Newborn puppies: developmental features, sex determination and nuances of care

As there are no two absolutely identical people on the planet, so there are no dogs who, in their development and life path, would completely repeat each other. But at the same time, each dog, being born, goes through certain stages of development. And all breeders who have to deal with puppies should understand what the dog’s neonatal period is.

Puppies, like all mammals, are born viable but helpless animals. They do not see and hear nothing, are not able to survive on their own. From the moment of birth, the babies are in the vegetative period, which lasts 10 days.

These days are aimed at adapting the puppy to environmental conditions, primarily to temperature and smells. On the first day, the puppies still resemble soft fluffy lumps, and on the second day they become more dense, elastic, their hair begins to glisten beautifully.

At this time, newborn puppies grow very actively: during the first week, they double in weight. Kids are becoming more active every day: the owner, even during the vegetative period, can already determine which puppies are stronger in the litter. If the puppy is strong, he tries to break through to the mother’s chest first, weaker babies are forced to concede. Strong doggies gain weight faster, their eyes open earlier and hearing develops.

Opening of the eyes and ear canal in puppies occurs on the 10-14th day of life. This is a transitional period in the development of the dog or a phase of awakening.Kids can see the world around them, hear sounds. At the same time, they have erupted milk teeth.

If the puppy belongs to a small or medium breed, he is already trying to stand on his paws, walk. Large breed puppies try to stand on days 15-17. They also look like teddy bears, the sounds they make are not at all doglike, but very quickly learn to growl and bark.

From two weeks to a month, puppies experience a period of transition to independence. Puppies in 3-4 weeks are much less dependent on their mother. When the owner sees their first milk teeth, he may begin to give complementary foods. Food should be liquid.

By 3 weeks, complementary foods will already be given 2-3 times a day. By the month the kids almost completely switch to regular food.

It is in a month that puppies begin to really get used to the owner. At the same time, the kids become very curious: they are interested in everything around them, they boldly explore the territory, try everything by the tooth and, like all children, love to frolic and play.

There is no other way to determine the sex of a dog than to examine the genitals. The methods for determining “by the face” or “by nature” are highly doubtful.

Sexual characteristics of a puppy dog.

• Dogs up to 8 weeks old the genitals are not formed expressively enough, the testicles are not yet visible, but a tiny penis can already be found.
• In the area just below the navel, where the fur is virtually absent, the newborn will have a tiny fold with a small protrusion. If the dog is long-haired, then in this place there will be a clearly visible tuft of wool.
• Under the tail of the male there will be an anus, between the paws there will be a small tuft of wool (here in the future there will be testicles).

Sexual characteristics of a puppy bitch:

• girls-dogs near the belly button do not have a tuft of wool or a clearly palpable protrusion, but usually there are small nipple markings (although they also occur in males);
• under the tail, slightly below the anus, there will be a small seal (genital fissure) almost between the paws.

Inspection should be carried out delicately, because the kids are fragile and vulnerable. You should not touch the newborn right away - in the first days you may not even have to sort its gender, but such considerations can weaken the smell of the puppy for the mother.

To conduct a correct inspection, the owner needs to take a towel (terry, heated on the battery), put the puppy on his back on it, holding it well with his hand. Stroke the baby, try to relax him.

It’s easy to feed the dog to fill, but to feed correctly, according to the norms, is a matter requiring knowledge. Alas, dogs often suffer poisoning from stale food, not street hungry dogs, but domestic animals. The foods your pet will eat should be fresh.

The following products are used to feed the puppy.

• Milk. Up to 4 months it is present in the baby’s diet. Many experts advise giving the puppy a more useful goat, but since getting it can be problematic, a whole cow is suitable. By six months, the amount of milk is reduced, then it is completely removed from the diet, leaving only dairy products in it.
• Dairy products. The dog needs them for calcium to enter the body and for comfortable digestion. Useful for puppies whey. But a grown dog only twice a week eats sour milk. For success in training a baby, you can sometimes be treated to hard cheese.
• At least 40% of the food in the diet should be meat. It can be given raw, scalded or boiled. The puppy can be fed chicken without a peel, turkey and veal, beef, horse meat.

It is necessary to include in the menu dogs and meat offal. All of them are cut into small pieces, but you do not need to turn them into minced meat. Meat begins to feed 20-day-old puppies (around this age they have teeth).

• Fish or seafood is given to the baby twice a week.. But river fish is not the best option. A puppy eats it with appetite, but the consequences can be dire: river fish are often infected with helminths, and the baby can choke on a bone.
• Vegetables. Vitamins are full of vegetables, because they are required in the diet. They are usually mixed with porridge or cottage cheese. You can stew vegetables, and you can wipe them on a grater. Puppies can be given pumpkin, zucchini, beets, carrots. It is better to start with grated carrots with sour cream.
• Cereals. Porridge complements the puppies' main diet, which consists of meat and dairy products. In the first months after birth, the porridge is boiled for babies in milk. Evaluate how a dog transfers cereals: some puppies do not have a relationship with buckwheat, for example.

