Your Litter A to Z|

Nov. 18, 2021

Your Litter A to Z, Module 10 - Your Litter's Second Week

Days 8 through 14, Week 2 of the Neonatal Period

Module 10 Documents

Required Reading

Read Your Litter's Second Week

What’s In This Module

Topics listed as “New” are new course content. Others are unchanged from past modules.

Basics and Set Up

Bitch Care

Puppy Development

Puppy Care

Your Litter A to Z Mid-Course Survey

Week 2 Basics

Life should be settling into a routine with the pups–you are caring for your pups’ mom and she is caring for them, although she might be feeling a little bored as the week goes on.

Your pups are still in the Neonatal stage this week. However, over this week you should see some remarkable changes as their eyes open and they become more mobile. What isn’t visible is the massive brain development that is going on
inside those little heads that we want to take advantage of to create great pups!

Much of this module’s content is found in previous modules so use the What’s In this Module above to link you directly to those sections. We have limited how much content is repeated in each module.

Read Your Litter’s Second Week – Days 8-14 FIRST!

Download and print Your Litter’s Second Week Checklist, Days 8-14

If you haven’t already,

The Second Week Whelping Room and Box – New Content

You will likely notice your dam spending less time with her pups this week. This is normal so you should not confine her into the whelping box but we do encourage you to confine her to the room or the area around the whelping box. You can do this by putting one or more exercise pens (ex-pen) around the whelping box, giving her a comfortable space to rest in away from the pups. Give her a bed, a chew or toy, water and food, if you are free feeding. However, monitor your pups’ weights twice daily this week to ensure they continue to gain even as she is spending more time away from them.

Most other things in your pups’ environment should stay the same this week but as they become larger and more mobile, you should make a few changes to stimulate the pups’ brains and bodies. If your pups are very mobile by the end of the week, you can also introduce them to potty training.

Increasing Challenges

Obstacles and toys. Add more soft, safe toys to the whelping box this week, rotating them once or twice a day. In addition to the large, soft children’s or dog plush toys, begin to add things with different textures while still ensure they are safe.

  • Smooth rubber, canvas, and soft plastic objects in the box so the pups experience new textures and odors.
  • Different flooring items, such as large bathroom tiles or rubber mats.
  • Place rolled towels under the bedding. These are particularly helpful for singletons or very large pups that might need more physical activity than pups from large litters.
  • Place an egg-crate foam mattress topper under the bedding.

Box Temperature. You may find that you need to cool the room and/or box by a few degrees this week as your pups become larger and in slightly more control of their body temperature.

Security. Your bitch is likely to still be very protective of her pups. Respect her wishes and keep other dogs away from the litter.

Safety. Their dam is still a big risk to your pups this week but as they become more mobile, that risk lessens and the risk of them getting into predicaments they can’t get out of increases. Continue to be cautious of water containers and pups getting stuck in corners or far from mom.

Cleanliness. In most cases, your dam will still be cleaning the pups and bedding but you may begin to notice your pups urinating and defecating without stimulation towards the end of the week. This indicates that it’s time to put in potty pads. See potty training your litter below.

Traction. Your pups should be increasingly mobile as they start to toddle. Be sure to have excellent traction to help their joints grow properly.

Potty Training Set Up

Teaching your pups to use some type of potty box will be a huge win for you, your pups, and your buyers. We can start potty training puppies, very, very early, often as early as 10 days. By 10 to 12 days of age, medium, large and giant breed puppies are ready to start potty training. Small breeds and toy breeds are ready by 18 days. We have more in the Puppy Development section below but here is how to set up a potty area now.

This week, your set up is simple. You will lay a few pee or potty pads on top of the bedding on one side of the whelping box. Because puppies aren’t very coordinated and can’t see much at this point, we want to make it as easy as possible for them to get to the potty area, while still having a set designated spot. Watch the videos below to learn how to do this.

Then decide on the larger potty boxes you want to use towards the end of next week. If you plan to build your own box, here are the instructions to do so – How to Build a Potty Box.

