Today we will talk about what needs to be done after a dog has given birth, how long it takes to bathe, what happens, how to care for a dog that has just given birth, and what are the dietary requirements.
How long after the birth of the dog can be bathed?
Dogs that have just given birth are not allowed to take a bath, and generally have to wait until a month before they can take a bath. 35 days later is the best time to take a bath. This will prevent vaginal inflammation and the baby will not eat the residue left by the bathing products, and it will also prevent improper bathing from stimulating the mother’s milk and making the little baby not enough to eat, which can be troublesome.
Dogs are relatively weak after just giving birth, and their resistance is very thin, so a little bit of sloppiness may cause major illness in dogs. Therefore, it is recommended to give the dog a bath when the dog is supplemented with a period of nutrition and its own resistance has improved. The dog’s wound is best to use some anti-inflammatory drugs to speed up the dog’s recovery. However, with this month’s time, it is estimated that the dog’s wounds must also be good. In case there is a wound on the dog, it is not possible to bathe. It is very easy to cause infection and cause disease.
After the dog has given birth, you can use a warm towel to wipe the malodor (also known as foreign matter left on the dog after delivery), especially to clean the nursing area.
How soon can a newborn puppy be bathed?
Puppies under three and a half months old and before all vaccinations are completed are in principle best not to be bathed. Because the puppy’s respiratory system is still very fragile at this time, if the bath accidentally causes a cold and a cold, it is very troublesome for the puppy, and if the treatment is not timely, it can easily become pneumonia, and if it becomes lobar pneumonia it is even more terrible and has the possibility of endangering the puppy’s life.
What are the precautions for dog bathing?
The appropriate bathing temperature for dogs is 38.5 ~ 40 ℃, close to the normal body temperature of dogs. If the water is too cold, your dog will easily catch a cold. If the water is too hot, your dog may go into shock while bathing. When bathing your dog in summer, the water temperature can be moderately lowered. Dogs are bathed once every 7 to 10 days in summer and once every 20 days or so in winter.
In addition, do not use human body wash to bathe the dog, our skin and the dog’s skin is different, if the dog is bathed with human body wash, it may cause damage to the dog’s skin and increase the risk of skin disease in dogs, it is recommended to buy special body wash for dogs.
What happens after a dog gives birth?
Sleep
Female dogs will sleep for a few hours after delivery due to tiredness, sleeping longer than usual; although this is normal, parents need to pay attention to its restlessness/discomfort.
Diarrhea
Swallowing placenta/emotional stress can cause diarrhea after delivery, which is a normal behavior; it is recommended to feed some pumpkin puree to help improve it.
Loss of appetite
The bitch will be very tired after delivery and will not use food immediately, but if she has not eaten within 24 hours, please contact the doctor immediately for help.
Persistent discharge
It is normal for a bitch to discharge from the vaginal area for several weeks after delivery, but the discharge should be brown in color; black/red/green with a foul odor indicates that she has received an infection and needs immediate medical attention.
Panting
A bitch panting after delivery due to uterine contractions/other pains is not a cause for concern, but if it is accompanied by other symptoms such as fever and vomiting, it is a cause for concern.
Note: If the bitch is not panting after delivery, but is in good spirits, parents should not be nervous either.
How to care for the dog after delivery?
Care of the mother dog
Nursery cleaning
When the mother dog leaves the nursery to go out to defecate, you can take away the dirt produced during delivery and replace clean supplies (replace regularly) to keep the area clean and reduce the risk of infection.
Female dog hygiene
Wipe the body (vulva, breasts, tail) with warm water, secretions, placental fluid, blood and other filth to keep the body fresh; bath the bitch only after two weeks of stable condition (remember to measure the bitch’s body temperature after bathing).
Adequate hydration (warm water)
After delivery, the bitch will be dehydrated and will need plenty of water to help her recover and produce milk; make sure she has access to adequate water during nursing. (If the bitch is reluctant to drink water, it is recommended to feed her some chicken broth)
Food supplementation
If the bitch’s appetite is poor after delivery, feed her easy-to-digest, high-quality nutrients (e.g. milk, wheaten flour, etc.) and gradually increase her food after 4 days, returning to normal after 1 week. During the nursing period, the bitch should be fed more (preferably every three hours) to ensure sufficient breast milk, fresh food (lean meat, chicken, bone meal, etc.) or high nutrients (nutritional paste, calcium tablets, cod liver oil, etc.).
Note: If the bitch does not show much interest in the food offered for two days, it is recommended that she receive help from the nearest hospital.
Quiet environment
A bitch that has just finished giving birth is still emotionally unstable. Do not allow strangers to approach to avoid the bitch feeling harassed, causing her to become nervous and harm her puppies, and keep her quiet for at least 8-24 hours.
If possible, it is recommended that the mother and puppies be taken to the hospital for a full body checkup (to confirm the sex of the puppies) after delivery to ensure their health. In addition, the puppy has limited mobility and care should be taken at all times to prevent the mother from accidentally crushing the puppy, and if you hear the puppy screaming briefly, you should go immediately.
What are the postpartum complications in dogs?
Eclampsia/lactation fever/hypocalcemia
- Usually occurs during the first three weeks postpartum as the body is unable to meet its calcium needs during milk production, but does not affect puppies and is usually higher risk in small dogs than large dogs.
- Irritability
- Lack of interest in the puppy
- Stiff gait, difficulty standing
- Muscle spasms
- Fever, panting
- Shortness of breath, seizures
Note: Eclampsia can be life-threatening if not administered intravenously in a timely manner; puppies need alternative feeding products.
