keep it clean, and to do this, clean the nest box at least 2-3 times a day.
4. 4 Take the puppies in your arms to socialize them. Puppies need proper socialization in the world around them, including getting to know a person. Handle each puppy several times a day. Train your puppies to touch their hands to any part of the body so that it does not seem strange to them when they grow up.
5. 5 Wait until the puppies are 8 weeks old before giving them away. If you will be selling or giving out puppies, wait until they are 8 weeks old before handing them over to new owners. In some countries (such as the state of California in the USA) it is illegal to sell and distribute puppies before they are eight weeks old.
   • By the time of transfer to new owners, puppies must be completely weaned from their mother and accustomed to independent use of dog food.
   • It is also recommended that puppies go through the first deworming and initial vaccinations prior to transferring them to new owners. Check with your veterinarian and follow their directions.