Caring For Your Dog and Her Puppies

When your female dog has puppies, you are probably going to very proud, excited, and also maybe a bit worried. You want to be sure that you are doing everything you can to care for your dog and her puppies correctly, and if you are able to do so, you'll be rewarded with a great litter of pups to enjoy.

First of all, make sure that your dog has a great place to give birth. This should be a place where she feels comfortable, that is a great temperature, and that gives her some privacy. Also, keep in mind that she'll want to be around you, so be sure that it is also some place that allows her to have privacy while still being near the family.

When the puppies are born, count them, weigh them, and then leave them alone with the mother. During the birth and right after, your mother dog will need to be in control over her puppies, and believe it or not, nature usually knows best. Sometimes, there will be obvious complications that you might need to address, such as a stuck puppy. If the mother doesn't chew the umbilical chord right away, you can tie it off with floss. However, for the most part, you'll want to be there for the mother, but leave her to tend to the puppies.

Once all of the puppies are born, let the mother outside to go potty if she wants to, and change the bedding while she is gone. Put clean bedding into her box, and put the puppies on top of one another. She'll come in to find them, and they can get down to the business of growing.

In order to care for your mother dog and her puppies, there are a few things that you need to do. First of all, keep the room and the area as warm as it needs to be. Anywhere from 70-75 degrees is just fine, but don't let it get too hot, either. You want to be sure that the mother can get up from her puppies without making them too cold. Keep food and water available for the mother dog at all times, she'll need to eat more when she's nursing. Also, keep the room and area free of drafts while the puppies are growing.

You'll want to monitor the puppies and make sure that they are all eating. If you notice that a puppy isn't eating as much as the others are, it might be a good idea to pay attention to him and keep him closer to the mother. You can even put him on the nipple when you notice that he's off, just to make sure that he's eating enough. As the puppies grow, take care to weigh them, first every day, and then every few days. As long as puppies are gaining weight, you are probably going to be fine, and so are they.

As the puppies grow, you can handle them more and more. Get them used to you right away, which will help with their socialization. As they get to be three or four weeks old, they'll start to spend time outside of their box, and the mama dog can continue to teach them all of the things that they need to know.