How are puppies born? Three things to keep in mind before you get home

How are puppies born? Three things to keep in mind before you get home

Puppies are born after a gestation of approximately two months. As soon as they are born, they spend their time suckling, sleeping and being close to their mother to keep warm, and they also relieve themselves. Of course, the puppy does not move a muscle: the mother takes care of its hygiene and cleans it by licking it, or of stimulating them to urinate and defecate.


 
Movement ability of the puppy is very limited when it has just been born. During its first days it crawls with the front legs and keeps the trunk in contact with the ground. The front limbs will be able to support the body weight by 6 or 10 days, and the hind limbs by 11 or 15 days. Shortly after the puppy will begin to move away from the mother and explore the environment.
 

As for food, the first days will be based on maternal colostrum, highly nutritious and rich in fat, which will enhance their defenses. Its main function is to transmit to the puppy the antibodies of the mother, which will provide protection against diseases. On the fourth day, the mother begins to produce milk and puppies will suckle at regular intervals until the time of weaning. It will be your only food for three weeks. Complete weaning will take place between the fourth and the sixth week, after having gradually reconciled the maternal milk with dry or soaked food until it eats only dry food.

Fuente: El País, Sogecable, SA, César Millán, Carlos Rodríguez.