Pet Care – FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) ABOUT PUPPY FEEDING – CONTINUED

FAQ # 7: How can we feed/hand-rear orphaned puppies?
A: Over the years, during every whelping season, vets are confronted with requests from anxious pet owners, whose mother dogs have deposited litters which they have abandoned soon after birth. There are several possible reasons why the dams reject their puppies:
(i) She might be a first time mother and really seems not to know what to do with these puppies. Instinct to nurse the pups just seems to be lacking. She might even begin to eat the pups.
(ii) Milk is not being produced. (Your vet can help with this physiological problem)
(iii) The mother dog might have died while giving birth, or shortly thereafter.
(iv) She might have a severe case of breast infection (Mastitis).
The advice given below is to pet owners who are faced with the challenge of hand-rearing part or all of a litter of newborn puppies. The portions that are underlined are of especial importance.
A high degree of success can be attained, if careful attention is focused on the basic principles involved in the artificial rearing of motherless puppies. These are:
1) Providing a suitable hygienic environment
2) Offering a nutritionally adequate formula
3) Instituting a satisfactory feeding programme
4) Managing a daily routine
A SUITABLE ENVIRONMENT
It is of paramount importance that we provide an environment with a proper temperature, isolation and freedom from disturbance.

 Adequate warmth, uniformly maintained is basic to life – particularly during the first week of the puppy’s life. (Studies at Cornell University in the USA indicate that a temperature maintained between 85℉ and 90°F (29°C – 32°C) is most desirable during the period from birth to the fifth day. In our climate, it is not too difficult to maintain these temperatures. In case the temperature gets colder, an electric bulb could be hung over the boxes with the puppies). The room in which the orphaned pups are kept must be draught free.
 Isolation and freedom from unnecessary disturbance.
 Many smart books advise that orphaned puppies should not be placed together, because they then tend to suckle or otherwise disturb each other. For this reason it is argued that each puppy should be placed in a box of his own. In this way, the owner can also evaluate the quantity and quality of each puppy’s stool. My own empirical observations, however, lead me to believe that pups placed together give each other warmth and a sense of security and comfort. They tend to flourish better when together. Also, when kept separately, they tend to cry more.
 In order that the puppies not be disturbed by the natural inquisitiveness of the children in the home or by other pets who will from time to time want to actively pay their respects to the new arrivals, I would suggest that the puppies be placed in special room away from the comings and goings and general hubbub that is found in any normal home. If no room is available, then they can be placed under the bed or in some other warm, draught-free, secluded place.

THE FORMULA
In mammalian milk within a species, one expects a prototype of a nutritive substance formulated to meet the optimal requirements of the young of that species. Bitch’s milk is considerably more concentrated than cow’s milk. It has twice the level of protein, almost double the caloric content, and more than twice the content of calcium and phosphorus of cow’s milk.
Evaporated milk reconstituted at 20 per cent solids more closely approximates the composition of a bitch’s milk. Research experience shows evaporated milk was comparable to any other formula tested.
For those of us who do not have evaporated milk, we will have to use cow’s milk. It is possible for the owner to modify the cow’s milk to an acceptable homemade formula by adding fat and protein sources such as egg yolk (not the egg white). Indiscriminate additions of sugars, particularly sucrose or lactose, to increase the caloric content of cows’ milk, is not recommended.
Of course, if the owner can procure any of the successful commercial formulations (e.g. Esbilac or SPF-lac etc.), that would be best.
Next week we will discuss a proposed feeding schedule and the management of a daily routine for orphaned puppies.