Newborn babies require special care. The same principle applies to puppies; newborn puppies grow and develop very quickly and require high nutrition. Owners must provide careful care.

Papillon (detailed introduction)

　　Puppies from birth to weaning (around 45 days old) are called pups. Pups open their eyes 12 to 15 days after birth and have poor mobility but grow rapidly and have high nutritional needs. Therefore, raising pups requires the following key tasks.

　　Timely intake of colostrum: The milk secreted by the mother dog within 1 week after giving birth is called colostrum. Colostrum is rich in immunoglobulins that enhance the puppies’ disease resistance. Puppies' stomachs become functional 5 hours after birth, so pups must ingest colostrum within 12 to 48 hours after birth, ideally within 6 hours. Generally, the mother dog’s colostrum is sufficient for the pups. If artificial feeding is necessary, feed every 3 hours during the first week; every 4 hours during the 2nd and 3rd weeks; and every 6 hours after 20 days. The artificial milk formula is: 1 egg, 300g concentrated bone and meat broth, appropriate amount of infant cereal powder, 200ml fresh milk, mixed and cooked, cooled, then add 1g lysine, 0.6g methionine, 2g growth supplement, appropriate salt (0.5%), and strain through gauze.

　　Artificial Supplementary Feeding: After 20 days post-birth, the mother dog’s milk production begins to decline. Supplementary feeding generally starts within several days after birth. Feed fresh milk or rice and meat daily. Milk about 100ml daily, warmed to 27°C to 30°C, divided into 3 to 4 feedings. After 20 days, feed 200ml milk daily. The following supplementary feed formula can also be referenced: 500g lean meat or offal (minced), 3 eggs, 300g cornmeal, 300g flour, 500g chopped vegetables, growth factor as needed, 4g salt; mix and add water to make a steamed corn bread. When feeding, add 5g lysine, 3g methionine, 10g growth supplement, adequate multivitamins sprinkled on the cooled bread, with some bone and meat broth for licking.

　　Hand-Rearing: When mother’s milk is insufficient, timely hand-rearing with milk or milk powder is necessary. Because dog milk is richer than cow's milk, feeding puppies with only cow's milk is nutritionally inadequate. Milk powder should be added to cow's milk for feeding pups. Except in cases of the mother dog's death, newborn pups must receive colostrum to enhance disease resistance and increase survival rates.

　　The hand-feeding method is as follows: within 10 days after birth, feed about 100ml milk daily, using a baby bottle as a tool, feeding 4 to 6 times a day. After eyes open, help train the pups to develop eating skills by feeding milk from a plate to lick. From 10 to 20 days old, supplement milk to about 300ml. After 25 days, train pups to eat porridge-like food. Around 45 days, milk can be completely stopped and replaced with porridge-like food.

　　Fostering: This method is suitable if the mother dog has too many puppies, dies after giving birth, produces little or no milk. In this case, puppies are given to another nursing mother dog (a nanny dog) for feeding. This method is more beneficial for pups' growth and development than hand-rearing. However, the two litters should be born close together, with similar breed size, generally no more than 3 days difference in age.

　　The fostering method involves the mother dog recognizing her puppies by their scent. Before fostering, the nanny dog's milk or diluted feces are smeared onto the fostered pups, applied generously to coat their bodies with the nanny dog's scent, making it easier for the nanny dog to accept them.