Care
For A Dachshund
The long-bodied and independent dachshund
is likely to bowl you over with its affectionate and lively
personality. It is truly happy when with its human family.
However, remember to train your dachshund at an early age;
this shrewd and stubborn dog will try to outfox you.
Steps:
1. Vaccinate your
dachshund when you first get her, and see that she gets
yearly booster vaccinations to maintain her immunity to
disease. Also worm your adult dog every three months and
consult with your veterinarian about flea control products.
2. Feed your dachshund high-grade dog food. The first ingredient
should be meat if you want a quality product. Crude protein
should be no less than 30 percent and crude fat no less
than 20 percent. The fiber content needs to be 4 percent
or less.
3. Avoid overfeeding your dachshund. This breed gains weight
rapidly.
4. Socialize your dachshund to be with children and other
animals. Because dachshunds are irritated easily, they are
not always good with small children and may bite them.
5. Be diligent and persevering when you train your dachshund.
Training can be difficult because of the dachshund's willful
personality and need to be in charge. (Note that food is
a great motivator.) Also, be aware that dachshunds can be
difficult to house-train.
6. Exercise or walk your dachshund daily. Be careful not
to let her leap or jump up. Dachshunds can easily damage
their spines because of their long backs.
7. Brush longhaired dachshunds daily. Smooth-haired dogs
need to be cleaned often with a damp cloth. Have a wirehaired
dachshund's coat trimmed a couple of times a year by a professional.
All three types are medium shedders.
8. Bathe your dog monthly and trim her nails at least every
two to three weeks.
9. Understand that dachshunds are prone to certain health
conditions such as ruptured or slipped spinal disks, heart
disease and obesity.
10. Know that miniature dachshunds grow to 14 inches and
weigh between 10 and 11 lbs. Standard dachshunds grow between
14 and 18 inches and weigh between 18 and 20 lbs.
11. Expect dachshunds to live 12 to 15 years.
Tips:
1.
Make sure your dachshund's back is horizontally aligned
when you pick her up or carry her, so you prevent back injuries.
2. Dachshunds love to play and participate in all activities.
Caring
for Newborns & the Mother Dachshund
Nutrition
& Feeding
The bitch will be
ready for some food and water. Bring the dishes to the whelping
box, as she will not want to leave the newborn puppies.
Do not leave the dishes on the floor in the whelping box,
as the puppies could crawl into them. Hang the dishes from
the side of the whelping box or offer her food and water
at least every 2-3 hours to start. She should be taken outside
on a frequent and regular basis to eliminate.Within 2-3
days, the bitch's appetite will dramatically increase to
2-4 times her pre-pregnancy intake. She will need a near
constant supply of a high quality puppy food (do NOT use
large breed puppy formulas, which are generally lower in
protein, fat, and minerals) and water to maintain her weight
and health while feeding the puppies. She should still have
her vitamin/mineral tablet. She should not look gaunt or
thin if her weight is maintained. Ideally, she should weigh
the same at the time of weaning, as she did when she was
bred.A healthy puppy is firm, plump, and vigorous. Puppies
should nurse every 2 hours or so. If they nurse until their
stomachs appear round and they sleep quietly, they are eating
enough. If they are crying and moving a lot, they are not
eating enough. They may be swallowing air, which makes the
stomach appear larger. As they become weaker, they will
lay still and not cry. A puppy may lose weight in the first
24 hours (less than 10% of birth weight), but after that,
the weight should increase steadily. Their weight should
double in the first 7-10 days. Before, during, and after
nursing, the bitch will lick the stomach and perineal area
to stimulate urination and defecation. She will continue
to do this for 2-3 weeks.Puppies should gain 1-2 grams/day/pound
of anticipated adult weight. Weigh the puppy daily for the
first 2 weeks, then weigh at least weekly. A food scale
typically works well for weighing the puppies. Failure to
gain weight is often the first sign of illness in puppies.
At about 3 weeks of
age, the puppies will begin to imitate the bitch eating
and drinking. A secure shallow water dish should now be
available at least part of the day. At 3½ weeks of
age, the puppies can start receiving puppy mush.
Prepare the puppy mush by placing 2 cups of high quality
dry puppy food in a blender with 12.5 oz liquid puppy milk
replacer and fill the rest of the blender with hot water.
