At the Animal Clinic at Thorndale, we understand that life does not always happen as planned. Sometimes the mother dog is unavailable or unable to nurse her puppies. This is the point at which you will need to step in and do the job of raising and caring for the orphaned puppies. While this may sound fun at the outset, be aware that it is a lot of work. Having extra hands to help out and split the “night shifts” early in the going can help you get through.
Raising an orphaned puppy is a noble and rewarding experience. Bonding that will occur in the first few days will likely last for many years. However, orphaned puppies are very fragile; raising them requires jumping numerous hurdles. Not every attempt is successful. Newborns and older, failure to thrive puppies, can require a lot of work. Even the best medical care may not result in survival of a weakened puppy. Knowing what you will be up against, and how to address common difficulties can help.
Orphan Puppy Care – The Problems You Must Face
Several critical problems must be addressed in caring for orphaned puppies. Among these are chilling, dehydration, and hypoglycemia. These problems are interrelated and may often exist at the same time. Close observation and prompt attention if any of these problems develop are essential to survival. Of course, proper feeding of the orphaned puppy is extremely important.
Chilling
Chilling (low body temperature or hypothermia) in newborn puppies can lead to significant mortality. A puppy will dissipate far more body heat per pound of body weight than an adult dog. The normal newborn puppy depends upon radiant heat from its mother to help maintain its body temperature. In the absence of the mother, various methods of providing heat, such as incubators, heat lamps, or hot water bottles can be used.
Rectal temperatures in a normal newborn puppy range from 95 to 99 F for the first week, 97 to 100 F for the second and third weeks, and reach the normal temperature of an adult (100 to 102 F) by the fourth week. When the rectal temperature drops below 94 F, the accompanying metabolic alterations are life-threatening. Owning a rectal thermometer, and assessing the puppy’s temperature can help you quickly determine if there is a problem. Therefore, immediate action is necessary to provide the warmth the puppy needs to survive. A healthy newborn can usually survive chilling if warmed slowly. Do not restrict the puppies to a heated area. They must be able to crawl away if overheating under a heating lamp or on a heating pad. All heating pads should be kept on low and a towel covering their surface so the puppies do not get contact burns. The safest thing is to increase the temperature of the room in which the puppies are kept.
During the first four days of its life, the orphaned puppy should be maintained in an environmental temperature of 85 to 90 F. The temperature may gradually be decreased to 80 F by the seventh to tenth day and to 72 F by the end of the fourth week. If the litter is large, the temperature need not be as high. As puppies huddle together, their body heat provides additional warmth.
Caution: Too rapid warming of a chilled puppy may result in its death. If the puppy is chilled, you can safely tuck it inside your shirt next to your own body to provide gradual warming. Do not attempt to feed a chilled puppy.
Dehydration
The lack of regular liquid intake or the exposure of the puppy to a low humidity environment can easily result in dehydration. The inefficiency of the digestion and metabolism of a chilled puppy may also lead to dehydration.
Experienced breeders can detect dehydration by the sense of touch. Two signs of dehydration are the loss of elasticity in the skin and dry and sticky mucous membranes (gums) in the mouth.
An environmental relative humidity of 55 to 65 percent is adequate to prevent drying of the skin in a normal newborn puppy. However, a relative humidity of 85 to 90 percent is more effective in maintaining puppies if they are small and weak.
Caution: The environmental temperature should not exceed 90 F when high humidity is provided. A temperature of 95 F coupled with relative humidity of 95 percent can lead to respiratory distress. Carefully assess the environment for both temperature and humidity and adjust these variables as needed to optimize survival for the puppy.
Hypoglycemia
Signs of hypoglycemia (abnormal decrease of sugar in the blood) are severe depression, muscle twitching and sometimes convulsions. If a puppy shows signs of hypoglycemia, a solution containing glucose will have to be administered. A few drops of corn syrup on the tongue can be life saving. Be certain your puppy is warmed before feeding any larger amounts.
Causing Urination and Defecation
Normally, the mother dog would lick the puppy’s genitalia and rectum to stimulate urination and defection (bowel movements). This has the evolutionary benefit of keeping a den clean when the puppies are too young to move out of doors. In the absence of the mother, stimulating elimination reflexes in the puppy becomes your job. The puppy’s genital area must be stimulated after feeding to cause urination and defecation. The genital area should be massaged with a warm moist soft cloth or cotton ball to stimulate action. Be certain to clean and dry the puppy after it eliminates. This cleaning should continue during the first two weeks. If this procedure is not followed, the puppy may become constipated.
Food Options
Total nutrition for the newborn orphans must be supplied by a milk replacer until the puppies are about three weeks of age. At this age, the puppies are ready to start nibbling moistened solid food.
Preferred diets:
- A commercial puppy milk replacer: Using the powder, you can make up small amounts as needed. Open containers should not be kept past 24 hours refrigerated. These milk replacers are readily available at pet stores and most veterinary hospitals.
