NonFiction 2

"If you love your dog too much to take a chance of losing her, then don't breed her. And if you don't have time to be a full-time mother to the puppies for six weeks, don't even think about it."

That was one of the first things my mentor in the dog world told me when I expressed an interest in breeding my first litter. And, she was right. Sooner or later, every breeder's nightmare is likely to become reality. In fact, many people who have no interest in breeding or raising a litter of puppies are handed the task and, for humanitarian reasons suddenly find themselves in the role of a foster mother.

In 18 years as a breeder of English cockers, I have been "blessed" with four litters of orphaned puppies for reasons varying from abandonment by the mother, death of the mother, and acid milk. Through the grace of God and certainly not because we knew what we doing, all the puppies, including our first hand-raised litter, made it through with flying colors proving that anyone can successfully raise orphaned puppies if they're willing to accept the responsibility. Once the shock of the situation wore off, we found that raising orphan puppies can be a demanding but rewarding experience. But not one I care to do ever again!

First of all you must be realistic when faced with this dilemma. Ask yourself honestly "Should I try to save these puppies?" and then "Can I?"

If you have a full time job outside the home, in a position that will not allow you to take the puppies with you to work each day for the next three weeks, or if your own health would be severely compromised by stress and lack of sleep, the answer to these questions sadly must be "No." If no one can be quickly located who is willing to take on the responsibility, (you might check with a local vet college or animal clinic to see if a tech or student might be able to help) then the only option left is to humanely euthanize the puppies.

If you decide the answer is "Yes", then get ready to embark on a whirlwind six weeks that will leave you mentally and emotionally drained and physically exhausted. But know that you'll be rewarded beyond your wildest imagination.

There is no time to waste when getting your nursery ready. In a pinch, a shoebox, plastic sweater box, or even the bottom half of a plastic airline crate can become an incubator. Its vitally important to keep the puppies warm during the first hours of their life. From birth to about five days of age the room (or box) should be kept completely free of drafts and between 85F to 90F. This can be lowered to 75F at about 3 weeks, and to 70F by four weeks. They should be kept free from drafts until they're at least four weeks old. If possible maintain the humidity of the incubator at 55% to prevent dehydration through dried skin.

During the first week of life peripheral blood vessels do not have the ability to constrict or retain heat, nor can a puppy shiver to create heat of their own. This means that a newborn cannot sustain body temperature and needs an outside source of heat. Once chilled, newborns are very hard to revive. While chilling is the single greatest danger to a newborn puppy, the opposite is also true. Overheating and consequent dehydration can be just as detrimental to a newborn. I have had very good luck with putting a heating pad (set to the coolest setting) beneath several layers of towels, placing the puppies on the top towel, then covering the box with another thick towel. If the heating pad covers the entire bottom of the box, pull some of it up the side of the box, leaving a portion of the floor area unheated, to allow the puppies to get away from the heat if necessary. To emulate a mother's moist body heat, take old tube socks, fill with uncooked rice, tie the open end in a knot, and place in the microwave for several minutes. After checking the temperature of the filled socks, line them along one edge of the box. This gives the puppies gentle warmth from below, and something warm to crawl on top of, as well as cuddle against.

I also have put a Crock-Pot® (set on high) filled with water beside or beneath a wire crate, and draped a blanket over the whole thing. The puppies are encased in steamy warmth. This can be invaluable if your puppies get nasal congestion or other respiratory problems, simply add camphor to the water. Obviously, a humidifier would also work well.

If a puppy is severely chilled, time is truly of the essence. Although a chilled puppy must be warmed gradually, you must begin warming measures instantly. You can check body temperature by putting your finger inside the puppy's mouth. If it feels cool, you must act quickly. DO NOT FEED until the puppy is warm, as the stomach and small intestines of a chilled puppy stop working, and the formula cannot be digested.
There are many methods to warm a chilled puppy. Perhaps the most natural and therefore best remedy is to place the puppy beneath your shirt, next to your skin, letting your own warmth seep into his skin. If his temperature is below 94F and he is weak, it may take up to four hours to bring his body temperature to normal. I have heard several vets and breeders suggest placing a severely chilled puppy on a cloth "hammock" above a steaming bowl of water (the Crock Pot works well for this as well). Their reasoning being that the puppy would inhale the steam and therefore warm from the inside as well as the outside. I have also seen vets make quickie hot water bottles using a Zip-Loc baggie, or in emergency situations used warmed IV fluid bags to pack around a chilled puppy.

