We have reached the stage where the pups have been born, and we must now care for them during this harrowing period of their first few weeks of life.
I have mentioned in one of the earlier articles that the mother dog (especially the first-time mom) sometimes is totally confused by this occurrence of childbirth and the nursing of squirming puppies. Yet the care of the newborn pups is absolutely necessary. For one thing, it is important that a bond be formed immediately between the mother dog and her litter.
She must not be allowed to squeeze them to death and even eat them. Of course, if her milk is not flowing, she will be even more disturbed by the hungry, crying brood. If this is the case, then your veterinarian must be consulted at once. He/she will administer a drug that will ensure the release of the milk; that is, if the problem is hormonal and not a physical blockage to the milk flow.
I should mention, in passing, that a weak pup may be rejected, especially if its body temperature is lower than normal. I suppose that is nature’s way of getting rid of the weak. We could intervene and fight nature by removing and hand-rearing the puppy.
So what else can we do? Well, as a rule, we should observe first-time mothers a bit more carefully. If we find that she is mixing up the afterbirth (placenta) with the puppy, and therefore chewing at the latter, then we must remove the puppies. In fact, any scrutiny that reveals that the dam is refusing to accept the pups must result in the initial (perhaps perpetual) disassociation of mother from offspring.
Another observation might reveal that she is picking up her newborn pups in her mouth and removing them to a new location. This is a dangerous exercise, because she might clamp her jaws too tightly, especially if she feels she is threatened. This translocation of puppies seems to occur more often when the mother dog was not afforded a ‘nest’ (of old cloth, newspapers, etc) prior to parturition. For this reason, therefore, you must provide her with the nesting materials and (even better) introduce her to the maternity site about a week before the actual whelping date.
Since a lot of the maternal confusion relative to the care of the puppies is due to anxiousness, nervousness and inflated possessiveness, we (your veterinarian) could give her a sedative.
The prime consideration within the context of the post-natal care must always be to ensure that the puppies receive, within the first few hours after birth, the colostrum (the first milk post partum). This may entail the actual milking of the mother dog and feeding the young ones with a nipple (nursing bottle) or a syringe or an eye dropper.
Next week we’ll discuss the hand rearing of the newborn puppies.
Please implement disease preventative measures (vaccinations, routine dewormings, monthly anti-heartworm medication, etc) and adopt-a-pet from the GSPCA’s Animal Clinic and Shelter at Robb Street and Orange Walk, if you have the wherewithal to care well for the animals. Do not stray your unwanted pets, take them to the GSPCA’s Clinic and Shelter instead. If you see anyone being cruel to an animal, or if you need any technical information, please get in touch with the Clinic and Shelter by calling 226-4237.