Equipment and Supplies - New items

Potty Training Supplies
Deworming Treatments
Bitch and Puppy Care
Cleaning and Disinfecting
Diarrhea Treatments
Galactagogue (Increasing Milk) Treatments

Caring for Your Bitch

Hopefully by this point, your dam’s hormones are strong and she is mothering her pups well. Her primary role this week is to focus on the pups although she may be less obsessed with them this week. However, she should still be feeding and cleaning them 20+ times a day. You will likely find she is vigorously clean them, often annoying the pups and making them cry. This is not normal and beneficial to the pups so don’t interfere unless she is being aggressive toward a pup.

You should continue to focus on caring for your bitch and keeping the pups safe. Vigilance on your part remains critical until your pups can see, hear and move away from or toward their dam.

Monitoring Your Bitch’s Health

Nursing demands are growing although not super high yet unless your girl as an above average number of pups. Regardless of litter size, her body is still being stressed by being a mom so monitor her daily, if not more often.

If her body temperature was normal last week and her attitude and appetite are good, you don’t need to continue to take her temperature but check it if you see her become lethargic.

Healthy dams:

  • Are attentive to their puppies, spending most of the day in or near the whelping box.
  • Are relaxed and comfortable in the whelping box.
  • Lick, nuzzle, and clean the pups often quite vigorously.
  • Continue to have a slightly higher than normal temperature but not above 103F.
  • Have some vaginal discharge.
  • Should be eating and drinking well at this point.
  • Should have normal or near-normal stools.
  • Are protective of their puppies, especially against other dogs, even housemates, and people.

Problem behaviors. If your dam is exhibiting any of the following signs, take action immediately:

  • strange, erratic, or aggressive behaviors
  • lethargy
  • smelly discharge
  • vomiting
  • showing signs of physical incoordination, mental dullness, or seizures

If you see any of these, your first step should be to take your bitch’s temperature. If it is above 103F, start cooling her and call your vet. Next, give her oral calcium. Then, watch the Monitoring Dams Video to determine next your steps.Watch Monitoring Dams and Puppies

Feeding Your Bitch

Feeding this week is the same as last week. Your bitch should be on a reproductive diet: high protein, moderate fat and some carbohydrates. See What to Feed This Week for specifics but to help prevent mastitis you can add add non-GMO sunflower lecithin granules or powder to her food. (Liquid lecithin does not prevent mastitis so get the dry form.) You can also reduce the amount of folic acid you are feeding to 800 mcg, if you want to for milk production. Otherwise, you can eliminate it completely.

How much you should feed depends upon the number of puppies and her physical condition. Your bitch doesn’t need to eat more than you have been feeding her in the 3rd trimester unless she is underweight. The pups will not place a big demand on her body this week and overfeeding dams is one of the primary causes of dam and puppy diarrhea. See the chart below to determine if she has a small, average or large litter.

  • Small litter – feed her 10% more per pup of her maintenance amount
  • Average litter – increase her food to 200% of maintenance or twice as much as her maintenance amount
  • Large litter – increase her food to 250% of maintenance or 2 ½ times as much as her maintenance amount

Your bitch should be eating and drinking normally at this point although many bitches will not eat or drink in the whelping box so have food and water available outside but near the box. If she isn’t drinking, add low-sodium chicken or beef stock to her water to encourage her to drink.

If she isn’t eating, try:

Using Oral Calcium

Often the need for calcium supplementation continues this week. You may find that you can dose her with each meal but if you see breakthrough bouts of strange behaviors like simple anxiety to overt aggression, give calcium more frequently.

Think of using calcium the way we should use pain medication. We want to “stay ahead” of the low-calcium bouts by dosing before it is needed. If that isn’t enough, then we need a quick-acting “rescue” treatment that can calm a bitch quickly. We have found that Doc Roy’s Healthy Bones or other balance Ca:Ph supplements are great to give with meals but that calcium citrate is a better “rescue” treatment for acute episodes. If you need to get calcium citrate into her quickly, mix powdered calcium citrate with a little yogurt or ice cream, or simply dissolve it in water or broth and syringe it into the corner of her mouth.

