Hand Rearing Puppies

Sometimes, you have no choice but to hand rear or feed your puppies. Some puppies may be born premature or may be rejected by the mother. The puppy may be too weak to nurse or the mother too sick to tend to her litter. Hand rearing includes bottle feeding, stimulating bowel movements and keeping the puppy warm.

In some cases, you may be able to relocate the puppy to a foster mother. Of course, the foster mother would need to have a litter of her own at about the same age. And, an ample supply of milk. There are plenty of commercial milk substitutes for puppies. Nursing bottles may be used to feed the formula rather than medicine droppers. The latter may force too much air into the stomach. Puppies should be fed every two hours in the beginning. Change the feeding times to 3 hours, then 4 hours, etc. as the puppy's feeding habits change.

The bowel can be stimulated by gently massaging the anal area with a damp cloth after each feeding. If constipation develops, a little bit of ground pumpkin (pie filling) can be fed to the puppy. Pumpkin can also help cure diarrhea too. If this doesn't help within 24 hrs, call a vet. This can be very dangerous for a small puppy.