Puppies

Healthy newborn puppies are the picture of contentment, sleeping mu the time and awakening only to eat. For the first 48 hours, puppies sleep their heads curled under their chests. While sleeping, they jerk, kick sometimes whimper. This is called activated sleep. It is the puppy's only to exercise and helps develop muscle tone. A good mother instinctively keeps her nest and puppies clean. By lic the belly and rectum of each puppy, she stimulates the elimination reflex Puppies can raise their heads at birth, but are unable to maintai upright posture. By 5 days of age they can support their body weight with front legs. Their eyes and ears are open at 10 to 14 days. By 2 weeks o they should be actively crawling and may be able to stand a bit. At app mately 3 weeks of age, puppies can sit and are walking normally. They also eat from a bowl. Puppies are fully oriented to sight and sound by 25 The heart of a newborn puppy beats at 160 to 200 beats per minute. puppy takes 15 to 35 breaths per minute and has an internal temperature ran from 94°F (34.4°C) to 97°F (36°C). By 2 weeks of age, the normal heart r above 200 beats per minute and the respiratory rate 15 to 30 breaths per mi The temperature gradually increases to 100°F (37.8°C) by 4 weeks of age. It is best to disturb newborn puppies as little as possible—at least until are a few weeks old. Some dams get anxious when their puppies are han There is a theory that too much handling interferes with the process by w puppies learn to identify and relate to their mothers and littermates. T interactions are important in establishing normal canine behavior. W these early imprints do not proceed as they should, a puppy could dev problems with shyness or aggression at a later date.