To determine the starting point for your calcium dosing, put your bitch’s weight into the Calcium Calculator for Whelping & Afterwards. Remember, that you can safely go much higher than this, if needed. For more on oral calcium, read Calcium Report.

We have found that oral calcium can successfully resolve behaviors like:

  • Poor mothering
  • Anxiety
  • Digging in or out of the whelping box
  • Restlessness
  • Trying to hide
  • Leaving whelping box and puppies
  • Ignoring puppies
  • Refusing to clean puppies
  • Moving puppies
  • Burying puppies
  • Growling at puppies
  • Biting her puppies
  • Growling at familiar people

If Calcium doesn’t resolve these behaviors within 20 or 30 minutes, take her body temperature to be sure she doesn’t have a fever or eclampsia. (Remember it will likely be higher than normal, up to 102.9F.)

Increasing Milk Supply

Your pups should have doubled their birth weights at the start of this week and should be gaining 5-10% a day. If they are not, take steps to increase your dam’s milk production. For more on increasing milk supply, ask the questions below and read Increasing Your Dam’s Milk Supply and watch Inadequate Milk Supply and Galactagogues in Monitoring Dams Video.

Consider topping off your pups once a day if they are gaining but not enough or tube/bottle feed if they are struggling to grow at all.

  • Is she eating enough? If not, go to the My Bitch Won’t Eat section of this report.
  • Is her diet adequate for lactation? If not, tweak it according to the What to Feed This Week
  • Is she drinking enough? Liquids are essential for milk production so be sure to get a lot into her by adding more water to her meals, making “soup” for her, and/or adding broth or stock to her water. Since we are no longer worried about over-supplementing with calcium, bone, beef, chicken or other meat stocks/broths are fine.
  • Can you add some more good calories to her diet? Adding cooked non-instant oatmeal and/or liver water to her meals or feeding her Mother’s Pudding or Chicken soup often works well. See recipes below.

Try these appetite stimulants to get your girl eating.

Mother’s Pudding

Liver Water

Chicken Soup

Breeders have used this “soup” for years because many bitches love it and it gets water, calcium, and protein into them.
Ingredients
❑ 1 broiler chicken
❑ water to cover
Put the chicken in a large pot and cover it with water. Boil on low heat until the bones in the chicken are totally soft. This can take several hours. Skim any foam off the soup, cool slightly, and use a blender to grind a little of the soup at a time. Add more water or stock to make a soupy consistency. Feed it to your girl or mix it with her food as a treat.

Exercise

Exercise guidance is the same this week except as the pups’ eyes open around Day 10, you may find your bitch getting bored with hours in the whelping box. At that point, you can try some very short Good for the Soul walks in safe places. Safe not only means away from other dogs so she doesn’t bring disease back to her pup but also that she doesn’t get injured, especially her enlarged mammary glands. Areas with briers and harsh grass can scratch her breasts, increasing the risk of mastitis. 

For more on Week 2 Exercise and Fitness, go to Lesson 8 in Fit To Be Tied.

Post C-Section Care

If your bitch had a c-section, she should rebound quickly this week. It’s unlikely she will still need pain meds but, if she does, go back to Module 9. Her incision should be healing well with only a small amount of redness or puckering. If you are concerned, take her temperature and send your vet a photo of the incision. 

Last week your biggest post-c-section challenge was encouraging your dam’s mothering. This week it will likely be boredom and her desire to be more active. Continue to limit exercise as your vet recommended or to short, on-leash potty walks for 10 days after the surgery. Even after that, it can take more weeks for the internal wounds to heal and internal stitches to dissolve. Go very slowly recovering your bitch’s fitness, adding at least a week to each period, from Early Lactation to Recovery.

Both mastitis and eclampsia are high risks this week so monitor your bitch regularly (see below).

Mastitis

Mastitis is an inflammation of breast tissue, often caused by an infection but can also be the result of a blocked duct. The severity of mastitis ranges from mild to fatal but most often falls in the mid-range, where the bitch doesn’t feel well but recovers quickly with at-home treatment and antibiotics. Regular checks and prompt action are invaluable. For details and treatments, go here.

