Newly born puppies can easily take your heart away. You can’t help but fall in love with those adorable faces and paws. Newborn puppy care can be challenging because you have to ensure they get the right nutrition, vaccination, and training to grow healthy. Whether you are a first-time puppy owner or in need of a refresher course, here are some effective tips to take care of a puppy:

Find a Qualified Vet

First things first, you must take your new puppy to the vet for a checkup. It is essential to ensure that your puppy is in good health and to identify if there are any potential issues or congenital disabilities that may require treatments or special attention. Visiting a vet is also an excellent way to establish a strong preventive health routine.

Ask your friends, neighbors, and family who own a dog for recommendations. You can also get recommendations for an experienced vet from a dog shelter. Your vet will provide you with the basic care guidelines for your puppy, discuss safe options for parasites and worm control, and advise you on what to feed your puppy and how much.

Selecting the Puppy's Food

The diet of your puppy will make a major difference in their growth and development. It is best to ask your vet, take recommendations from fellow dog owners and pet professionals. There are numerous options available for puppy food. Be sure to check the nutritional requirements on the packaging to ensure that your puppy is getting the right nutrition.

The newborn puppy will also require milk. There are various milk replacers and feeding tubes you can use to feed the puppy to provide them with the nutrition, energy, and supplements they need.

Medium-sized and small-sized breeds can switch to adult dog food in nine to 12 months. Large dog breeds require puppy food for about two years of age. You must also make sure that your puppy has easy access to abundant and fresh water all the time.

Creating Bathroom Routine

Puppies don’t like wearing diapers, which means housetraining should be your top priority. Keep in mind, house training your puppy requires loads of positive reinforcement, planning, and patience. Additionally, ensure you have a cleaning plan in place as accidents are bound to happen.

Find a place outdoors, away from other animals, for your puppy to do their business until they have had all the vaccinations. It will reduce the risk of spreading disease and viruses. Understanding when you must take your puppy out is a crucial part of housetraining, as well as praising them when they do it outside. Here are some of the common times you should take your puppy out to do their business:

• After and during a physical activity

• When the puppy has woken up from their nap

• Right after your puppy drinks plenty of water or has a meal

• Before bedtime

• Immediately after they wake up

Be sure to give you puppy plenty of positive reinforcement when they successfully go outside. Avoid punishing the puppy for indoor accidents. Remember, patience is the key.

Monitor Signs of Illness

During the initial months, puppies are vulnerable to illnesses and diseases that can gradually become serious if they aren’t identified and treated in time. Following are some of the signs and symptoms in your puppy that you should look out for:

• Inability to pass stool or urine

• Nasal discharge

• Red, swollen eyes or eye discharge

• Pale gums

• Coughing or wheezing

• Difficulty breathing

• Diarrhea

• Lethargy (tiredness)

• Swollen or painful abdomen

• Vomiting

• Poor weight gain

• Loss of appetite

If you notice any of these signs, then you must contact your vet immediately.

Get Them Vaccinated

Vaccinations are significant to maintain good health and wellbeing of your puppy from fatal illnesses. Just like humans, animals require basic immunizations to protect them once the maternal antibodies fade away. There are a series of puppy vaccinations that would be the most significant care you can provide to them. Make sure you take the puppy for routine vaccinations and regular checkups to monitor their health and to prevent any potential issues.

Puppy Proof Your House

Puppies tend to explore using their mouths, which is why it is important that you take certain precautions to keep your puppy safe. Here are a few things to consider:

• Invest in securely covered garbage cans

• Safely lock all the medications, antifreeze, motor oil, and cleaning supplies

• Keep the windows closed

• Removed electrical cords and breakables from the puppy’s level

Walks and Exercise

Even with a big yard, you need to take your puppy out for walks as it’s a good mental and physical exercise for your puppy. It allows them to explore more and even interact with other puppies and dogs along the way. Make sure that the puppy has all the vaccinations before taking them out.

Play with them as much as you possibly can. It allows your puppy to bond with you, works on coordination, and get rid of all the energy. Use soft toys and some chewing toys to help them let go of their energy in the right way.

Create Positive Social Interaction

Teach your puppy good manners through obedience training to ensure they have a positive social interaction throughout their life. This training also helps you in forming a stronger bond with them. Teach them how to obey commands like come, down, stay, and sit not just to impress others but also to make sure your puppy stays safe in potentially harmful situations. Be sure to keep the training positive with plenty of praise.

The connection you form with your puppy right from the start will continue growing for years to come. This bond can be nurtured through exercise, playtime, grooming, training, and affection. Caring for a newly born puppy takes some effort and time, but it is all worth it in the end and give you a lifelong loyal companion.