Rearing New Puppies

After Giving Birth

After giving birth / whelping
Weeks 1 & 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8

After giving birth / whelping

When you are confident that your bitch has finished whelping (giving birth) it is recommended that you have her checked out by your veterinary surgeon to ensure that all is well and there is no residue after-birth left behind.

A bitch's first milk is called colostrum which has antibodies necessary to prevent infection in the puppies so it is most important that the pups get their first drink sooner rather than later. Occasionally it is necessary to give a helping hand to the pups to latch them on to their mother’s teats.

If for any reason your bitch is unable to feed her puppies you may need to hand rear them. Consult your veterinary surgeon for advice on the best way to go about this. Correct equipment and a substitute for bitch’s milk is a must. Under no circumstances should cow's milk be used to feed your puppies as this is highly indigestible by them and can cause potentially serious problems.

Care of Your New Puppies

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Weeks 1 & 2

Puppies at this stage tend to eat, sleep and very little else. Your bitch will clean up after them.

Make sure that your bitch is on the correct, good quality diet to ensure that she is producing enough milk to feed her puppies.

Kennel Club Registration

Fill in your stud form given to you at the time of mating and send it off to the Kennel Club to register your puppies. It is recommended to obtain pedigrees for each of your puppies as soon as possible. It is normal to provide the new owners of one of your puppies with a copy of the puppy’s pedigree. These are available free in printed form from Breedadog.com when you advertise your litter with us.

Choosing Prospective New Puppy Owners

As a breeder you will want to be confident that you have found the right homes for your puppies and be available to give help and advice to the new puppy owners as and when they need it.

If you haven’t already done so it is now time to advertise your litter. Click here to see our information page on what you need to consider when choosing an owner of your puppies. There are many ways of advertising your puppies; one of the best ways is to advertise them on a puppies for sale register such as the one at Breedadog.com.

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Week 3

Worming

It is recommended that both your bitch and her puppies be wormed at this stage. Consult your veterinary surgeon for advice on the best product and dosage required.

Eyes open? Claws out?

Your puppies' eyes should have opened by now and their claws will have started to get sharp with little fishhooks on their tips. These should be removed with small nail clippers that are ideal for the job. Do be careful to only take off the tiny hooks at the ends of the nails and continue to check the nails weekly.

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Week 4

Introduce Puppy Food

It is time to introduce your puppies to some soaked puppy food. Place a cup full of puppy food in a shallow dish, add cooled boiled water and mash into a thick porridge. Most puppies are keen to try this but occasionally they may need a little encouragement by gently dipping their noses into the porridge.

Remember to check toe nails.

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Week 5

The second worming should be carried out, again in consultation with your veterinary surgeon.

Potential puppy owners may now be allowed to visit for the first time. It is recommended that you do not let the prospective new owner choose his or her own puppy at this stage as it is difficult to assess each puppy’s personality. Also, if the new owner is intending to show the puppy, it is difficult to assess a puppy’s showing potential at this time.

Your puppies’ food will need to be increased to three feeds per day at this stage, but remember to decrease the amount that your bitch is eating to encourage her milk to diminish.

Check the toe nails once again.

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Week 6

It is now time to start to decrease the amount of time your bitch spends with her puppies. In fact, she will be glad to spend less time with them as they are now getting much stronger and needing to rely on her less. As the quantity of milk intake is reduced it is a good idea to encourage your puppies to eat their food dry. They should be eating four regular meals a day by now. To encourage them to eat the food dry place a small amount of food in a shallow dish and leave with them when the bitch is not present. Make sure water is also made available to them but always placed in a shallow dish to avoid accidents.

Toe nails should be checked.

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Week 7

Decrease the amount of time your bitch spends with her puppies even more as by week 8 the puppies should be totally self-sufficient.

Your puppies should now be consuming more dry food, and their intake of water should have increased accordingly. Start to reduce their wet feeds, but be sure to replace these feeds with dry food instead, always ensuring that water is made available at all times.

Your puppies will by now have started to develop their own personalities and you will be starting to decide which prospective owner would be right for each puppy.

The third worming of your puppies should also be carried out. Veterinary consultation is recommended as to which product to use and the correct dosage required.

Check their toe nails.

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Week 8

Your puppies will be totally weaned from their mother now and towards the end of week 8 they will be ready to leave you to go to their new homes.

By now you should have received all paperwork back from the Kennel Club. Check that this is in order and fill in all relevant details as needed. It is a good idea to create a dietary information sheet fully explaining the puppies diet and gather all relevant worming information.

Check that the new puppy owner will make an appointment with their veterinary surgeon as soon as possible after collection of their new puppy for their first vaccination injections and a puppy health check.

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