How to Take Care of a 3-Week-Old Puppy

A 3-week old puppy should still be with his mother and litter mates where he will receive his mother's love and gain socialization skills. If the unfortunate circumstance arises when a puppy cannot be with his mother, you must provide the love, care and attention that the puppy needs.

Things You'll Need

• Box
• Shredded newspaper
• Heating pad with temperature control
• Puppy baby bottle
• Puppy milk replacer

Instructions

1. Make a quiet warm sleeping area for the puppy. Three-week old puppies cannot regulate their own body temperature. Without the mother to keep the puppy warm, an artificial warm environment must be created. A 3-week old puppy's sleeping area should be kept at 80 degrees. To make the sleeping area, fill a box with shredded newspaper. Place a heated pad underneath half of the sleeping box. By placing the heating pad under half of the box only, you are allowing the puppy the option to move away from the heat source. Choose a heating pad that has a temperature control so that you can adjust the heat.

2. Feed the puppy every four hours. At 3 weeks of age, a puppy still needs to be bottle fed. Purchase a puppy bottle and puppy milk replacer from a pet store. Feed the bottled milk at body temperature. The puppy should be in an upright position when bottle fed. Never place the puppy on his back when feeding. When bottle feeding, cradle the puppy in one arm with your arm underneath the puppy's body and your hand supporting his chest. Rest his body against yours and hold the bottle with your other hand. Hold the bottle directly in front of the puppy so that the puppy does not have to hold his head up when eating. Bottle feed the puppy every 4 hours, then allow the puppy to eat until he is full.

3. Start offering mush for the puppy to eat between meals. To make mush, blend dry puppy food in a blender with puppy milk replacer. Add enough puppy replacer milk to make the mush the consistency of thin oatmeal. As the puppy eats more of the mush, the amount fed at bottle feeding sessions can be decreased.

4. Rub the puppy's back after each meal to encourage the puppy to burp and release air in the digestive system. Just like with a human baby, a puppy needs to be burped after each meal.

5. Wipe the puppy's anus and genitals with a cotton ball moistened with warm water to imitate the sensation of the mother's licking after every meal. A mother dog licks her puppy's genitals to stimulate urination and defecation. Puppies often cannot eliminate wastes without this stimulation.

6. Cuddle and pet the puppy before and after meals and during awake times to give the puppy a sense of love and security. At 3 weeks of age, a puppy normally receives love and affection from the mother and litter mates. Affection plays a crucial role in the normal mental development of a puppy.

Tips & Warnings

• A 3-week old puppy that is being raised away from his mother and litter mates misses out on important socialization skills. If possible, provide the puppy with socialization opportunities with humans and trained vaccinated pets. Puppies taken away from their mothers too young may develop behavioral problems. Once the puppy is old enough, a dog behavioral specialist who uses positive training methods can help you deal with behavioral problems. Training should not begin until the puppy is at least eight weeks old.

• Do not punish a 3-week old puppy. At three weeks of age, a puppy does not have the mental capacity to respond to punishment, nor does the puppy willingly misbehave.

Resources

• Esbilac Puppy Milk Replacer
• Puppy Bottle