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Originally Posted by FlDebra  One more thing that I forgot to mention that I noticed immediately in your picture -- please get fresh blankets for the puppies and momma to lie on. Anytime they become soiled, change them immediately! Cleanliness is vital to their health. You do not want these little ones lying on urine, blood and feces soaked blankets! That can easily cause infection!
You might want to get some disposable puppy pads to use. That way you can constantly change them out and ensure a clean surface for them to lie upon. I used puppy pads and had a large supply of baby receiving blankets that I could constantly rotate. The receiving blankets provided something a little softer than the puppy pads to have next to their skin. But I still lined the entire area with puppy pads.
It would be better if you had them in a whelping box inside the kennel. That way the momma could move away from the puppies and they would still be contained. I used a under-bed plastic rubbermade box for this purpose. Mom could get out of the whelping box, eat and drink while the puppies stayed in the box and could not get to the dog food or water.
Are you feeding momma puppy food? It is higher in what she needs -- so while she is nursing, its puppy food for her. She probably still needs addiitonal sources of calcium. Low calcium is a very real danger. You can supplement mom with the very same puppy milk replacement that you would feed the puppies if they could not nurse. You can also get prescription calcium that you give from a syringe. Best if you ask your vet what he would like you to use.
You will normally have your puppies in to the vet for tail docking and dew claw removal DAY 3-5. This is not required, and you may decide not to do it, espcially since these are not going to be show or breeding dogs. I would still have the dew claws removed though as this is a safety issue. Most homes have carpeting and it is so easy for a dew claw to get caught in carpeting! OUCH! While you are having that done, it is a good time to have mom checked over and get calcium suggestions from the vet. The vet will also weigh each puppy. Record these weights and then when you come home you can start a card on each puppy so that you can weigh them daily and record anything unusual about each one. Puppies should be gaining weight each day -- slow & steady.
Again -- wishing you well with these babies! |
Debra, once again you give great advise!! Another thing to remember, we have all learned so much from YT.