This should be blenderized until the consistency of human
infant cereal. (This feeds 6-8 puppies of a medium-sized
breed.) The puppies should receive 3-4 meals a day of this
to start. Once the puppies have checked it out, walked in
it, and have eaten some, the dam can be allowed to finish
it and clean the puppies off. Each week, increase the amount
of food, decrease the amount of the milk replacer and water
that is added and the time of blenderizing, so by 7 weeks
of age, the puppies are eating dry food. Once they are on
dry food, it may be left in with the puppies (when the dam
is out of the box) or the meal times can continue. As the
puppies eat more solid food, the bitch may be let away from
the puppies for an ever longer period of time.
By the time the puppies are 6½-7 weeks of age, they
should be fully weaned from the dam's milk, eating dry food,
and drinking water. If the weaning is not rushed, she will
naturally start decreasing milk production, as the puppies
increase their intake of solid food. As the puppies begin
eating the puppy mush at 4 weeks of age, start changing
the bitch's diet back to adult food to also help her decrease
milk production. Start by replacing 1/4 of her puppy food
with adult food. Keep increasing the adult food and decreasing
the puppy food until by the 7th week postpartum she is eating
only adult food. During the last week of weaning, the dam's
food consumption should be less than 50% above the maintenance
levels and declining toward maintenance levels. Hopefully
she has been fed well during pregnancy and lactation so
she weighs the same at weaning as she did before pregnancy.
Sanitation
& Housebreaking
During and after whelping,
the bitch should be allowed to go outside to urinate and
defecate. Take her out on a leash (bring a flashlight if
it is dark), and watch her closely, as she could have another
puppy.
The whelping box needs to be changed at least once a day
at this stage, and 2-3 times a day as the puppies begin
eating solids and the bitch is not cleaning up after them.
A large heavy paper may be laid on the bottom, several layers
of newspaper over that, and a tightly stretched blanket
over the newspaper. The blanket should be large enough to
fit under all 4 sides of the box. If the box was made so
the sides set into the floor, the sides are picked up, the
blanket stretched, and the sides set down to hold the blanket
in place. Puppies can become lost under blankets or under
wrinkles in blankets. When cleaning, check the consistency
and color of the puppy stool. It should be brown and formed,
but not overly firm. Any deviations and the veterinarian
should be called.
To facilitate housebreaking, the puppies should be given
definite feeding, playing, sleeping, and elimination areas.
Once the puppies are mobile, they will use one area for
elimination. To assist in housebreaking, a low board can
be secured across the whelping box to divide the elimination
area from the eating/sleeping area. Cover this area with
a layer of newspapers with cedar or pine shavings on top.
The new owners then place a small amount of cedar or pine
shavings in the preferred location of their yard to aid
in housebreaking. Keep the elimination area clean and dry.
Temperature
Newborn puppies are
able to maintain a body temperature about 12°F warmer
than the air temperature. The temperature under the heat
lamp in the whelping box should be around 85°F for the
first 2-3 days, and then can be dropped to 75-80°F depending
on the surrounding temperature. A temperature of 70-75°F
on the far side of the box is fine. Puppies head toward
the heat source to nurse so do not have the heat source
warmer than the bitch. Hanging a household thermometer on
the inside of the whelping box will help you know the temperature
in the box. Puppies typically lay side by side or on top
of each other to share warmth. If the puppies are scattered
throughout the whelping box and away from the heat lamp,
the temperature is too warm. If they are all piled on top
of each other, it may be too cold. Puppies need the extra
heat, as they are unable to regulate their body temperature
until several weeks old. The rectal temperature of newborn
puppies is about 97°F and rises each week until about
4 weeks of age when it is a normal adult temperature of
100.5-102.5°F.
Health Of The Bitch
Each mammary gland and nipple should
be checked at least once a day for redness, hardness, discharge,
or streaking color. If mastitis develops, the veterinarian
should be notified immediately. If caught early, milking
out the affected gland and applying hot compresses will
help prevent a spread of the problem. Sometimes, antibiotics
are necessary. If she gets multiple glands with mastitis,
the puppies will need to be bottle fed. The puppies' nails
should be trimmed weekly starting within days of birth.
This will help prevent some of the scratches on the dam's
mammary glands. The deciduous teeth start coming in around
day 11. Check the mammary glands of the bitch daily for
bite marks.