Once your puppies are warm, its time to answer that age-old question, "Mom, whats for dinner." I like to use my own homemade formula. Other people have better luck with pre-mixed canned or powdered formulas. Since I never expect the unexpected to happen, I never seem to have any premixed formula on hand when I need it. Ive relied time and again on my fail-safe formula of one can evaporated milk, one can of water, a few drops of liquid vitamins, 1/2 egg yolk (increased to 1 egg yolk when the puppies are 2 weeks old) and a teaspoon of yogurt. Do not let any egg white get into the formula, as egg whites contain avidin which binds an essential B vitamin, and keeps it from being absorbed from the gut. It's very importrant that the egg yolk be added from the beginning to avoid the formation of nutritional cataracts on the puppy's eyes.

The recommended feeding amount varies from day to day as the puppies gain weight. A good rule of thumb is to give them 60 calories per day per pound of body weight for the first week, then raise the feedings to 70 calories the second week, and 80 the third week. Most standard formulas have about 30 calories per ounce. Using these figures, an 8-oz newborn should consume 1 ounce of food, divided into multiple feedings over a 24-hour period (usually around 3-4 cc per feeding) for the first few days. Instead of worrying about measuring your formula, I suggest allowing the puppy to eat enough to be comfortablebut not until the stomach is distended and tight.

Formula should be fed at normal body temperature (around 100F) and can be given either with an eyedropper or syringe, stomach tube, or baby bottle. If you choose to tube feed, ask your vet to instruct you. Ive never done it in the past and wont do it in the future. I personally believe the puppies need the nurturing they receive during bottle feeding, as well as needing to exercise their sucking reflex and satisfy their suckling urge. I use a human nursing bottle, with a preemie nipple. The hole in the nipple should allow the milk to drip slowly when the bottle is inverted. If the milk does not drip when inverted the hole can be enlarged with a hot needle. If the hole is too small the young puppies will tire before they've consumed enough formula, and will be unable to get enough nourishment.

Hold the puppy on its stomach. Gently separate the lips with your fingers, and slip the nipple in, holding the bottle at about a 45 angle so air wont get into the puppys stomach. A healthy, hungry youngster will usually suck vigorously after tasting the milk. Keep a slight pull on the bottle, to encourage vigorous sucking. Use of a towel or other fluffy or rough material beneath the feet will give the puppy something to push and knead against, as if nursing naturally. Weak babies may have to be held vertically and formula placed slowly in their mouths with an eyedropper or syringe. DO NOT place a puppy on its back to feed it, nor should you squirt milk rapidly into its mouth. These feeding methods can cause aspiration of fluid into the lungs, which can be followed by pneumonia (usually fatal to newborns).

While feeding puppies keep all equipment scrupulously clean, and refrigerate or discard unused formula between feedings. Unsanitary feeding practices can cause intestinal infections that may quickly kill a young puppy.

Common feeding problems are over-feeding and under-feeding. If your puppy is content, putting on weight (which should be recorded daily), and has a normal stool (fairly firm and yellow), you can be pretty sure youre feeding the right amount.

For mild diarrhea, a teaspoon of mashed banana can be added to the mixture, although if bottle feeding check the nipple regularly as it can quickly become clogged.

The puppies stools are a good barometer of how well they're ingesting the amount they're being fed. A loose yellow stool indicates a mild degree of overfeeding. Usually it responds to reducing the amount of formula given at each meal.

With moderate overfeeding, there is more rapid movement of food through the digestive system, indicated by a greenish stool. The green color is due to unabsorbed bile. A few drops of Milk of Magnesia every three hours, along with a cutback of formula usually corrects the problem.