Uterine infections
- Caused by a number of triggers, such as the use of instruments to assist in delivery and a difficult birthing process, can cause infection. A mother dog with a retained placenta or fetus in the abdomen is more likely to cause sepsis. Puppies can suffer from food poisoning if they suckle breast milk.
- Fever, dehydration, lethargy
- Loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea
- Panting, rapid heart rate
- Purulent (foul-smelling, red/chocolate-colored) vaginal discharge
Note: Antibiotics are required to treat this type of disease; puppies need to be hand-fed.
Mastitis
- Infection of the mammary glands that is red and inflamed. May be caused by the puppy’s nails scraping the bitch’s nipples during suckling.
- Swollen, hard nipples
- Fever and pain
- Off-colored breastmilk
- Puppy neglect
- Puppy crying (no weight gain later in life)
Note: Can be cured with antibiotics and hot compresses. Seek immediate medical help if abscess/gangrene is potentially life-threatening; puppies need to be hand-fed
Retained placenta
- Retained placenta still in the abdomen/puppy causes, immediately or days later, illness
- Persistent vomiting, dehydration
- Loss of appetite
- Discharge of green discharge
Note: Seek immediate medical help if this condition occurs.
Bitches that bleed heavily or bite/swallow puppies need to seek immediate medical help. Bitches that injure their puppies are best not to be bred again and spaying is the best solution. In addition, parents need to keep an eye on their mother’s lactation during the nursing period, such as problems with her not nursing her puppies, low lactation, etc.
Precautions.
If the bitch refuses to stay with the puppies, try relocating the nursery and forcing the bitch to stay with the puppies, which can force the puppies to squeal and stimulate the bitch’s maternal nature.
First-time mothers are relatively anxious and will usually choose a secluded/dark area to prevent the puppies from being overly exposed to view. (A small enclosed crate can help with this)
Trim puppy nails regularly to avoid scratching the bitch’s udder, which can cause disease problems from infection
Nursing bitches will have frequent bowel movements due to overeating and the stools will be soft for the first few days
It is the parent’s responsibility to encourage her to urinate/ defecate normally as she is reluctant to leave her puppies at first.
A nursing bitch will lose a lot of hair, parents should groom her promptly, if you see bald spots, please contact the doctor promptly
The mother feeds vomit to her puppy to help transition the weaning puppy’s diet (softened dog food, etc.)
What are the dietary requirements for dogs after giving birth?
1 dogs in the feeding period can be appropriate to give them some nutrients, now there are also dogs on the market after the birth of food, owners can be targeted to buy. Almost after the dog is weaned, the owner can return to the pre-birth dog’s diet.
2 puppies after weaning can provide some milk powder, and more absorbable food to them, and then slowly change the feed, so they learn to adapt.
What about the weakness of puppies?
1 Because puppies are born blind and weak, they need to stay with the mother, but sometimes the mother does not pay attention to easily press the puppy, which can easily lead to premature death. So the owner should pay attention to the condition of the puppy.
2 pay attention to ensure that the temperature of the kennel and ventilation, due to the weather, is too cold when the owner ah pay attention to help puppy’s insulation. When the summer is hot, pay attention to keeping the kennel ventilation, so that the puppy can live comfortably and have healthy growth.
Dogs are prone to postpartum discomfort after childbirth
[Concept of the disease]
After delivery, the mucous membrane of the uterus is shed, especially at the placenta, and the tissue containing blood and necrotic mucous membrane is discharged through the vagina. In general, the dog will be exhausted within 5 days, at most 1-2 days later, if more than this time still dripping, that is, the “bad luck”, Chinese veterinarians called with evidence. This is also one of the common diseases of dog mothers after giving birth. The mother’s malodorous fluid is dark red and can change to blood-like discharge within 12 hours of giving birth, increasing in quantity.
[Type of disease]
The duration of the dog’s postpartum malodorous discharge is about a week. The initial malodorous discharge contains blood and is red; in the middle stage it becomes yellowish; in the later stage it is clear and colorless, and then it stops. If it does not clear up for a long time or has an abnormal bad smell, it indicates pathological changes in the uterus.
[Cause of the disease]
The postpartum period in dogs includes the entire process of expulsion of the fetal garments, drainage of the malodorous fluid, and return of the reproductive organs to their original state. The main changes in the dog’s reproductive tract after delivery are the regeneration of the mucosal layer of the uterus; the variable shedding of the maternal placental mucosa; the proliferation of a new epithelial layer of the uterine glandular epithelium; the absorption of the “parenchymal part of the atrophy” of the mucosa; and the drainage of malaria.
The formation of malaria is mainly the result of the degenerative shedding of the maternal placenta, the blood in the blood vessels of the fetal membranes, the residual fetal fluid in the uterus, and the abundant secretions of the uterine glands. In the first few days, malaria contains blood, so it appears red; later, it gradually becomes a clear yellowish fluid; finally, it becomes clear and stops passing.
Malaria is initially free of bacteria, and later it may enter non-pathogenic bacteria, and is therefore harmless to the mother. The postpartum period generally does not show an increase in body temperature or no significant change. If the mother is severely dehydrated, calcium deficient, or has a birth canal infection, she will show a substantial increase in body temperature. In general, the malodorous fluid is drained within 5 days, or at most delayed for another 1-2 days. The presence of malodorous fluid for a more extended period, and the inability to drain it or the appearance of abnormal malodor, indicate pathological changes in the uterus.
The principle of treatment is to promote the discharge of the uterus, and the contents of uterine contractions, and to prevent infection. And appropriate isolation of the baby dog, the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, oxytocin, and adequate nutrition to increase the dog’s resistance.