The bitch will have a bloody discharge from her vulva which
may be quite heavy for several days. It should decrease
in amount and become darker and be almost gone within 2-3
weeks.
The bitch's hair coat may have become very thick and luxurious
during the pregnancy. Around the time of weaning, the bitch
starts to shed. This extreme loss of hair coat is natural
and it should be back to normal in about another 4-5 months.
This shedding is more extreme than a normal shed cycle and
some bitches become quite bald. This is often called 'blowing
a coat.'
Puppy Health Care
Unthrifty puppies should be examined
as soon as possible by a veterinarian to check for birth
defects. Some defects, such as a cleft palate are not compatible
with life. These puppies should be humanely euthanized.
Dewclaws are removed and tails docked at 2-4 days of age.
Make an appointment with your veterinarian for these procedures
to be done. Check your breed's standard, as some breeds
need to have dewclaws left intact in order to show. Tail
length changes, so again, the current breed standard should
be consulted. When the puppies are at the clinic and having
these procedures done, the bitch should be taken for a walk
around the block until the puppies are done. She should
not be close enough to the clinic to hear the puppies crying.
Once they are put back with the bitch, the puppies normally
nurse and then sleep.
Vaccinations are started at 6-7 weeks of age. Some breeders
give a parvo virus vaccine at 5 weeks of age, if the puppies
are at a high-risk. Ask your veterinarian if your puppies
should be vaccinated early for parvo virus.
Strategic deworming is a practice recommended by the American
Association of Veterinary Parasitologists (AAVP) and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They recommend
puppy deworming for roundworms and hookworms start at 2
weeks of age and be repeated at 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age.
Thereafter, use a heartworm preventive medication that is
also effective against hookworms and roundworms. Drs. Foster
and Smith suggest that owners of newly acquired puppies
obtain the deworming history of their new pup and contact
their veterinarian to determine if additional deworming
is needed. The bitch should be dewormed at the same time
as the puppies.
A health check done by a veterinarian at 6-7 weeks of age
before the puppies head for new homes should include checks
for heart murmurs, hernias, cryptorchidism, demodectic mange,
other parasites, eye disorders, etc.
Normal Puppy Development
The umbilical cord normally falls
off within 2-3 days of birth. Infections of the umbilicus
are rare in clean, well-managed kennels.
Puppies normally twitch and jerk while sleeping. This helps
with the development of their nerves and muscles.
The puppies crawl well by 7-14 days, walk at 16 days, and
have a normal gait at 21 days. They need to be on footing
that offers traction. By 4 weeks of age, the puppies follow
each other and carry toys in their mouths. They will play-fight
with each other and learn how to inhibit their bites. If
a puppy bites a littermate too hard, the littermate will
yelp and stop playing with him. If the puppy is allowed
to bite humans, he will not learn to inhibit his bite. It
may be cute as a 7-week old, but it will not be as a 7-year
old.
Puppies are born without teeth. The deciduous (baby) teeth
start to erupt at 2-4 weeks of age. All of the deciduous
teeth are usually present by 8 weeks of age.
The puppies' eyes will open around 12-15 days of age. The
retina matures around 21 days of age. Puppies should see
clearly by 4 weeks of age. Do not pry open the lids for
any reason, as the immature eye is not yet ready to handle
light. If the eyes appear swollen before they open, take
the puppy to a veterinarian immediately as an eye infection
may be present that needs to be treated to prevent loss
of vision. Some puppies will take a day to open the eyes
while others will take 3-4 days. The eyes will have a bluish
color to them at first and then change to their adult color
over time. If the eyes appear white or solid blue, take
the puppy to the veterinarian right away.
The ears open at 14-17 days of age. They should hear clearly
by 4 weeks of age. Deafness may not be noticeable while
the puppies are together and first noticed when the puppy
is in her new home.
Interactions Between
Puppies & Mother
By the time the puppies are 2-3 weeks
old, the bitch should have an area near the whelping box,
but separate from the puppies to allow her time to rest.
At about this time, the puppies will start trying to leave
the box to explore. They should be well supervised and have
safe toys available. The box at this point should be big
enough to be divided between eating, sleeping, playing,
and eliminating rooms. At this stage, a crate with the door
removed and lined with sheepskin or a dog bed can be given
to the puppies for sleeping quarters and to familiarize
them with crates.
