This a critical time for the puppy and when you do the hardest work. The puppy is unable to regulate their body temperature, they cannot see, they cannot hear, they can only drink puppy milk and they cannot pee or poop without your help or clean themselves. They are totally dependent on you.
Do not give the puppy cows milk buy puppy milk replacer. I used lactol. Its not expensive and simple as making a baby bottle. Do not feed them honey as there may be bacteria and it can cause problems with relieving themselves. Do not feed raw egg whites.
The puppy should be fed every 2 hours. With 4 hour stretches at night. Milk should be about 37 degrees Celsius( 98degrees Fahrenheit). Keep all nursing bottles clean, boil them 15 minutes before use. Hygiene is critical.
A general rule of thumb 1cc of milk per Oz of body weight. Record your puppies weight daily. If a puppy is losing weight its cause for alarm. A puppy should not be feed like a baby it should be on all fours. You don't want to get liquid into its lungs. Do not squeeze the bottle as this could also cause liquid to get into the lungs. Make sure when you turn the bottle upside down that the milk trips out and not flowing out of the teat. If milk bubbles come out of the puppies nose then there is too strong a flow make a smaller hole in another teat. Its ok for some milk bubbles to come at the side of the puppies mouth. If the puppy is sucking too hard on the teat this can cause bloat.
Don't overfeed the puppy it can cause pneumonia and diarrhea. During the feeding you should burp the puppy and burp him after the feed also. Burp him over your shoulder gently rubbing his/her back.
Remember a newborn puppy cannot regulate its own body temperature make sure that you have a heat lamp, hot water bottles or heat pads to keep the puppies temperature at 95 to 98 degrees fahrenheit. The puppy will need to be stimulated to pee and poop before and after each feed. To do this use a warm moist cotton ball. Gently rub the pups belly and genital area.
The puppies will need to be clean, warm and well fed. Here is a list of some of the essentials.
A draft free room would be ideal. I had the puppies in their snug box in the shower of the en suite. It was clean draft free and secure. You should keep their bedding clean. I used fluff free sheets as the puppies would be sucking on the fluffy blankets and could risk chocking. You will be doing a lot of laundry keeping their bedding clean.
I bought a good few puppy bottles. They are cheap at the pet shop.
I bought two different heat lamps but I didn't use them. I used hot water bottles.
Hundreds of cotton balls will be needed for the pooping and peeing of the pups. It is best to do it before and after you feed them.
I used Lactol puppy milk for the pups. I lost count of how many boxes I used as I gave them Lactol until they were 8 weeks.
A general rule of thumb 1cc of milk per Oz of body weight. Record your puppies weight daily. If a puppy is losing weight its cause for alarm. A puppy should not be feed like a baby it should be on all fours. You don't want to get liquid into its lungs. Do not squeeze the bottle as this could also cause liquid to get into the lungs. Make sure when you turn the bottle upside down that the milk trips out and not flowing out of the teat. If milk bubbles come out of the puppies nose then there is too strong a flow make a smaller hole in another teat. Its ok for some milk bubbles to come at the side of the puppies mouth. If the puppy is sucking too hard on the teat this can cause bloat.
