The first weeks of a puppy’s life are especially difficult. Young should be warm and cared for by their mother. Additionally, puppies are exposed to illness, disease, or injury. And while mothers usually do a good job taking care of their cubs, it is sometimes necessary to help out with weaker or neglected pups. Take note!
Pay attention to the signs
If the mother rejects a particular puppy, you should be concerned. Keep in mind that if your puppy is not snuggled together with the other members of the litter, he will not get the food and warmth he needs to grow healthily.
On the other hand, a newborn puppy could weaken in a matter of hours. Some signs that you should not ignore are the following:
- His muzzle is cold.
- Cannot suckle.
- Cry nonstop
- Limps or has poor muscle tone.
- Presents feces on the back.
Learn to take care of it
If you’ve come to the conclusion that a puppy needs more attention, the first thing to do is make sure he’s warm. A puppy with cold cannot suckle. Therefore, you could become dehydrated and become hypoglycemic. This could be life-threatening, so you need to be very careful.
Warm the puppy with a bag of water (always with warm water) covered at the bottom with a towel. In this way, the puppy will feel the heat and will begin to eat more frequently.
Another option is to place the puppy on your chest until it warms up. Of course, you should probably wrap his backside so that he does not urinate. Also, the puppy’s claws could hurt you.
Help the puppy suckle
If your puppy is already warm, now is the time to nurse him. Puppies require their mother’s first milk (colostrum) to develop their immune systems. For this reason, you may need to give your puppy some more time with his mother.
Leave the other puppies in the same room as his mother, but keep them away from his body while the weak pup suckles.
Provide formula milk
If the puppy wants to suckle, you may need to feed him formula if the mother is unwilling or unable to breastfeed.
Buy puppy formula from your trusted vet or pet store. You can feed it with a bottle or a syringe.
Mix the formula as directed and make sure it is warm but not too hot, as you would prepare formula for a baby.