Puppy Socialization
Early socialization of the puppies
will help them become confident and develop fewer behavior
problems. The puppies should be exposed to everything possible
from metal food dishes dropping, to vacuums, garage doors
opening and closing, thunderstorms, sirens, garbage trucks
going past, cats, and other pets, etc. Do not try to keep
the area quiet during the day. The puppies need to get used
to normal household noises. Children should be allowed to
play outside the whelping box (supervised so they do not
enter the box or drop toys in), as children behave differently
than adults. Everything the puppy is exposed to now, will
help her become a well-socialized, unafraid adult. The puppies
should be handled several times a day. They can be picked
up, their teeth looked at, ears checked, toes played with
(nails will need a weekly trimming), and have anything that
may be done as an adult started slowly now. Play helps to
develop the puppy's mind, as he needs to find solutions
to problems he encounters. If the puppies are not in new
homes by 10 weeks of age, they should be separated from
each other for a large part of the day and given one-on-one
time with humans. They can have play times during the day,
but they should eat, sleep, and be handled separately. Being
in a kennel (group) situation beyond 10-12 weeks of age
decreases trainability.
Care Of Puppies
Learning to recognize a healthy pup
from a fading pup. Supplementing mothers milk by bottle
feeding or tube feeding for a pup that refuses to nurse.
Treating a pup that has gas or colic. Weaning your puppies.
Vaccination Schedules for the puppy.
Learning to recognize a healthy pup
from a fading pup:
What is
a Healthy Pup - A Healthy pup feels warm, and has
a full belly of milk. He twitches and never lies perfectly
still. (Activated sleep) - The muscles are getting stronger
during activated sleep. A Puppy
in trouble will feel cold to the touch. Lays limp and refuses
to nurse. This puppy needs your assistance in hope for survival.
Colic Puppy
- A Colic puppy scream in pain for days. I found giving
a puppy plain yogurt helps ease a colic puppy.
Gas - Gas is another culprit for causing
a puppy to cry in pain. I give them a few drops Gasex and
a lactate intolerance over the counter drug.
If all this fails to relieve the puppy, you need to ask
your vet for some medication.
Feeding
Methods - Bottle feeding or Tube feeding.
Alternative feeding methods will are necessary when the
mothers milk is dried up or the mother is ill.
Note
~ if you have another nursing mother you can give her the
litter but you will still need to
help her by bottle feeding or tube feeding the pups.
Bottle feeding
- Bottle feeding satisfies the natural instinct to suck.
It also gives the puppy a choice on the amount it wishes
to consume. Pups can get gas if they are not burped after
feeding.
Their is always the danger of a pup inhaling milk into its
lungs and then getting pneumonia. Make sure your nipple
hole is not to large or to small. Stick a hot paper clip
in the nipple. Hold it upside down the milk should drip
out, but never flow.
Encourage the pup by wiggling the nipple across his lips.
You will know if he is getting the milk by measuring the
amount in the bottle and after burping can you see if he
has a full belly or he needs more.
The puppies mouth may have little bubbles on the side of
his lips but the milk should not run out the sides of his
mouth.
Making up formulas and feeding a litter of puppies is very
time consuming. It seems like as soon as your finished its
time to began again.
Tube Feeding
- Tube feeding advantages are that it takes very little
time and you always know how much the puppy is getting.
Burping is not necessary in tube feeding. The disadvantages
are the puppy's become lazy eaters.
If you tube feeding because the puppy has a congenital defect
like a bad heart or other life endangering defect his chances
of survival are poor. A puppy that has no congenital problem
has a good chance of survival.
Directions on tube feeding- Measure the distance from the
pups mouth to the last rib and mark the tube, changing the
distance as the pup grows.
Be a good
Breeder- Many breeders will just let a fading pup
die because it is very stressfull on them. I believe that
I am responsible for the pup being born in the first place
because I chose to bred the two dogs. There has been times
when my husband Jay would come home from work and find me
crying because I'm exhausted by lack of sleep and stress
from listening to its screams for days. The vet has no idea
what to do and I've tried every remedy in the book and the
puppy is still failing. Then just when I'm at the end of
my rope, I go in the nursery and he's alert and hungry and
looking at me, like he knows I was there for him. There
isn't a better feeling. This is why I do it. No matter how
much stress it puts on me, I will do anything in my power
to save a fading puppy.
