1 day old puppies

by Lorri
(marysville, CA)

We have eleven yellow lab puppies, 1 day old some of them are not eating what can we do?

If we are able to feed them ourselves what kind of milk do we give them?



Hi Lorri
Eleven puppies is pretty big litter, and it could be that your dog needs some help to feed her babies.

You can try to give them all a better chance at getting enough food by dividing them into two 'sets', either by separating them according to sex (if it works out fairly even), or just giving 6 one color of ribbon collar and the other 5 another color.

Then you can give the momma dog one 'set' at a time, swapping them over every two hours to begin with. While one set of puppies are away from their mom, be sure to keep them nice and warm.

I've done this myself with large litters and it works pretty well, but your dog will need to be able to tolerate your 'interference' without getting stressed about it.

If this isn't an option for you, supplement feeding the puppies would work. You will need to buy some special puppy formula (available at most big pet stores or from your vet's office). Little puppies need to eat every two hours. Bottle feeding is the most common method, but tube-feeding is faster and can be less dangerous if done correctly. You would need to discuss it with your vet and if you want to tube feed he can show you exactly how to do it.

It's very important that the puppies get some of the colostrum that their momma produces within the first 24 hours after birth. Even nursing for a few days (or even hours) can really help their immune systems.

Hand raising puppies isn't extremely difficult, but there are things you need to know to make sure you give them the best start possible. I would strongly recommend that you read my New Born Puppies page as it has lots of tips and advice that will help you.

I wish you the best of luck with these little guys!