Heating

Heating for Newborn Puppies: A Lifesaving Priority

Maintaining warmth is essential for newborn puppies, as hypothermia can suppress critical functions like breathing, heart rate, and digestion. Drying and warming puppies immediately after birth is crucial to their survival. Puppies cannot regulate their own body temperature until they are a few weeks old.

Prepare clean, dry, and warm towels before whelping. Use heat pads, hot water bottles, or a tumble dryer to warm them. For optimal care, set up an intensive care unit (ICU, humidicrib, incubator, or warming box) pre-whelp, ensuring an initial ambient temperature of 35–37ºC. After the first few hours, lower the temperature to 33ºC and maintain it for at least 24 hours.

Stabilised puppies requiring resuscitation should remain in the ICU or warming box until warm, dry, and ready to return to mum.