Caring For An Orphaned Puppy
Puppies may grow up fast, but their early development is fragile. The first few months of a puppy’s life are crucial for physical and social development. It would be rare for a puppy to survive without the guidance and care of its mother unless surrogate steps in.
Any person can be the hero an orphaned puppy needs if they know what care to provide and what resources are required. If the opportunity ever arises for you to foster an orphaned puppy, then the information in this article will provide you with a strong foundation of information to build off of.
How do you know if a puppy has been orphaned?
Puppies can become orphans at any age prior to adulthood. Their mother could have been caught, killed, injured, abandoned the litter at some point, or is simply unable to provide adequate care. Newborn puppies require their mother’s body heat and multiple feedings every day to survive.
Signs that puppies may have been abandoned by their mother or are not receiving adequate care include;
● Being cold to the touch
● Appearing thin
● Acting lethargic
● Experincing convulsions
● A distended & painful abdomen
● Injuries & infections
● Appearing filthy or being covered in parasites
Even if their mother might return, stray puppies can still be at risk. If you can see a residual umbilical cord then the puppy may be less than a week old and is very fragile. A single day without their mother could be deadly for such a young puppy. Even older puppies that can walk and eat solid food don’t have the best odds of survival without a caring guardian.
In most cases, puppies will have the best chance of survival if they are provided a loving home and medical care. If you find puppies that you suspect are orphaned strays and they seem to be in bad shape, it is best to take them in and alert your local humane society to your discovery of a struggling litter. In some cases, the mother may be caught and reintroduced to her puppies, and in other cases, someone will have to step in as the puppies’ caretaker.
What medical care does an orphaned puppy need?
If you become the proud provider of orphaned puppies, seeking medical guidance should be at the top of your list. Puppies should be assessed for any illness or injuries so they may be treated appropriately. Veterinary clinics are a great source of important items, like parasite preventatives and quality puppy milk replaces.
A veterinarian can also help you assess the age of an orphaned puppy. This is important for determining the quantity and frequency of feedings, as well as the temperature of a puppy’s housing. Vaccines and deworming will also be dependent on your puppy’s age.
Establishing a record with a trusted veterinarian can help improve your access to care in case emergencies happen as your puppy grows.
How to feed an orphaned puppy
Not all milk is created equal, and an orphaned puppy will not thrive on cow or goat milk. To properly feed an orphaned puppy you will need to obtain a canine milk replacer from a reputable source. This replacer is often powdered for easy storage and fed through a bottle. Other options such as spoon or dropper feeding are possible but tend to be more difficult and risky.
To feed a puppy, you should start by preparing fresh milk replacer according to its instructions and warming it. Test the temperature of the milk on your wrist to ensure it is slightly warmer than the formula you would prepare for a human baby, but not burning hot. You will know if the hole on the nipple of the bottle is the right size if you turn it upside down and milk only drips out if you squeeze the bottle lightly.
When you present the bottle to your puppy, make sure they are on their stomach or propped up on their feet. Puppies should never be bottle-fed on their backs, as this can cause them to aspirate and choke on their milk. The bottle should be positioned in a way that keeps the puppy’s head in a neutral position and prevents them from suckling air bubbles.
Canine milk replacers will have feeding guidelines on the packaging so you know how much and when to feed your puppies. Read these instructions carefully and keep in mind that quantity and frequency change with age. Very young puppies may need to be fed every 2 to 4 hours and by 3 to 4 weeks of age, they are typically weened off of formula.
How to house an orphaned puppy
Appropriate housing conditions are crucial for preventing hypothermia and dehydration, especially in very young puppies. Newborn orphaned puppies require supplemental heat in the form of hot water bottles or heat lamps. Newborn puppies do not generate sufficient body heat and will not reach a normal adult dog temperature of 100 to 102℉ until they are three weeks old.
At 4 days of age or less, a puppy requires an environmental temperature of 85 to 90℉. This temperature can gradually decrease to 80℉ by the seventh or tenth day and go as low as 72℉ once the puppies are three weeks old. Learning and monitoring puppy temperatures using a thermometer is a great way to ensure your orphaned puppy or puppies are warm enough.
All of this heat can dry out the air, so sometimes a humidifier is needed to prevent dehydration. You can check puppies for dehydration by gently pulling their skin into a tented position. If it snaps back into place when you let go they are well hydrated, and if it takes time to move back into place they are dehydrated. If the puppies are eating normally and have an environment with 55 to 65% humidity they should fair well.
How to clean an orphaned puppy
As their stand-in mother, you will have to stimulate your puppies to eliminate waste and keep them clean. A warm, clean, and damp washcloth is a great alternative to the licking baths puppies would normally get from their mom. Very young puppies should have their faces and genital areas cleaned after feedings for the first two weeks of their lives.
If puppies are particularly dirty you can bath them with a puppy-safe shampoo and dry them well after bathing.
Caring for orphaned puppies is a lot of work and can be complicated depending on how healthy they are when you find them. Regardless of the outcome, raising puppies can be a very rewarding experience that is well worth the effort.