Rescuing Orphaned Puppies

If the pups are the offspring of your dog who has died or refused to care for them, you need to determine if they were able to able to nurse from mom in the first few days.

This is critical, the mother's first milk is called "colostrum" it contains antibodies. Without these first antibodies survival is poor. If your little ones did not get this you need to contact a veterinarian immediately, ask if they have a lactating dog who lost her litter and you can try to see if she will accept them. It is very unlikely they will have frozen colostrum from a dog, but you can ask.

If the puppies are ones you have found you need to take them to a veterinarian to determine age, and you need to decide if you can care for them or if they are better left in the care of the vet. You also need to report your find to your local shelter in case the owner of the mother is trying to reunite her dog to its litter. Note that puppies open their eyes around one to two weeks of age, if their eyes are not yet open they will be a lot more work and their chances will not be as good, they may be better off in the hands of somebody who has done this before.

With either you need to be aware that this will be hard work and an expensive labor of love. Unless they are pedigreed puppies, you will be well out of pocket by the time they are ready to have new homes. If you are not prepared financially and have the time to care for a litter, then you need to sign them over to a shelter or veterinarian or put them down humanely. Otherwise they may suffer as you tire of the work involved. If it is a large litter of large breed pups, you may want to only keep 3 or 4 of them, and have somebody else raise the others.

Feeding

In an emergency situation, such as late at night, you can feed them canned evaporated milk and can even mix a egg yolk into the milk, but this should only be until you can get to a store to purchase the right thing. The right thing is a Puppy Milk Replacer which is specially made for situations like this. It comes in liquid form or powder.

The powder form is generally less expensive, but neither are cheap. There might be other names for this product depending what country you live in. Puppy Milk Replacer can be purchased from a veterinarian, or at a pet store, but I find buying at livestock feed stores is generally the most economical. Do not feed them cows milk.

For very young or small breed pups, you will need to feed them from a syringe or eye dropper, being careful not to force any milk into their lungs. Feed them slowly. If they are a week old or more, they may be able to be fed out of a puppy milk bottle. Make sure you mix the formula carefully and follow the guidelines. It is best to use warm water, making sure it is not too hot for the pups. At first a small pup will need to be fed small amounts of food every two hours, and should be gently burped afterwards. Gradually you can increase the time between feedings. At night the feedings can be further apart. At about 3 weeks of age they will be able to drink out of a saucer. Make sure they know this is their milk by tipping their noses into it gently, making sure they drink at this time.

Around 3 weeks of age you can also offer them a small amount of canned puppy food, chicken and rice mush is best, not chunks. Even with the mush, I suggest adding warm water to it, mushing it up with a fork, and then give it to them on a saucer. They can even have baby rice pablum at this age too. You can teach them that this is yummy by putting a bit on your small finger and rubbing it on the underside of their upper jaw. Offer it on your finger again, and if they lick it off, put your finger near the saucer. Feed this once or twice a day, then increase so they are having it four times a day, thus enabling you to reduce their milk. They will not need more than a tablespoon (depending on the breed) of canned per puppy per feeding.

At about 4 weeks of age you can put a bowl of dry puppy food out for them and allow them to try to eat this too, as well they can now have a dish of water, gradually discontinue feeding milk so that by 6 weeks they won't need it anymore. At five weeks of age you can reduce the canned feedings to three times a day, as they should be eating more dry food.

Bathroom...

Puppies under a week old will need your help to go to the bathroom. After feeding, hold them gently on their back and take a warm wet cotton ball or cloth and wipe their bottoms, to simulate a mother licking them. This will stimulate them to urinate and defecate. Be gentle and don't use so much water they are soaking. Eventually you will notice that the pups are going to the bathroom on their own and you will no longer have to help them, however you will need to keep their bedding changed more regularly.

Bedtime...

Your puppies need to be kept in a quiet room, ideally in a dog kennel or crate. They should have a warm bed with edges so they are kept together for warmth. You can add a warm water bottle wrapped in a towel for extra warmth, however make sure you keep it warm as when it cools off it will draw warmth away from the pups. You will need plenty of towels and can change them regularly as needed.

A box or big litter box will work for small breed pups but bigger pups will need a proper kennel. If you have other pets, you must make sure they do not have access to the pups. Even when the are starting to walk around they need to be kept in a small area especially when you are not watching them. Leaving them loose in a room is asking for trouble, allowing them to be with other dogs is risky to their health, as they are not vaccinated.

Emergency Care...

Once you have decided to raise these pups do not hesitate to consult an expert if you suspect something is wrong. If a pup is not eating for 24 hours or is weak, cold, or listless he or she, needs to see a veterinarian. Puppies are very susceptible to disease, do not let people who have dogs near your pups, even if their dogs are vaccinated they can still transmit diseases. Any sign of vomiting or bloody stool, and you should contact a veterinarian.

One More Thing...

For pups who do not have a mother to socialize them it is important that you treat them like dogs, not babies. Do not let them nip or bite you, their mother would not tolerate this either.

Good Luck.