Eclampsia

Eclampsia or hypocalcemia is a life-threatening condition that develops when a bitch’s calcium levels in her blood drop precipitously. This sets up an avalanche of physiological events that trigger high body temperature, seizures, weakness, and in the most serious cases, death. It most often occurs two to four weeks after whelping when nursing demands are highest but it can also occur before the pups are born and any time during lactation.

Despite how dangerous it sounds, eclampsia is rare in bitches. When it does occur, it strikes primarily toy breeds with large litters and maiden bitches. However, breeders should not fear eclampsia and should instead focus on feeding proper nutrition and simply being aware of the symptoms of this problem. For details and treatments, go here.

Metritis

Metritis is much less likely this week since it normally occurs in the first days after whelping. Just in case here are the symptoms.

Your bitch will:

  • feel very bad and be apparently ill
  • vaginal discharge that has pus (pink or pus yellow) in it, is green, and/or smells badly
  • have a swollen abdomen
  • be dehydrated (the skin stays tented for a few seconds when pinched)
  • have dark red gums

Metritis is a medical emergency so get your bitch to the vet ASAP. For more info on treatments, go here.

Sub-Involution of the Placental Sites (SIPS) - New content

Even in the most straightforward of whelpings, our bitches’ uteruses have weeks of healing to undergo. However, sometimes things don’t go right and the uterus continues to bleed a lot. This is called Sub-involution of the Placental Sites or SIPS and although rare, most often shows up in maiden bitches with large litters. SIPs is indicated by extensive bleeding or hemorrhaging. Bitches may be very weak from blood loss or show few signs other than discharge. However, rather than drops or even ropes of vaginal discharge, bitches with SIPS leave large puddles or bleed as they walk.

SIPs can be treated by your veterinarian so for more information, go here.

Developing Your Puppies This Week – New content

Puppy brain development is in high gear this week as vision comes on line and they are increasingly mobile.

Challenges for Puppies

As we discussed in the Whelping Room section, adding small, safe, physical challenges to the whelping box this week will increase your pups’ development. Remember, pups are in the “use it or lose it” phase of neurological development so you want to gently encourage them to use their bodies, front and rear, as they make their way around the whelping box. Go here for details on this week’s challenges.

Potty Training Your Litter – New content

Teaching your pups to use some type of potty box will be a huge win for you, your pups, and your buyers. We can start potty training puppies, very, very early, often as early as 10 days. By 10 to 12 days of age, medium, large and giant breed puppies are ready to start potty training. Small breeds and toy breeds are ready by 18 days.

This week, you will only use potty pads that you lay on the bedding on one side of the whelping box. Because puppies aren’t very coordinated and can’t see much at this point, we want to make it as easy as possible for them to get to the potty area, while still having a set designated spot. Watch the videos below to learn how to do this.

Then decide on the larger potty boxes you want to use towards the end of next week. If you plan to build your own box, here are the instructions to do so – How to Build a Potty Box.

Introduction to Potty Training Video

Getting Started (10-21 days) Video

Stimulating Puppy Senses

This week we need to:

  • handle our pups daily, gently manipulating all parts of their bodies
  • trim toenails every 3 days. Not only does this stimulate the pups’ bodies but it reduces the risk of mastitis in our bitch.
  • possibly, allow other human visitors but only if your dam welcomes them
  • do Early Scent Introduction
  • do Early Neurological Stimulation, if you would like. Some Avidog breeders have stopped doing ENS while continuing to handle the pups throughout each day.

Early Scent Introduction

Continue Early Scent Introduction once a day each day this week to expand your pups brains.

Neonatal puppies, from 3 to 16 days of age, are ready and able to smell their world. You can take advantage of this to improve their adult scenting ability by doing Early Scent Introduction with your litter. It’s easy! All you need 13 unique scents and 5 seconds per puppy per day. It’s fun! Watching your pups fall in love or out of love with a smell is a hoot.

We have been doing and teaching Early Scent Introduction for fifteen years with tremendous results!

