What to do after dog delivery?
She'll rest with her puppies, and will lick them, which apparently stimulates them to suckle. Food in the two days following delivery is fundamental for their further welfare. Colostrum provides them protection against infections till their own immunology system starts to work. Weak puppies will probably be unable to nurse in this crucial phase, and will cry while their body temperature decreases, but the mother will ignore them.A wealthy litter won't disturb us, unless they are cold, cause they are not able to regulate their body temperature during this period, so be sure that they have a warm room (at least 21 C), and if necessary place a heater platform in the box for delivery. Puppies sleep together at the beginning, to preserve body heat, gradually separating as their capacity of thermo regulation develops. The first week they nurse every two hours; then the interval is of about four hours. The back mammas are usually preferred, and are located by the puppies through smell. Puppies are born blind, their eyes start opening when reaching two weeks of age. Ears need an extra week to develop efficiently. At the beginning, they will sleep most of the time, starting going from one place to another when two weeks of age. The mother controls their body functions at birth, stimulating defecation and urination, licking them and cleaning their feces till they are three weeks old.
