How to Feed Sick Newborn Puppies

Newborn puppies become sick for many reasons. The first and best recourse of action with a sick puppy is to seek the medical help of a veterinarian. The most accurate way to determine the health of a newborn puppy is to weigh the baby daily using a gram scale. If a puppy loses weight or ceases to gain weight then there is something wrong and the puppy may be showing early signs of sickness. At this point the newborn puppy needs to be fed by hand so the exact milk intake can be determined.

Things You'll Need

  • Gram scale
  • Chart book
  • Newborn-puppy milk formula
  • Newborn-puppy bottle or human-baby bottle
  • Sewing needle
  • Thermometer
  • Hot-water bottle
  • Heating pad
  • Blanket
  • Sandwich bags
  • Uncooked rice
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Instructions

    • 1

      Weigh the puppy twice a day to determine daily weight gain when hand feeding or when the puppy's health is in question. A puppy should gain between 10 to 20 grams per day, depending upon the breed. Record the weight gain or loss twice a day in a chart book.

    • 2

      Maintain the room temperature at 85 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter for the newborn sick puppy. Newborn puppies will be unable to digest their milk if the temperature dips to below 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Many people keep the whelping room hot with the thermostat, utilize hot-water bottles or use a heating pad set to low to keep puppies warm. Never lay a puppy directly onto a heating pad. Place a blanket over the heating pad or fill a plastic sandwich bag with uncooked rice to lay upon the heating pad and nestle the puppy on top of.

    • 3

      Buy a baby bottle for puppies or for human babies. Small-breed dogs will need a newborn-puppy bottle for a small-breed puppy but a large-breed newborn puppy can easily use a human-baby bottle.

    • 4

      Check the hole in the end of the bottle to make sure it is large enough that when the bottle is turned upside down and gently squeezed the thick, newborn-puppy-milk re-placer will easily drip from the nipple. If the bottle must be forcibly depressed before the milk will drip out then enlarge the hole using a heated sewing needle pressed into the hole several times.

    • 5

      Mix formula according to the directions on the milk substitute label or follow your veterinarian's advice. Warm the formula to 101 degrees Fahrenheit. Check the temperature using a thermometer. Feed the puppy as much as it will readily consume every two to three hours all day and night. Newborn sick puppies must be nursed around the clock. If a feeding is missed then the puppy may die.

    • 6

      Pat the puppies back gently until it burps after every bottle. Newborn puppies must be burped after every meal just like human babies or they will suffer from a stomach ache.

    • 7

      Wipe away any formual that has dribbled onto the puppy's face, paws or fur. Keep the puppy clean by wiping with a warm wash cloth.

    • 8

      Stimulate the newborn puppy to urinate and defecate after feeding by rubbing its anal area with a warm wash cloth. Gently stroke until the puppy urinates and defecates. Wipe up the waste with the warm wash cloth. Puppies cannot eliminate naturally for the first two weeks of life without performing this function that imitates the mother dog's licking action.

    • 9

      Discard all unused formula promptly. Wash the baby bottle thoroughly between each use.