ESI has contributed to our dogs’ successes in hunt tests and field trials, nosework, search and rescue work, obedience, tracking and more. One of our dogs holds the record for the youngest golden retriever to pass the Variable Surface Tracking test at only 16 months of age. Most recently, we were selected as the AKC Breeder of the Year for Tracking.

Other breeders are having equally good results with their pups, resulting in excellent performance as Search and Rescue and detection dogs, as well as speed and confidence in every sport involving scenting, from nosework to barn hunt. Pet puppies also benefit from this simple stimulation and many breeders said they have seen improvements in confidence and stability in their pet and service dogs.

Research in dogs shows that scent work has an additional benefit for our dogs. Dogs that are taught and engage in scenting have a more optimistic attitude toward life and with that, fewer behavior problems. 

We have created a FREE handout that gives you the step-by-step instructions and a chart for logging your litter’s reactions. Don’t judge your pups by their reactions, just enjoy the response from these littlest dogs.

Have a great time introducing your puppies to the world of exciting scents!

ESI/ENS Tracking Form

Early Neurological Stimulation

If you are doing Early Neurological Stimulation or Biosensor with your pups, continue it once a day, each day this week.

To enlarge the video below, click play, then the square in the bottom right corner of the screen.

One-Week Old Puppies - New content

Normal one-week-old puppies are quiet most of the time except when their dam approaches the whelping box. They are rounded, solid-feeling babies with moist mucus membranes. This week, the puppies’ normal body temperature rises to 97 to 98° F. They have slightly more control over their body temperature than they did last week but are still at risk for chilling so ensure they have a draft-free environment.

What else do you need to know about your pups this week?

  • They will spend 95% of their time alternating between eating and sleeping, nursing 20 or more times a day.
  • They still don’t have a fully developed gag reflex so can aspirate milk when being supplemented or if they nurse too hard or quickly. Be careful when supplementing or medicating.
  • Active sleep continues so the pups should twitch and jerk in their sleep.
  • They are increasingly mobile, moving forward around the whelping box but still cannot back up so can get themselves stuck in corners.
  • Between Days 9 and 14, their eyes should open although they won’t see well for many weeks, if not months.
  • Most dams will nurse lying down much of this week but some will begin to sit occasionally, which is fine as long as the pups continue to gain weight.
  • Your bitch should be with or near her pups most of the time.
  • She will continue to vigorously clean them, often annoying the pups. This is not only normal but very important for puppy development so don’t interfere unless she is being aggressive toward a pup.
  • Neonatal puppies respond differently to medications than older pups and adults so read How Do Neonate Puppies Differ From Adult Dogs.

To review Neonatal Puppy Development, go to Module 9.

Deworming and Coccidia – New content

In most cases, you will not need to deworm your puppies this week but if they have signs of coccidia, such as diarrhea, vomiting and lethargy, we recommend that you start Deworming Protocol #3 on page 6 of the Deworming Dams and Puppies report now. Most breeders use one of two related treatments: generic, over-the-counter toltrazuril or by-prescription ponazuril. Your vet can prescribe ponazuril for your pups but, if you are in the US, not toltrazuril because it is not yet licensed for dogs in the US only elsewhere, like Europe and Canada. However, you can purchase toltrazuril legally online.

Your vet may require a fecal exam before providing medication. Coccidia can be easily missed on a fecal because the cysts aren’t shed consistently so if your pups have diarrhea but the exam is negative, consider running a fecal PCR (polymerase chain reaction) that looks for coccidia DNA in the stool. 

Treat your dam, your other dogs, and the litter as directed by your vet or in the deworming protocol. You should also treat your pups’ symptoms to ensure they don’t get too weak from diarrhea. 

