There are a few reasons why the hand rearing of puppies becomes a necessity. In the worst case it could be because the mother has died and in other cases she may have inadequate milk or has rejected the puppy. The following is meant to give you some guidance and ideas during what is often quite a challenging time. 

Temperature 

Up to approximately 5 weeks of age puppies (rather like reptiles) cannot regulate their own body temperature so they need to be reared in a warm environment. This will require additional heat provided either by a heat lamp or a heated pad, there should always be an opportunity for the puppy to move to a slightly cooler area if it wishes. It is important that the instructions for the heat pad or lamp are followed to reduce the risk of burns or fires.

The following temperature guide can be used:

Week 1   29-32 degrees celsius 

Week 2-4   27-29 degrees celsius

Week 5      21-24 degrees celsius 

From 6 weeks 21 degrees celsius

Feeding 

The ideal way to feed an orphan pup would be a foster bitch that has recently whelped as this takes some of the hard work out of fostering and creates a better social environment for the puppy. 

Failing that, then specialist puppy milk replacers should be used. Cows milk differs significantly from dogs milk and these differences can cause serious digestive and developmental upsets. Milk replacers are available in most well equipped pet stores.

Milk replacers do not contain any of the important antibodies that the bitch would normally pass on which help protect puppies from disease, even one day of mother's milk can be an advantage to survival.

The milk for the feeding of very young puppies is necessary to provide them with their energy requirements and to keep them hydrated. However the size of each meal and  the ideal frequency is dependent on the size (capacity) of their tiny stomachs.

Comprehensive feeding guides for the size and age of the puppy will be available on the packaging of the milk replacer you use.

Examples of typical guidelines would be:

Birth to 7 days:

Feed every 2 hours

1.25-2.5ml per feed for small and miniature breeds

2.5 -5ml for medium/large breeds

(puppies fed with a bottle will often stop feeding when they are full, record consumption to be sure they are taking sufficient for their weight)

Milk substitutes should have 1000-1300 kcal of metabolisable energy per litre, any less and puppies may have to take too much volume, any more and it may cause diarrhoea.

(see packaging or product leaflet for comprehensive instructions. It is wise to have these products in before the bitch whelps and to familiarise yourself with the instructions as it may be hard to get hold of over the weekend, during holidays or at night. Hopefully if you are prepared you will not need it)

Weighing

Puppies should be weighed regularly to ensure that feeding is supporting adequate growth. Hand reared puppies may grow less quickly than puppies fed by their mother but by weaning they should be a similar weight as their siblings.

When bottle feeding, keep the puppy upright with the head tilted slightly forwards and upwards. It is possible to feed puppies via a stomach tube but this requires training.

Prepare the milk substitute fresh each day and warm to 38 degrees for feeding.

It is important to stimulate urination and defecation. The mother would normally do this by licking the genital area of the pups in turn. It is important that you  replicate this by gently wiping the same area with soft damp cotton wool after feeding. By 3 weeks of age puppies will be able to  pass urine and faeces by themselves.

Mashed up solid food with water added can be introduced in a shallow tray to begin the process of weaning from 3 weeks of age and weaning can be completed by 6 weeks of age.