Unchecked overfeeding leads to a depletion of digestive enzymes and causes a grayish diarrhea stool. In severe extremes, the stool will look like curdled milk. At this point, the puppy is getting no nutrition, and is in danger of becoming dehydrated. Treat this situation by diluting the formula by one-third, using water or electrolyte solution, and give a few drops of Milk of Magnesia every three hours. Veterinary administration (or administered under vets orders) of electrolyte solution injected subcutaneously is desirable at this point.

A vet should check all puppies with a gray or white stool, as this is also indicative of a neonatal infection.
Once youve got the puppies warmed, fed and comfortable, they should be vet-checked as soon as possible to find any lurking health problems. Youre going to be investing a lot of time and money as well as physical and emotional energy on these puppies. You want to make sure there are no debilitating or terminal health factors that will cause you to lose anyone later on, wasting your efforts and breaking your heart in the process. Obviously, puppies with cleft palates or other birth defects should be dealt with as you would normally. Puppies with heart or lung problems, or any other obvious problems should require another long realistic look. Your energies are going to be pretty drained taking care of healthy puppies. Ask yourself if it's worth it to expend those efforts on a puppy that might not even have made it under normal situations.
After the vet has given everyone a clean bill of health, it's time to set some sort of schedule to allow yourself some degree of normality in what will become a most abnormal lifestyle.

For the first several days, the puppies should be fed every 2 hours. After a few days, you can wait three hours between feedings watch carefully and the puppies will let you know if they need nourishment any sooner. After about 10 days, you can let them go four hours between feedings. By 2 weeks of age, I have sometimes just let them sleep until they wake up asking for food, usually between 4-5 hours. Don't forget that this is around the clock. You can forget any semblance of a normal sleep pattern. Youll have to learn to sleep when they sleep, and jump at their every command. Remember that the puppies will do better with more feedings of small amounts than fewer feedings of large amounts, which theyll find harder to digest.

Puppies normally make little crying and whimpering noises while they sleep. This is not only normal, it should be a heart-warming sight as it means they are having normal dream sequences uninterrupted by gastric problems, temperature variations, or hunger pangs.

Puppies who whimper and cry while squirming and crawling are simply puppies that need something. It may be as simple to fix as giving a bottle, wiping a bottom, checking the temperature of the incubator, etc. but its up to you to figure out what they want, when they themselves may not really know. Its very easy for puppies to get bubbles trapped in their tummy, and just like human babies they must be burped after every meal. If a bubble doesn't escape, they get the same colicky tummy aches that "real" babies get. For the best results, lay the puppy flat on your leg with head facing slightly downwards (towards your knee) and pat gently on each side (not the spine). Roll the puppy over on its back (being grateful if they fight you, for that proves their strength) and gently massage the tummy in a circular pattern, being careful to not rub too hard on their umbilical cord area.

It is imperative that you remember that until they're about three weeks of age, puppies cannot defecate and urinate without your help. After every meal, take a moistened cloth, cotton ball or tissue (I prefer to use pre-moistened pop-up baby wipes) and gently wipe the perianal area in a massaging side to side motion. If youre lucky, soon the stool will appear. If it doesn't, roll the puppy on its back again, and gently massage the entire stomach area in a circular motion. If a stool still doesn't come soon, start on another puppy, giving that puppy time to digest its food a little longer. Just don't forget to come back to him and do NOT stop trying until everyone has pooped after every meal, at least for the first two weeks. After a week or two, the puppies will start stimulating each other as they crawl over each other and around their box, and youll be rewarded with little trophies in their bedding. You'll know what a reward that is after you've rubbed and rubbed with no result in the wee hours of the morning when all you can think about it sleep.

Constipation can be really serious in a young puppy. It is very easy for a full bowel to quickly become septic and once that happens if instant vet care isn't given there's nothing anyone can do. If you are seeing really hard chalky stools, or not getting any "action" during stimulation, contact your vet. And, ALWAYS check with your vet before giving formula additives or enemas to puppies with abnormal stools.