Properly using deworming medications

  1. Do not give different dewormers to pups on the same day and ideally, separate treatments by at least a day.
  2. Get 1 cc and/or 3cc syringes for deworming puppies and dams. Remember, 1 cc and 1 ml are the same amounts so are often used interchangeably.
  3. Weigh each pup and dog individually so you know exactly how much dewormer to give each.
  4. Pour a small amount of the dewormer into a bowl.
  5. Draw up the correct dose for one puppy or dog at a time using a syringe (without a needle).
  6. If the pup is not weaned yet, slowly squirt the liquid into the side of their mouths so they can swallow it. Don’t just squirt it down their throats or they may choke. If the pup has been weaned, you can try giving the dewormer in a small amount of food. Be sure to feed each pup individually so you know that it got the correct dose.
  7. Treat all the puppies and dogs from the dewormer in the bowl.
  8. Throw away any remaining dewormer in the bowl. Do not put a syringe or eyedropper back into the bottle of worming medication after treating a puppy or you will contaminate the entire container.

Healthy Puppies

It is essential to monitor your puppies’ health at least twice a day, if not more frequently, this week. In fact, if it’s possible, monitor the litter throughout the day and night because neonate puppies can slip away very quickly.

Healthy puppies:

  • Feel heavier than they look.
  • Are stronger than they appear
  • Gain weight every day, even a small amount! Even the first day, regardless of what old breeder’s tales say. Weigh your pups every day and expect a daily gain. If a pup isn’t gaining on a daily basis, take some action. First, give it more opportunity to nurse. If that doesn’t help, check its vitals and respond accordingly. If all seems fine, supplement the pup.

Monitoring puppies includes:

  • Weighing. Weigh each pup twice a day and record its weight on the Puppy Weight Worksheets below. If a pup isn’t gaining weight each day, go to the Supplementing section.
  • Observing. Observe each pup’s behavior and movements. They should twitch when they sleep, move toward their mom unless lost, and nurse the whole time they aren’t sleeping.
  • Listening. Listen for crying. Pups emit a mewing sound when looking for a nipple and can scream their heads off when not happy but they should not cry constantly. If yours are, take action. Start by checking the temperature in the box to see if they are too cold or hot. If that isn’t the cause, go to Do You Have A Sick Puppy?
  • Feeling. Pups should feel plump and heavier than they appear. Their muscles are firm. They should not be limp or flaccid. If they are, go to Do You Have A Sick Puppy?

Weigh Your Pups Twice a Day

The most important thing for you to monitor in your puppies is their weight. Weight gains are the best indicator of a puppy’s vigor and health. Weigh your pups at least twice a day and record each weighing. Puppies should NOT lose weight in the first 24 hours after birth so be prepared to take action if they do. At the same time, a bitch’s milk usually doesn’t come in for 2-3 days post-whelping so don’t worry if she isn’t bagging up. The pups are getting all-important colostrum during this period.

The spreadsheet has two worksheets–Puppy Weights and Instructions. Put your puppies’s weights in the row for the correct day on the first sheet. You can use grams, ounces, or pounds for weights. As you add more weights for each pup, the spreadsheet will calculate % gained and cell will turn green if the pup gained, yellow if it held steady, and red if the pup loses. If a pup isn’t gaining consistently, go to When and How to Supplement Newborn Puppies below.

 

Puppy Weight Trackers

Sick, Fading and Weak Puppies

Regular (if not continuous) monitoring of your pups is critical in these first few days. Anytime you have a pup that is not thriving, your first steps should be to check them over for problems.

Pups that aren’t thriving:

  • are not gaining weight
  • are not moving around
  • are not nursing nearly continuously
  • often cry a lot or continuously
  • have rattling in their chest
  • have a bloated or distended belly
  • are limp or flacid
  • have red-currant-jelly poop
  • have a purple abdomen and pads
  • have a blue cast, tongue and nose

Fading Pups

Fading puppy syndrome is a frustrating phenomenon when a seemingly healthy puppy starts to fade. Turning this around can be tough. More than in the past, we now know that canine herpes virus (CHV) is the cause of many fading puppies. If your pups might have CHV, get to your vet and use the CHV Treatment worksheet.

This video by Dr Susan Whitakerhill gives some good insights and a case study of a fading pup that was saved. There is no sound in this video so read closely.

