How to raise nursing puppies? A complete guide to scientific rearing methods

Puppy: refers to a dog from birth to weaning (around 45 days of age); puppies do not open their eyes until 12-15 days after birth, have poor mobility, but grow fast and have relatively high nutritional needs. Therefore, the rearing of puppies should be done as follows:

1. Get colostrum in time. The milk secreted by the mother dog within 1 week after giving birth is colostrum. Colostrum is rich in gamma globulin, which after being absorbed by the intestinal tract forms antibodies in the puppy's body and can enhance the puppy's disease resistance. Puppies must get colostrum in time, otherwise the gamma globulin will be destroyed by digestive juices. Colostrum is thicker and has a high nutrient content; vitamin A is 10 times that of normal milk, vitamin D is 3 times that of normal milk, and it is rich in protein, fat and iron; its high acidity is beneficial to digestive activity; its high viscosity protects the gastrointestinal mucosa; its high mineral content has a mild laxative effect and helps expel meconium. A puppy's stomach has digestive function 5 hours after birth, so a puppy must receive colostrum within 12-48 hours after birth, and preferably within 6 hours after birth. Under normal circumstances, the mother dog's colostrum is completely sufficient for the puppies. If artificial feeding is needed, feed once every 3 hours in the first week; once every 4 hours in the second to third weeks; after 20 days, feed once every 6 hours. Artificial milk formula: 1 egg, 300 g concentrated bone-and-meat broth, an appropriate amount of infant cereal powder, 200 mL fresh milk, mix and cook, and after cooling add 1 g lysine, 0.6 g methionine, 2 g Kuaidafei, an appropriate amount of salt (0.5%), and filter through gauze.

2. Artificial supplementary feeding. After the mother dog gives birth, her milk production begins to decline after 20 days. Generally, supplementary feeding starts 15 days after birth. Feed fresh milk or rice and meat foods every day. About 100 mL of milk per day, with the milk temperature between 27-30°C, divided into 3-4 feedings per person per day. After 20 days of age, feed 200 mL of milk per day. You can also refer to the following supplementary feed formula: 500 g lean meat or offal (minced), 3 eggs, 300 g cornmeal, 300 g flour, 500 g green vegetables (chopped), an appropriate amount of growth hormone, 4 g salt, mix well, add water, shape into steamed buns and cook. When feeding, sprinkle 5 g lysine, 3 g methionine, 10 g Kuaidafei and an appropriate amount of multivitamins on the cooled steamed buns, add a little bone-and-meat broth for the puppies to lick.

3. Artificial nursing. When the mother dog dies after giving birth, gives birth to too many puppies, or has insufficient breast milk, artificial nursing should be carried out for the puppies in time, using milk or milk powder. Because dog milk is thicker than cow milk, feeding cow milk alone is not nutritious enough, so some milk powder needs to be added to raw cow milk to feed the puppies. Except when the mother dog has died, newborn puppies must be allowed to receive colostrum to enhance disease resistance and increase the survival rate. Artificial nursing method: within 10 days after birth, feed about 100 mL of milk per person, and the tool can be replaced by a baby nursing bottle, fed 4-6 times a day. After the eyes open, let them practice the ability to take food, feed milk on a plate, and let them lick it. From 10-20 days after birth, the supplementary milk amount is about 300 mL. After 25 days, train the puppies to eat porridge-like food on their own. At around 45 days, milk can be completely stopped and they can switch to porridge-like food.

4. Foster care. This method is suitable for situations such as the mother dog giving birth to too many puppies, the mother dog dying after giving birth, or the mother dog having little or no milk after giving birth. At this time, the puppies are raised by another nursing mother dog (finding a wet nurse or nanny dog). This method is greatly more beneficial to the growth and development of puppies than artificial nursing. However, the two litters of dogs are required to have similar delivery times, with basically the same breed and size, and generally a difference in age of no more than 3 days. Foster nursing method: the mother dog recognizes her own puppies by their smell. We can use this characteristic to accomplish the foster nursing work, that is, before foster nursing, first smear the nursing mother dog's milk or diluted feces liquid on the body of the puppy to be fostered, over a larger area, so that its body carries the nursing mother dog's smell, making it easier for the nursing mother dog to accept.