On the other end of the spectrum, diarrhea may become a problem. It is vitally important to keep puppies hydrated with fluids high in electrolytes during and after bouts of diarrhea. You can make your own rehydration formula, or purchase a professional brand, such as Pedialyte. A good rehydration fluid can be easily made by adding 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey and a pinch of salt to a quart of warm water.

I would suggest calling your vet as soon as you see any abnormal stool, and follow their directions implicitly. They may suggest that you not give special foods (such as carrot, pumpkin, applesauce, banana and other known "binding agents") to staunch the diarrhea if it is severe. Doing so only slows the course of the diarrhea and increase the time that whatever is causing the problem stays inside the puppy. Feeding yogurt, especially to puppies with abnormal bowel patterns, is imperative. I usually give each puppy 1/8-1/4 cc four times a day.

I have, under veterinarian's instruction, given constipated baby puppies an enema of 1 cc of warm sterile water (use a syringe, or AI tube, being careful to not push the water out quickly, and not too deeply). In extreme cases, when I felt the puppy was in danger of becoming septic, I have added 1/3 cc of mineral oil to 2/3-cc warm soapy water with good results. *But, this should only be done with vet approval.*

At about three weeks of age, its time to introduce the puppies to what we laughingly refer to as "solid food." (It only becomes solid when allowed to dry on bowls, spoons and blenders.) I start my puppies on raw lean hamburger meat (very finely ground), cottage cheese, yogurt and high protein baby cereal. Make a mush of the ingredients (I use a pound of ground beef with 1/2 pound of cottage cheese, four tablespoons of dry cereal and 2 tablespoons of yogurt. Be sure to keep the mixture tightly covered, and refrigerated.

I make little balls of the mixture and offer one to each puppy. Youll be amazed how quickly they pick up on the "food frenzy" and become little piranhas. Most puppies will have some baby teeth at this age, and you'll find yourself touting little puncture wounds on the tips of your fingers for a few days. Some people prefer to use a "doughnut bowl" for feeding (so named for its shape) but if you dont have one, I've had really good luck turning over a no-skid bowl, and placing the food in the outside perimeter around the inverted bowl shape.

After three or four days of the hamburger mixture, I suggest adding some moistened dry kibble puppy food, increasing the puppy food to hamburger mixture ratio each day until youre feeding just the moistened puppy food. I continue to give the puppies yogurt each day until theyre at least 8 weeks old. At this point, I'm usually feeding four or five times a day, but making the puppies sleep through the night without food (no longer than 8 hours). Trust me, eight hours at this point will seem like a lifetime, and you'll be grateful for every second of it!

By the time the puppies are four weeks old, you can relax and enjoy them. While something can go wrong at any age, as we all sadly know, your odds are certainly better at this point for being able to raise your puppies to adulthood.

If you're planning to use nosodes you can begin them at this age. If you're planning to go with regular inoculations, vaccination procedures should be followed at your veterinarians suggestion. It's a very good idea to have titers done on your bottle fed puppies to see if they received any natural immunities from the mother's milk. . .if they received any of her milk at all.

Dont get carried away by "weights and measures" with your bottle babies throughout their first few weeks. Continue to weigh them as you would normally, but know that they most likely won't follow any of the prescribed formulas for weight gain. They WILL catch up with their counterparts however and before long will be strutting their stuff with the best of them in the show or performance ring, or running some lucky pet owners household. The weakest puppy in our first orphaned-by-death litter became the first one from the litter to finish. Champion Cedarbrook Over the Rainbow (Joey) would tell you with a big doggy smile, "Dont give up on those littlest guys!"

Above all, don't forget that each one of these little ones is a special gift. Hand raising orphans is indeed a daunting task, but watching these babies grow into adulthood knowing that you were solely responsible for their existence can make the long sleepless nights fraught with worry and stress completely worth it.

***Please remember that the above article is copyrighted and should not be copied, printed, published, sent through the internet or used in any other manner without the written permission of the author (in this case, considering the subject, please feel free to ask! <smile>)