Evaluating and Treating Weak or Sick Puppies

When a pup isn’t doing well, immediately evaluate it using these steps. Don’t delay! Puppies that are in trouble this week can die very quickly. Read Monitoring Vitals in Neonate Puppies to find out more and what to do. Use the Tracking form if you have a pup that is struggling.

1. Check the pup’s breathing. Noisy, labored, open-mouthed, rapid or dramatic gut breathing are indicators of problems. If the pup is not breathing well, give it oxygen to pups with medial oxygen or . If you don’t have oxygen on hand, hold the pup with its tilted down at a 45-degree angle or less. Rub its back and sides vigorously with a soft towel and suction the pup with a Delee catheter or bulb syringe. If your vet has given you antibiotics for the litter, start the pup on them or get it evaluated by your vet.

2. Check for dehydration by tapping on the pup’s gums. Puppy gums should be smooth and moist not tacky, sticky, or dry. Tenting the skin on the back of their necks is NOT a valid measure since all pups will tent this week. If you suspect dehydration, give warmed subQ fluids.

3. Check the pup’s temperature with a rectal thermometer. This week, it should be 96-97 F (35.6 to 36.1 C). If the pup’s temperature is lower, start warming it immediately on a heating pad or in a warming box/incubator. This is known as hypothermia and will shut down all of the pup’s systems, including digestion. NEVER TUBE FEED A CHILLED PUPPY! If the pup’s temperature is above 98 F, the pup has been kept in too warm a location. Carefully cool the pup off and/or put the pup on antibiotics. Be cautious how you choose to cool the pup because pups can’t maintain their body temperature. Overcooling is possible.

4. Evaluate or treat for low blood sugar. If the pup is weak, either give it glucose or check its blood sugar with a glucose monitor but know it can be tough to get enough blood from a neonate pup. It may take cutting two or more nails too short and quickly getting the drops of blood on the test strip. If you succeed, if your pup is below 90 it is in trouble. Let it suck a little white corn syrup (light Karo syrup) off your finger or better yet, dose it with homemade or medical glucose solution (recipe below).5. Treating abdominal bloating. If your pup’s belly is bloated, it may have gas or constipation.

  • Give the pup several baby gas drops (simethicone). Depending upon the size of your pup, give just a drop to .1 or even .2 ml.
  • Try to stimulate it to defecate by massaging its anus with a cotton ball dampened with warm water. The poop might be yellow or brown but should not be red, white or black.
  • If the pup does not poop, insert a lubricated thermometer or end of syringe gently into the rectum to stimulate the pup to defecate.
  • If none of this helps, take the pup to vet for an exam and possible enema.

Supplementing Newborn Puppies

If a pup is not gaining weight daily, you need to do something to change the situation. Smaller pups that are nursing vigorously and gaining regularly might need only some private time on mom but pups who lose 4% from birthweight have a much lower chance of survival.

You have a few safe options to supplement pups. Before doing any supplementation, go through Supplementing Newborn Puppies. It includes the supplies and steps you need to feed neonates, as well as recipes for formula, liver water, and more.

  • Kickstarts Give Kickstarts if pups need more energy before they are 12 hours old. Unless a pup cannot nurse at all, giving formula or milk replacer within 12 hours after birth may negatively effect its immune systems and the dam’s milk production. Kickstarts provide needed energy to help the pup without interfering with these processes. Once a pup is 12 hours old, you can supplement with formula and/or use Kickstarts if it is not gaining weight or nursing normally.
  • Private nursing sessions, which is when you put larger pups in the warming box and give the smallest or smaller pups time to nurse without the big guys.
  • Bottle-feeding, which is great for “topping off” strong puppies that just aren’t gaining enough weight but since nursing takes a lot of energy and calories, it is not the best option for newborns that are really struggling..
  • Tube feeding. Tube feeding is best for very weak pups that don’t have the strength to nurse, as well as orphaned pups or those whose mom is very sick. It is the most efficient means of getting nutrition into pups without them having to expend calories.

Give a Weak Pup a Kickstart

Sometimes smaller or weaker pups in the first few days just need a kickstart to energize them so they can nurse. Formula is not a kickstart because digestion takes too much energy. Thus, kickstarts give pups energy without high digestion demands.

