What are the preparations for childbirth?
A Siberian Husky female’s gestation period is around 60 days, and preparations for the birth should be made beforehand. Meanwhile, the mother’s imminent labor should be closely monitored. The preparations for the birth include:
1.Keep the premises clean. Ventilate the air. Wash the hindquarters and udder of the bitch with clean water. If the bitch has long hair on her abdomen, trim the hair around the nipples to facilitate the suckling of the puppies.
2.Make a whelping box. The whelping box can be made of a cardboard box or wooden boards nailed together. The height should be set so that the puppies cannot climb out, and a semi-circular opening should be left on one side for easy access. The bottom should be lined with straw or hay, and an old blanket or rags can be placed on top. The interior and bottom of the whelping box must be smooth with no sharp objects to prevent injuries to the puppies.
3. Prepare the necessary equipment for delivering the baby. Such as scissors, sterilized gauze, cotton balls, 70% alcohol, 5% iodine, 0.5% hypochlorite, and 0.1% benzalkonium chloride, etc.
Postpartum Care for a Dog Mother
1.Replace the soiled bedding and ensure proper insulation.
2.After giving birth, a female dog may become aggressive in order to protect her puppies. After giving birth, a female dog should be kept quiet for 8-24 hours to avoid being disturbed by strangers, which may cause the dog to become nervous and result in biting or swallowing her puppies.
3.A newly delivered mother dog usually does not eat, but can be given some glucose water first. After 5-6 hours, eggs and milk can be supplemented, and proper feeding should begin 24 hours later. At this time, it is best to feed foods that are palatable and easy to digest. The first few days should be fed nutrient-rich meat feed, milk with beaten eggs, meat porridge, etc. And special attention should be paid to calcium supplementation. The mother dog can be given human-grade high-quality calcium oral liquids directly to prevent postpartum convulsions.
4.Pay attention to the nursing behavior of the mother dog. If she fails to nurse her puppies, investigate whether it is due to lack of milk or illness, and take appropriate measures in time. For lactating dogs with low milk production, feed them milk, pig’s foot soup, fish soup, and pig lung soup to increase milk production.
5.Some female dogs are poor mothers and do not want to care for their puppies. They must be severely scolded and forced to feed their puppies. For female dogs that do not care about their puppies, you can also take the deliberate approach of grabbing one of the puppies and making it cry out, which may awaken its maternal instinct. Additionally, the puppies are not very mobile at this time, so it is important to prevent the mother dog from squashing them. If you hear a short, sharp cry from a puppy, you should immediately check on it and remove it if it has been squashed.
6.Provide proper insulation and warmth for puppies during the winter. Hang a cold-resistant curtain at the entrance of the kennel, for example. If the temperature in the kennel is too low, a red-infrared heating pad can also be used, allowing the temperature to be adjusted to the desired level for the newborn puppies.
To stimulate the defecation of puppies, the mother dog must lick the puppies’ hindquarters with her tongue. If the mother dog does not lick, a little butter should be applied near the puppy’s anus to encourage the mother dog to lick.