Newborn Puppies: A Beginner’s Guide To Care and Feeding

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Caring for newborn puppies is a rewarding but serious undertaking—and it’s one that requires close collaboration with a veterinarian. Together, you can create a care and nutrition plan to ensure the puppies are healthy and their development stays on track.

To learn how to get newborn puppies off to a good start, we consulted two experts: Dr. Nell Ostermeier, veterinarian and spokesperson for Figo Pet Insurance, and Niki Gordon, a second-generation dog breeder and the owner of Love Newfoundlands.

In this guide, we’ll cover what’s involved in caring for newborn puppies, from feeding to supplies. We’ll also outline your role as a human caretaker and provide week-by-week behavioral and care expectations.

The Basic Rules of Newborn Puppy Care

Caring for newborn pups is a big job. Here are some fundamentals to consider.

Newborn puppies need a clean, warm, and safe environment

Keep newborn puppies with their mothers in a quiet, cozy area away from drafts, other pets, and heavy foot traffic.

According to Dr. Ostermeier, your setup should keep puppies contained in one space. “Their eyes don’t open for 10-14 days, so they can easily wander off if not confined,” she explains.

Many breeders advise against soft bedding until puppies can lift their heads. During the first week or two, lay down newspaper or clean packing paper over a towel. Once the puppies have some mobility, you can switch to towels, sheets, or blankets.

Newborn puppies need help staying warm

If puppies get too cold, their digestion and immunity can be compromised. Since they can’t generate their own body heat until they are two and a half weeks old, newborns need outside sources of warmth.

For the first few days, aim for an ambient temperature of 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit. This can be decreased gradually as puppies develop.

Newborn puppies need close monitoring

While the mother dog will generally supervise her puppies until they are weaned, it’s still important to keep a close eye on them, especially with a first-time mother.

This doesn’t mean you need to watch newborn puppies 24/7. But you should check on them every few hours to ensure they’re nursing and not being pushed away by littermates.

Additionally, breeder Niki Gordon notes that different breeds may require different levels of supervision. Larger breeds, like Newfoundlands, risk accidental smothering, whereas smaller breeds won’t run into that problem and may need less constant supervision.

Keep visitors & handling to a minimum

For the first 2 to 3 weeks, only immediate family members living in the house should handle the puppies.

“Mom needs her rest,” explains Dr. Ostermeier. “She just gave birth and is feeding anywhere from 2 to 12 puppies.”

Limiting visitors (both human and canine) reduces the risk of disease and maintains a calm space for mom and her pups.  “Mother dogs are very protective of their newborns, especially if strangers or people they don’t know are in their space,” Gordon notes.

Mom’s critical role—and when to step in

In the early days, the mother dog provides most of the care her puppies need, from warmth to nourishment. “If the mother dog is not in the picture, everything falls to the human caretaker,” says Gordon.

Without a mother dog available, your responsibilities include:

• Keeping puppies warm. Newborn pups can’t self-regulate their body temperature. Heat lamps, heating pads, or hot water bottles can help.
• Bottle feeding. If nursing is out, puppies must be bottle-fed every 2 to 3 hours. Use a commercial milk replacement, not cow’s milk, as this will not have the proper nutrients or calories.
• Helping puppies eliminate. Newborn puppies can’t poop or pee on their own. Usually, mom helps by licking their anal or genital area. If she’s unable, you can use a warm, damp cloth to encourage elimination.
• Weighing puppies. Regular weigh-ins ensure puppies are eating enough and growth is on track.
• Keeping the whelping box clean. Be sure to change out and wash bedding regularly.

Food for Newborn Puppies

Newborn puppies rely entirely on their mother’s milk for the first few weeks. In the first few days, the mother dog produces colostrum. This is a thick, milk-like substance crucial for supporting the puppies’ immune systems as they grow and develop.

“There is no substitute for the colostrum the mother dog produces in the first few days after birth, as this provides antibodies and immunity to the puppies until they get their puppy shots,” says Gordon.

If the mother is absent or unable to nurse, bottle feeding with a high-quality puppy milk formula is a suitable alternative.