Coffee – Brewed caffeinated coffee can stimulate weak or fading puppies. Put a drop of warmed, not hot, coffee on the pup’s tongue. Repeat only 2 or 3 times because caffeine can be toxic to pups in more than minute quantities.

Karo Syrup/Frosting – The sugar in these products can revive neonatal pups that are struggling. Put a drop of
Karo syrup or a small dab of colored frosting on the pup’s tongue.

Homemade 5% Glucose Solution (Karo Syrup-Pedialyte recipe, from The Joy of Breeding Your Own Show Dog by Anne Serrano)

  • Mix one teaspoon of white corn syrup (light Karo syrup) in four tablespoons unflavored Pedialyte, ideally warmed.
  • Weigh the weak or ill pup.
  • Using an eyedropper, give ONE DROP AT A TIME until you have given the pup 5-6 drops per 100 grams or 3.5 ounces of body weight. Place each drop on the puppy’s tongue, making sure it has swallowed the drop before giving the next.
  • Repeat this every four hours until the pup perks up and starts nursing. Be sure to weigh the puppy each time to use the correct amount of glucose solution.

Calculating How Much to Tube or Bottle Feed a Pup

If a pup is getting all of its nutrition from tube or bottle feeding, you will need to weigh it twice a day and use this calculator to determine how much to feed. In these first few days, you should be feeding four times a day around the clock.

If a pup is getting some of its nutrition from nursing, do not tube or bottle feed more than this calculator indicates.

Use the spreadsheet below to calculate how much to supplement your pup.  Click the link for ounces or grams, then make a copy of the spreadsheet.  The copy will be saved to your google drive for future use.

Making Formula (Milk Replacers)

There are commercial milk replacers specifically made for puppies available, but many longtime breeders use a Myra Savant Harris’s puppy formula with good success. Do not use cow’s or goat’s milk to supplement your puppies! These do not provide adequate nutrition for pups.

Bottle Feeding Your Pups

Some pups take to bottle feeding immediately while others resist it vigorously. Pups can also be very picky about the nipples you use so be prepared to adapt to your pups’ preferences. Once the pups figure the bottle out, they are usually eager to feed but initially, it can be frustrating. Here are a few hints:

  • Find bottles the puppies like and don’t give them gas.
  • Squeeze a few drops of mom’s milk on the nipple before offering it to the pup.
  • When you bottle-feed pups, do not cradle them as you would a human child on their backs in your arms. Try to replicate the position they would be in while nursing.
  • Pups often want to press their front legs against something while nursing so use a towel (and keep those toenails short).
  • Play with the angle of the bottle to find the right spot.

Here are the steps to bottle feeding:

1. Warm the formula to your body temperature.

2. Sit in a chair with your thigh parallel to the ground.

3. Lay the puppy on its stomach on your leg facing away from you.

4. Put the nipple in the pup’s mouth and then angle the bottle slightly upwards with the bottom pointing away from you.

5. Do NOT hold puppies upright or on their backs to nurse!

6. Once done, put the pup over your shoulder and pat its back until it burps.

7. Watch the video and read Bottle Feeding Puppies for more.

8. Log how much you feed each pup.

Tube Feeding Your Pups

Every breeder should know how to tube feed puppies because it is often the only way to save a weak or ill puppy. During tube feeding you insert a tube down your puppy’s throat into its stomach to give it formula. For most of us, tube feeding for the first time is a terrifying prospect but I know you can do it if you read these documents and follow these videos carefully. The absolute most important step is to measure and mark your tube. Never skip that step!

Begin by reading the Tube Feeding Puppies Report then watch the videos below and follow the steps in the report, one by one. To enlarge the videos below to full screen, click play, then click the box in the bottom right corner.

Your Litter A to Z Table of Contents

Section 1: Pre-Breeding

Section 2: Pregnancy & Whelping

Section 3: Litter Management: Month 1

Section 4: Litter Management: Month 2

Past Coaching Call Recordings