Feeding and Management Methods and Technical Key Points for Newborn Dogs

The most important thing right after a dog is born is keeping it warm. Generally speaking, most mother dogs will take care of their nursing puppies themselves. After the dog is born, the temperature of the whelping room should be kept at about 20°C to 25°C. Mother dogs must increase their nutrient intake during lactation. As long as the mother dog's nutrition and the puppies' development are good, weaning can usually take place 30 to 35 days after birth.

For the nutritional needs of puppies after weaning, when based on metabolic body size units, they should reach twice the amount for adult dogs. In addition to increasing nutrient density, the food fed at this time should be low in fiber and highly digestible. This is especially important for small breeds, and the feeding amount should be appropriately formulated according to the different breeds. This is because usually after a puppy eats, about half of the food enters the small intestine within about two hours, and then enters the large intestine in less than an hour. The retention time of these digested substances is related to the number and amount of feedings, and is also affected by physiological changes and other factors, usually not exceeding 12 hours. Therefore, for puppies it is best to adopt a feeding method of small meals more often. Puppies one to two months old should be fed more than 5 meals per day, and each meal should be about 80% full. Be sure not to let the dog eat freely, as this easily causes digestive diseases in puppies.