New born puppy care!

“Happiness is a warm puppy”

- Charles M Schulz

A new born puppy is one of the most exciting things to experience, but along with the joy, comes a heap load of responsibilities.  The first four weeks of a puppy’s life is the most important for his growth and development. During this time, there must be very minimal handling of the puppy, leaving all responsibility to his mother.  In case the puppy is an orphan, its best to find out from the vet as to how he should be handled and fed. The puppy should be eating every two hours in his first week and can gradually proceed to eating solids from the fourth week, by when the frequency of meals also start reducing. During this time, monitoring the puppy’s weight is essential. The weight of the puppy varies from breed to breed, but ideally, the weight should double or even triple every week. 

Interaction with his own family is vital for the puppy until his seventh week of growth. Playing with his mother, brothers and sisters boosts his confidence and personal skills with other dogs. The puppy should not be separated from them at any cost till his eighth week to ensure optimum social development. Puppy and human interaction is of essence from the fourth week onwards, however, this should be done only by gentle and caring adults. It is not a good idea to let young children interact with the puppies till at least about eight weeks of growth. If you’re bringing a puppy home, do so after his eighth week, so he has had enough interaction with his siblings.

Puppies begin their lives with immunity inherited from their mother. So not only is it necessary to ensure that the mother is fully immunised, but also, no shots must be given to them before six weeks. Between the sixth to the twelfth week, the natural immunity starts to wear off. As a healthy rule, it is better to keep the puppy quarantined indoors till all the “puppy shots” are done with.

Just like with humans, nutrition is a big part of a happy and healthy puppy. A nutritious puppy diet ensures the dog’s health in the years to come. By the time the puppy is eight weeks of age, he enters an extreme growth phase. During this time always feed him to his heart’s content. There will be plenty of muscle growth, bone development and other changes his body faces at this point; therefore, restricting his diet will cause improper growth. If you’re worried about his weight, make sure he stays active by taking him on regular long walks or playing in the park with him. As it is with people, ensure that his diet is balanced, consisting of proteins, vitamins and minerals. However, adding nutritional supplements is not a necessity. Set up a regular feeding schedule so the puppy is disciplined about his eating habits. 

A lot of people believe that training your dog is not essential because it takes away his spirit. On the contrary, dog training offers great benefits to your canine friend. Training keeps your dog physically and mentally stimulated, keeping him alert right to his old age. Also, it helps keep his behaviour and obedience in check. Training allows you to communicate and build a relationship with your dog and allows him to feel like a part of the family.

Training your puppy should ideally start when he’s about two months, but in truth, a little bit of training is never too late to start at any time. The best approach is to make training a daily event and to make it as enjoyable as possible. Short sessions work the best or he will easily lose interest. By making it fun, he will begin to look forward to his training sessions. You can even try combining it with his daily activities like while serving food or taking him for a walk. When he’s achieved big goals, reward him with something he really covets. 

 

Along with puppy training comes his grooming. Grooming isn’t only about making your puppy look good. Hygiene is of utmost importance for his well being. Regular care removes dead cells and assists growth of healthy hair and skin, thereby, making him feel comfortable in his own coat. Puppy grooming should ideally start after all the “puppy shots” are done with. Puppies absorb information at a rapid rate during their sensitive period of learning, which continues up to six months of age. “Desensitisation” is the key word here. The sooner you familiarize him with handling and grooming habits, the easier it becomes as he grows. Puppy grooming is quite different to an adult dog grooming as the hair, nails, etc are shorter and may be fluffier. Let your pup sniff his comb and brush initially so he gets familiar with it and won’t be alarmed by it during his grooming sessions. Brush your puppy’s teeth at least once every week and look out for any abnormalities. Trim his nails regularly, cutting it just above his quick. Newborn puppies are not wet bathed till they are about 30 to 45 days old. During this time dry shampoo, such as Bathe Me Dry works best for your young canine. Being a dry shampoo, this absorbs dirt and moisturizes your puppy’s coat, ensuring your puppy’s cleanliness, and keeping him away from contracting diseases due to lack of hygiene. Once a little older, bathing your puppy can be done in the sink or in a small tub. Many breeders believe that dogs require as little as two or three baths a month. After a muddy walk in the park, it is enough to thoroughly wash off his paws. Alternatively, a simpler solution would be to use Bathe Me Dry, a dry shampoo that absorbs dirt and moisturizes your puppy’s coat. This can be used once in every seven to ten days, avoiding wetting your puppy’s coat every time he steps out to have some fun. This would work less stressful for you and for your little pup. Keeping things simple and easy always works best for your puppy!