- For short-term emergencies only: l cup of milk, l tablespoon corn oil, l pinch of salt, 3 egg yolks (no whites), Blend mixture uniformly
Since the newborn may have trouble generating enough heat to maintain its body temperature, the milk replacer should be warmed to 95 to 100F for the best results. Testing the milk replacer’s temperature on one’s forearm (as for babies) is generally accurate enough. At the proper temperature (tepid), the milk droplet on your arm will feel neither hot or cold. The milk replacer should be about the same temperature as one’s skin or slightly warmer. As the puppies grow older, the milk replacer can be fed at room temperature.
Feeding Options
Baby bottles made for puppies can be used quite successfully in most situations. The size of the hole in the nipple is critical for success. If the bottle is turned upside down and milk replacer drips from the nipple, the hole is too large. Use of this nipple may cause drowning of the puppy. If the bottle is turned upside down and milk replacer comes out only after considerable squeezing of the bottle, the hole is too small. Use of this nipple will result in the puppy becoming discouraged and refusing to nurse. The hole is the proper size if the bottle is turned upside down and milk replacer drips from the nipple with minimal squeezing of the bottle. If you are having trouble enlarging the hole, heat a needle with a match and push it through the nipple several times. Preemie human bottles may also work. Check the nipple opening size as described. Nursing on a bottle helps strengthen the puppy. If you can successfully help the puppies to nurse in this way, it will be a benefit to all.
Spoon-feeding is slow and requires great patience. Each spoonful must be slowly “poured” into the puppy’s mouth to prevent liquids from entering the lungs. The puppy’s head must not be elevated, or the lungs may fill with fluids. Newborn puppies usually do not have a well-developed gag reflex to signal this. Generally we do not recommend this technique.
Dropper feeding accomplishes the same result as spoon-feeding but is somewhat cleaner and generally speedier. Care must be taken not to elevate the puppy’s head and not to place too much food in the puppy’s mouth at one time. If the puppy begins to suck on the dropper, try to switch it to a bottle.
Tube feeding is the easiest, cleanest and most efficient method of hand feeding. However, it requires proper equipment and technique to prevent putting milk replacer into the puppy’s lungs. If bottle-feeding is not successful, we will supply the equipment and demonstrate the proper technique. This is not a difficult procedure, so do not hesitate to ask about it if it is needed. Proper placement of the tube is critical. A soft rubber tube with a smooth tip (so not to damage the puppy’s esophagus) is used. It is best to place a tape marker on the tube measured from the tip of the mouth to the last rib so that it is not inserted too far. When tubing the puppy, feel along the throat to be certain you can feel the tube and a separate trachea (windpipe). A retch, cough or gag, or bluish discoloration of the tongue can indicate the tube went down the airway and is blocking airflow. Remove it immediately and then after a short rest for the puppy you can try again. Once experienced, you may notice the puppy swallow as the tube enters the pharynx (back of throat). It is also best to use some warm water first in the tube, to be certain that there is not gagging, etc. Once you have slowly fed the correct amount of food, follow again with a water rinse so food remaining in the tube does not enter the airway when removing the tube. Pinching the tube off so no leakage occurs on removal is also advised.
Feeding Amount and Frequency
Commercial milk replacers have directions on their labels for proper amounts to feed. It is necessary for the puppy’s weight to be obtained properly in ounces or grams. Many gram and ounce scales are available to be purchased at pharmacies or home supply or nutrition stores. The amounts on the labels are based on the puppy getting only the milk replacer. The amounts given are also for a 24 hour period. That quantity should be divided by the number of feedings per 24 hours. Newborns often need to be fed every two hours 24/7. After the first week, four meals, equally spaced during a 24 hour period, are ample for feeding a puppy when adequate nutrients are provided. Six or more feedings may be necessary if the puppy is small or weak. Hand feeding can generally be ended by the third week and certainly by the fourth. By this time the puppy can consume food, free-choice, from a dish.
Beginning Bowl Feeding
By three weeks, the puppy can start to eat food from the dish along with the milk replacer. A gruel can be made by thoroughly mixing a puppy food (canned or dry) with the milk replacer to reach the consistency of a thick milk shake. The mixture should not be too thick at first or the puppy will not consume very much. As the consumption of food increases, the amount of bottle fed milk replacer can be gradually decreased.
By four to four and one-half weeks, the orphaned puppy can consume enough moistened solid food to meet its needs.
A word of caution: Do not start a puppy on a human baby food regimen. Many such foods will not meet the nutritional needs of a growing puppy.
Deworming
We routinely treat puppies for worms at 3 and 6 weeks of age. Depending on the parasite load of the puppy and potential re-exposure to parasites, additional dewormings may be recommended. We need to see the puppy at the appropriate ages so that it can be accurately weighed.
First Vaccination
The first vaccination is normally given to puppies at 6-8 weeks of age. However, if your puppy did not nurse from its mother during the first 2-3 days after birth, there will be no protective immunity passed to it. If that is the case, the first vaccination may be given earlier. Keep in mind that puppies who have not nursed on their mothers do not have any passive immunity against diseases. They should be kept in an isolated environment (not exposed to other dogs) until their vaccinations are underway.
Moving Forward with Puppy Care
Once your puppy is eating on its own, you are ready to enter the realm of the typical new puppy owner. Congratulations you made it! Our Puppy Care pages are your next important read! This will take through the “early childhood period” of raising puppy.