Dr. Emmanuel Fontaine, DVM

Newborn Puppy Care Resources for Breeders

Science-backed articles to help you protect newborn puppies during the most fragile stage of life, from the first minutes after birth through the first critical days.

Colostrum Secrets: Boosting Puppy and Kitten Immunity

Ninety percent of immune cover arrives through colostrum in the first 24 hours. The window, and the action ladder for a newborn who cannot suckle.

How Can a Simple Scale Prevent Puppy Neonatal Loss?

Birth weight is the strongest predictor of neonatal survival. Daily weighing and the two-centile rule catch a crisis 24 to 48 hours before clinical signs appear.

How to Resuscitate Newborn Puppies and Kittens

The 2025 RECOVER guidelines flip the old order: breathing support before suctioning. The 60-second assessment that decides a newborn’s outcome.

Free Guide: Newborn Puppy 48-Hour Survival Protocol

The first 48 hours decide which puppies make it. Get the printable protocol for your whelping kit, free.

How to Resuscitate Newborn Puppies and Kittens

Breathing support before suctioning, and the 60-second APGAR-style assessment that decides a newborn’s first minutes.

How Do You Set Up a Whelping Box That Actually Protects Newborns?

The 5-point audit for warmth, safety, and hygiene. Why most setups fail on system design, not equipment.

How to Make a Whelping Box for Newborn Puppies & Kittens

How to build the warmth, safety, and hygiene fragile newborns need from day one.

Colostrum Secrets: Boosting Puppy and Kitten Immunity

Peak absorption at 4 hours, gut closed by 12 to 16. The action ladder when a puppy cannot suckle.

Newborn Puppy Colostrum: Daily Weighing Beats Picking the Best Teat

Colostrum IgG varies 42 percent between teat pairs with no best position. Daily weighing and the Day 2 4 percent rule replace guessing.

Probiotics for Newborn Puppies and Kittens: Strain First

Same genus, different strain, very different result. What human neonatal medicine teaches about supporting fragile newborns.

How Can a Simple Scale Prevent Puppy Neonatal Loss?

Birth weight thresholds, the two-centile rule, hypothermia staging, and the monitoring kit every breeder should own.

42 Eye-Opening Truths About Fading Puppy Syndrome

Fading puppy syndrome is not one disease but a multifactorial condition. Early detection, proactive care, and how to respond.

How to Feed Newborn Puppies: A Complete Guide

From nursing basics to bottle feeding technique, formula choice, and routines that keep newborn puppies growing.

Why Is Canine Herpes So Hard to Eliminate?

CHV-1 drives neonatal loss, but thermal management at 37 C (98.6 F) and prevention cut mortality from 50 percent to under 10.

More resources are being added

Dedicated articles on umbilical care, omphalitis, and standalone APGAR scoring are in production and will appear here as they publish. Until then, umbilical and APGAR guidance lives inside the resuscitation and whelping box resources above.

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Previous stage

Newborn care starts at birth. Explore the previous stage if you want to prepare better for delivery and the first minutes after birth.

Next stage

Continue to the next stage when puppies begin moving toward solid food, milk production winds down, and early growth takes over.