Typically, newborn puppies need to be fed every two to three hours. As the puppies get older, this frequency can be gradually decreased. Feeding amounts will vary depending on the breed and their size.

Before the birth, Dr. Ostermeier advises asking your vet about a good feeding schedule and serving amounts.

When should you introduce puppy food?

You can add puppy food to their diet at around 3 to 4 weeks. Start with food that’s soft and moist—whether that’s canned wet food or kibble mixed with water or formula and blended into a consistency similar to human baby food.

Some additional tips on feeding newborn puppies:

• Warm the milk. Using a bowl of warm water, heat the formula to 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Feed puppies laying on their stomachs. Feeding them on their backs can cause choking.
• Burp the puppies. After feeding, burp puppies by gently patting their back.
• Monitor weight gain. Puppies should be gaining weight gradually and consistently, with an average increase of 5-10% of body weight per day.

Newborn Puppy Supplies

If you’re caring for a litter of newborn puppies, you’ll need some basic supplies.

• Puppy pee pads or paper for maintaining a clean nesting area
• Lots of hand towels or rags for easy cleaning
• Plenty of blankets (“There will always be a cycle of them in the wash,” says Gordon)
• Heat lamps, heating pads, or hot water bottles to maintain warmth
• Puppy milk replacer
• Commercial baby animal bottles
• Gloves for handling the puppies until the umbilical cord has healed
• Colored yarn, collars, or other identifying markers for each puppy
• A scale for weighing the puppies and tracking their progress
• Pen and paper to keep track of weight and, if bottle feeding, how many ounces the puppy ate

Non-essentials that are still nice to have:

• Puppy toys to help with enrichment and encourage puppies to be active and playful
• A dog thermometer
• Pet-safe wipes are handy for dealing with messes since newborns shouldn’t be bathed until they’re eight weeks old
• A nose sucker (“They don’t work very well, and it’s much more effective to suck out the yuck with your mouth,” Gordon admits)

Week by Week Care

Now that we have the basics down, let’s see how your puppy’s life will change over the first two months.

First 24 hours

Dr. Ostermeier says all puppies should be nursing within 24 hours. The initial milk produced by the mother, known as colostrum, provides much of the puppies’ immunity during this period.

It’s also important to confine newborns to the nesting area and provide plenty of paper or pee pads for easy waste cleanup.

Additionally, it’s advisable to have the mother and puppies examined by a veterinarian within 48 hours of birth to check for any health issues or birth defects. They can also verify that the mother is producing sufficient milk.

0-2 weeks (neonatal stage)

Puppies at this stage spend the majority of their time sleeping. They also nurse frequently and exhibit reflexes such as sucking and rooting. Puppies should be nursing 8-10 times a day during the first week, and their umbilical cord should dry up and fall off after about three days.

During the neonatal stage, daily weigh-ins are crucial, as these are good indicators of overall health and the mother’s milk supply. For the first four weeks, weigh puppies daily to ensure growth is on track. Ask your vet for guidelines on appropriate weight gain for your puppy’s breed.

By the fifth or sixth day, puppies should be able to support themselves on their front legs. At 10-14 days, a puppy’s eyes should be fully open.

2-4 weeks (transitional stage)

The transitional stage marks a period of rapid growth and development. Puppies will double in size between 10 and 14 days and should attempt to walk around 18 to 21 days.

By week three, puppies are ready to begin gentle socialization. They’ll learn how to interact with other dogs from their mother and littermates. Gently holding puppies at this stage also gets them used to people.

4-7 weeks

It’s recommended that puppies be brought in for their first veterinary check-up by six weeks to receive their initial immunizations and deworming medication. This is also the time to encourage weaning and the use of solid foods, as the puppies’ first teeth will be coming in.

To wean puppies, you can briefly separate them from their mother throughout the day, gradually building up their time apart from each other. While they’re separated, offer puppies moistened food in a dish.

From 4 to 7 weeks, puppies continue learning critical social and behavioral skills from their mother and littermates. Although puppies still need to stay with their mother, continue exposing them to new sights and sounds to avoid fear responses down the road.

