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Date of Birth
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The puppies activity centers on finding food. Blind and deaf, they may crawl aimlessly without finding food for a short time. Healthy puppies will only cry if they are hungry or if their dam lies on them.
First Week
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According to the Doberman Pinscher Club of America website, puppies spend 90 percent of the first week spent sleeping and the other 10 percent eating. Their body temperature is only 94 to 97 degrees F--approximately 7 degrees lower than that of adults, making puppies sensitive to extremes of heat and cold.
Puppy nervous systems are immature during the first several days of life. Although instinctively capable of certain gross motor movements, the dam must groom them to promote waste elimination.
Second Week
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During the second week, puppies begin to look like puppies. Around day 10, their eyes begin to open. Around day 13, the puppies' ears should begin to open, although they will not be open completely for another week. The puppies' body temperatures should have risen approximately 3 degrees since birth.
Note on Weight
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Because puppies are born with an excess of fluid in their system, they typically lose weight in the first few days of life; however, they start gaining weight soon after their systems have been stabilized. Puppy weight will usually double in the first 8 days of life
Aids to Nervous System Development
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AKC judge Pat Hastings describes certain quick daily handling procedures that can provide the pups with a strong nervous system if they are done in conjunction with normal handling:
1. Use a cotton swab to tickle pups between toes
2. Hold pup (securely) perpendicular to the ground
3. Hold pup head down
4. Hold pup on its back (in hand)
5. Lay pup for a few seconds on a cold damp towel
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Development of Newborn Puppies
Puppies are born completely helpless. The changes that take place during the first 14 days of life, the newborn or "neonatal" period, are nothing short of astounding as a rollicking puppy emerges from its pudgy newborn cocoon.