What to Expect When You Are Expecting Puppies

This post is sponsored by The Libman Company but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Earlier this year our Kerry Blue Terriers, George and Baylee, had puppies. Since this was their first litter of puppies, we did our research beforehand and tried to be 100% ready, but as with any birth of a puppy or a child, you are never really ready.

We learned a lot about what to expect when you are expecting puppies the minute the first puppy was born so I wanted to share some things that you might need to know after the puppies are born and a few things you need to know before the puppies are born.

Raising puppies is a lot of work and takes a lot of time. There is a lot that pet owners of expectant puppies need to know and there are a lot of supplies that are needed. It is important that you are as ready as you can be because depending on the breed of dog that you have, your dog could be welcoming anywhere from 1 to 12 puppies into the world, so you want to be ready.

What to Expect When You Are Expecting Puppies

• Our puppies were confined to one section of the house. In order to protect our floor and keep their living space as clean as possible, we always had the floors covered. During the first few weeks, we covered the floor with old blankets and washed them daily. As they got bigger we used newspapers to cover the floor and changed them up to 5 times a day. For a while, we used puppy pads but after a week we discovered how expensive they were, so we stopped.
• Before mom gives birth, it is a good idea to make sure that you have at least 2 cans of milk supplement and a syringe. There are times that puppies are born underdeveloped and need to be fed every 2 -3 hours by a syringe with the milk supplement. It is important that you are ready for this just in case.
• Before mom gives birth, consider asking your vet for a probiotic dog food to feed her after she gives birth. Our dog had unhealthy stools after giving birth and before her stools could become normal, we had to feed her the dog food that contained probiotics.
• Once the pups are born, contact your vet and let them know immediately if there are any concerns with any of the puppies, ask any concerning questions, and schedule an appointment for when their first set of shots are due.
• Make sure that mom has plenty of water at all times! It is important for her to stay hydrated so she can feed her pups. We didn’t keep a water bowl in the puppy area but brought fresh water to her every few hours.
• Keep the puppies area warm. We used a little floor heater and at times put a heating pad under the blankets so the puppies stayed warm. Since most heating pads have an auto timer on them, make sure to check it every few hours to make sure it is still on.

• Make sure that mom gets a break. We let mom out every few hours so that she could go to the bathroom, run around the yard and have some alone time. During this time we would clean the pup’s bedding and spend time bonding with them so that they could get used to people.
• Before mom has her pups, dedicate a quiet area in the house for her to birth. Two weeks before mom was due to have her puppies we had her sleep in her dedicated birthing area so that she could adjust.
• Keep an eye on mom for signs of delivery. There are a variety of signs to watch for. Ask your vet.
• A few weeks before mom gives birth, make sure that she has a pre-birth groom. I took our dog to our local groomer and they did a great job making sure that she was clean and shaven on her underside.
• Around 5-6 weeks the puppies will be eating solid food. Instead of buying small bowls for each puppy I use a big flat tray. Having their puppy food on the tray helps prevent bowls of food from being overturned onto the floor.
• Each puppy will have its own personality. Watch out for the mischievous ones.
• Once the puppies are old enough it’s important to start taking them outside. Make sure that the yard is free of dog waste, debris and that the gates and fence do not have any openings that the puppies can squeeze or climb through.
• From the moment that mom starts to give birth to the moment that the puppies are rehomed, there will be a lot of messes. It is important that you stay on top of cleaning these messes up so that the puppies do not become ill and so that the house does not begin to smell.

The Libman Freedom® Spray Mop is the mop that I prefer to use to clean up all of the messes that our puppies left behind. I love this mop versus other mops because it has a neck that swivels 360 degrees for extra control, which helps with spots that are harder to get to. It also comes with a thick microfiber pad that is machine washable up to 100 times. I also love the Libman Freedom® Spray Mop because it is easy to use. Add the cleaning solution of our choice to the solution holder, snap it closed, put the mop in position, spray and then mop. It is easy for all ages which is great because taking care of newborn puppies is a full-time job that takes a village!

What tips do you have for anyone that is expecting puppies?

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