Quote:
Originally Posted by Mardelin  Kim,
You might want to share the importance of knowing your dog's normal temp.
Having Glucose on hand and learning how to sub-q a pup that is unable to nurse to prevent dehydration and give them a couple of days of maturing....and as well as knowing the signs of dehydration....I know you had to do this to both mom and babies. |
for those who need to know...
its always best to take the temp of all you dogs recording in each dogs file...that way if you have any abnormalities you can refer to his/her healthy temp is...normal is between 100-102.. nursing moms can safely range to 102.5
anything over 103 should be of concern.
To check for dehydration, pinch the puppy's skin on the back of the neck or on its back; if the skin stays up and creased, the puppy is dehydrated, if the skin falls back down immediately, the puppy is not dehydrated. Check puppies several times a day for the first week for dehydration.
Sub-q is a lactated ringer (you can either make your own, purchase online or your vet) inject the needle parallel to the body under the nape of the neck (never down into the neck you could hit a vein) 3-4 cc's of ringer on a newborn pup; a 5lb adult 6-12 cc's depending on the severity.
There is usually a large bubble that forms right at the back shoulders from administering subcutaneous fluids that subsides as the dog absorbs the fluids into his body the skin will appear more supple, BTW a puppy can live off continued ringers for 2-3 days.
hope this helps