What Not To Do

Caring for newborn puppies can be complicated, especially if it’s your first time. Here are seven common mistakes to avoid.

1. Working alone. Raising a litter of puppies is not for the faint of heart and should always be overseen by a trusted veterinarian. Your vet can offer guidance on feeding, weight gain, and age-appropriate behavior.
2. Missing the birth. According to Gordon, you should be present when the mother delivers. This way, you can support mom and step in if she needs help.
3. Skipping weigh-ins. Regularly weighing newborn puppies ensures they’re receiving adequate nutrition. Use a scale to track their growth. “You cannot tell just by picking them up or seeing that they’re eating,” Gordon adds.
4. Neglecting temperature control. If puppies get too cold, their digestion and immune system could be negatively affected. You can use heating pads, heat lamps, or hot water bottles to keep newborns comfortable until they can generate their own body heat.
5. Assuming the mother automatically knows what to do. Although dogs have a natural maternal instinct, they don’t always know how to handle their new brood. Human caregivers should be attentive and make sure puppies are suckling and not being neglected.
6. Overhandling puppies. Newborns are irresistible, but too much handling of these fragile treasures can cause stress and illness. To keep puppies safe, limit contact with visitors and other dogs.
7. Bathing newborn puppies. Initially, mom will handle most of the cleaning. It’s important to hold off on baths until puppies are eight weeks old. Before that time, a bath can make them dangerously cold. If you need to tidy up a puppy, a gentle wipe-down with a warm, damp cloth will do.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it ok to touch newborn puppies?

In the first couple of weeks, try to limit handling newborn puppies. It’s ok to pick up puppies to check on them, weigh them, or clean their nesting area. Otherwise, it’s best to leave them with their mom.

When can newborn puppies have visitors?

Newborn puppies shouldn’t have visitors until they’ve been vaccinated and dewormed. It’s important to keep visitors to a minimum to help reduce the mother’s stress and to limit the risk of infection. When visitors do come, they should wash their hands before touching the puppies.

What types of behavior & activity levels can I expect with newborn puppies?

During the first two weeks of their lives, puppies are blind and deaf. They rely solely on their mother or surrogate caregiver for feeding and care.

At this early stage, activities are limited to smelling, suckling, and squirming around with their littermates. Neo-natal pups spend most of their time sleeping and eating, as they are not yet mobile or able to engage in much play.

By 2-4 weeks, a puppy’s ears and eyes open, allowing them to experience the world in a new way. They might start to wobble around, explore their surroundings, and play with littermates.

What are signs to call my vet?

If you notice these signs, it’s worth putting in a call to the vet:

• Restlessness or crying (newborn puppies that are warm and content will usually be quiet)
• A puppy that seems lethargic or weak
• Poor nursing or puppies not feeding regularly
• A puppy who isn’t gaining weight

How can I look after the mother dog?

After she’s delivered, it’s important to provide a clean and comfortable environment for the mother dog and her puppies. Remove any soiled beddings or newspapers from the whelping box. You can clean the mother with a warm, dampened cloth.

Take the mother out to go potty regularly (remember to keep the puppies warm while you do so). While she’s outside, check her nipples and vulva for any signs of concern, such as a foul-smelling discharge, bleeding, or swelling. If you notice anything unusual, contact your vet.

How long should newborn puppies nurse in one sitting?

Newborn puppies can feed for 45-50 minutes at a time.

How can I tell a litter of newborn puppies apart?

To record their weight, you must be able to distinguish between several look-alike puppies. To do so, you can mark their abdomen with non-toxic, permanent markers in different colors. Or you can tie yarn or ribbon around them. Perhaps the easiest solution is using puppy ID collars made of soft velcro.

Further Reading

• When Can Puppies Leave Their Mom? Here’s When You Can Bring Them Home
• Littermates For Life: Do Puppies Remember Their Siblings?
• When Do Puppies Open Their Eyes? Eye Development Explained
• When Do Puppies Start Walking?