Newborn puppy care: the first two weeks

Keep them warm

Merck says puppies lack thermoregulation until 4 weeks, so the surroundings must be warm enough to keep body temperature at 97°F (36°C) or higher. Chilling harms immunity, nursing and digestion. A chilled puppy should be rewarmed slowly, over 30 to 60 minutes, and Merck says tube feeding should wait until the puppy is warm.

Merck prefers an overhead heat lamp at a safe distance, because heating pads can burn newborns that cannot move away from a hot surface, and recommends 55 to 65% humidity. It lists room temperatures in the first weeks; our guide to setting up a whelping box compares the sources by week, since they differ by a few degrees. Use a thermometer at puppy level. Merck's table of normal rectal temperatures runs from 95 to 99°F in week 1 to 97 to 100°F in weeks 2 and 3, so a puppy that feels cold or reads low should be warmed and seen by a vet.

Check that every puppy nurses

Colostrum comes first. Merck says puppies must ingest adequate colostrum promptly after birth to gain passive immunity, and that absorption of its antibodies generally stops by 24 hours after birth. Watch the litter for a puppy that is pushed aside or does not latch, and call your vet within the first day if one will not nurse.

Merck's owner pages say contented puppies that gain weight daily after the first 24 hours are a good sign that the dam's milk is adequate. They also say a dog should be allowed to whelp in a familiar area where she will not be disturbed, because unfamiliar surroundings or strangers can interfere with milk letdown and maternal behavior.

Weigh every day

Merck says daily examination of each neonate for vigor and recording of weight is part of proper husbandry, and the owner pages say puppies should be weighed as soon as they are dry. They also say any weight loss after the first 24 hours indicates a potential problem that should get immediate attention. How much a puppy should gain, how to weigh and when to call are in our guide to newborn puppy weight gain, so they are not repeated here.

Hygiene, the umbilicus and the dam

Merck's owner pages say disinfecting the umbilicus with tincture of iodine helps prevent infection in newborns; ask your vet to show you or do it. A normal umbilicus is dry without redness around it. Keep bedding clean and dry, because Merck lists a contaminated environment among the factors that predispose a newborn to sepsis.

Watch the mother too. Merck says to monitor her temperature, vaginal discharge and milk. Normal discharge is dark red to black and heavy for the first few days. Low calcium after delivery is most common in dogs under 45 pounds, and a large litter makes it worse. Call your vet about a mother with a fever, abnormal discharge or little milk, or who is not eating or not caring for the puppies.

Red flags: call a vet today

Merck lists signs that may indicate sepsis in a newborn: decreased weight gain, failure to suckle, blood in the urine, persistent diarrhea, unusual vocalization, a swollen or painful abdomen, dead tissue and sloughing at the extremities, low body temperature, trouble breathing and regurgitation or vomiting. It says sepsis can cause rapid deterioration and death if not treated promptly. Low birth weight, under 350 g for a medium-size breed, and chilling below 96°F are risk factors.

Our suggestion: do not wait to see whether a newborn improves overnight. Call your vet, or an emergency veterinary hospital after hours.

Orphaned puppies: involve your vet

If the mother cannot raise her puppies, VCA Animal Hospitals says they need appropriate heat, humidity, nutrition, elimination, sanitation and social stimulation. They must be fed on a strict schedule, every 2 to 4 hours in the first week, and they cannot urinate or defecate on their own until about three weeks of age; the caretaker stimulates it after feeding. VCA says cow's milk is not ideal, and Merck says commercial replacer is better than homemade, but none equals the dam's milk. A puppy too weak to suckle needs a vet, who can show alternatives such as tube feeding. Get a vet involved on day one.

A daily log is useful in either case. Our suggestion for each puppy: weight, whether it nursed, urine and stool, activity, and the mother's appetite and discharge. VCA recommends a logbook with weight, food intake, elimination, activity and milestones.