Soups are cooked with cereals and vegetables for pets. Of course, you cannot feed a weekly puppy with such food, but a three-week-old baby can be (but not very often, 2-3 times a week).

And kids can be given egg yolks (fine if it's quail eggs). Some puppies like fruits, and if they tolerate them well, you can offer dogs such a treat from time to time. But only in a safe form, for example, apple slices. But do not even offer fruits with pits, as well as grapes and currants to puppies.

Sometimes the question arises of how to feed puppies if the dog does not have milk or if they are very small without a mother. Instead of infant formula, as many owners do, it makes more sense to use an adapted formula for newborn puppies.

Many breeders even take a short vacation at work as soon as newborn puppies appear in the house. And if for the bitch this is the first brood, such increased care from the owners is quite logical. In an adult dog, not the first time experiencing the birth of offspring, the maternal instinct is strong.

The care on the part of the breeder is the control of the situation, providing warmth and calm to the dog and its offspring. She herself takes care of feeding, licking babies, but unforeseen difficulties (postpartum complications) can arise that are important to see on time.

The main points of care for puppies.

• Thermoregulation. In newborn puppies, it is still imperfect, so even if they feel chilly, you will not notice a characteristic trembling. Therefore, it is important to monitor the temperature in the bed (if the kids grow up without a mother). If it is colder +30 degrees, babies can freeze.

Weak, not very long hypothermia strengthens the dog's immunity, puppies get used to growth in vivo. But if they freeze and are in a state of hypothermia for a long time, this is a serious threat to babies.

• Claws. Approximately on the 8th day of life, puppies are given a “manicure” for the first time. You need to trim the dog's claws every week.If this is not done, while sucking mother's milk, the puppy may scratch the bitch's skin. Only sharp edges should be cut off (hook tips).
• Digestion. Digestive problems and intestinal infections may be indicated by a special putrefactive smell from the puppy; it will have yellow characteristic traces around the anus. Intestinal upset often leads to the death of the dog, so you need to respond immediately.

The baby’s navel stump needs to be greased with green paint in the first days of his life. If a female with bad teeth bursts the umbilical cord, this can cause bacteria to enter the fresh umbilical wound.

But when the kids are already growing up and they turn a month old, the time for the first treatment comes. Puppies waiting anthelmintic therapy. It is carried out several times (the veterinarian will give an exact schedule). Typically, anthelmintics are given twice with an interval of 10 days. The puppy must swallow the tablet, this must be monitored.

And although the nicknames for dogs are given almost immediately, only from about the 45th day of life can they begin to adequately respond to them. Closer to two months, it becomes clear what kind of dog grows with you, what kind of character she has. From now on, the puppy needs to communicate with the person. It is already possible to truly educate him, begin to train. The time has come to go with him into the "big world".

Alas, the development of a dog is not always successful. In early childhood, problems can occur that make the puppy painful, or even lead to his death.

Consider the most common of them.

• Hypothermia. In the first week of life, the kids ’bed should have a temperature in the region of 29-32 degrees. If you understand that the puppies are cold, you need to reconsider the place where the nest is equipped with their mother. If they grow up without a mother, you can warm the kids by attaching to their own body.

It is dangerous to feed a chilled puppy - the digestive system may not cope with the load. First you need to warm it, put it in order.

• Small weight gain. By 8-10 days the weight of puppies doubles, if this does not happen, the dog needs to be examined. A puppy may be born underdeveloped, and in this case, the tactics of his nursing is the competence of the veterinarian. If the baby has diarrhea, he will lose weight.

But diarrhea is dehydration, a dangerous pathology. In this case, the puppy needs to be given a Ringer-Lock solution, which is mixed in half with a glucose solution.

• Toxic Milk Syndrome. If the bitch has mastitis or inflammation of the uterus, her milk may be toxic to the offspring. You can understand this by diarrhea and bloating in puppies. Such puppies constantly squeak, they have excessive salivation, they look painful.

Any problem related to the health of newborns or growing puppies is an occasion to show the kids to the veterinarian. Before giving puppies in good hands, they should also be shown to a specialist. He will conduct a full examination, make the initial vaccination and the corresponding notes on the medical record.

Attention, care, control, timely reaction of the owner to the problems that arise is the guarantee that the puppies in his house will grow strong and healthy.

You can learn about proper care for newborn puppies from the following video.