We might sometimes have to become the human parent to a fragile puppy under unnatural circumstances and take full care of it for it to be alive. The most basic duty to perform in that case is to clean the baby once a day all over and every time after it expels and there are a few things required to carry out that job correctly.

Things Required:

  • a washcloth
  • some lukewarm water
  • a drop of antiseptic liquid (optional)
  • a lot of care

We will need a soft cotton washcloth or thick disposable cotton-based one with which we will gently rub the puppy clean. If you can, use a separate washcloth for hindquarters and full body scrub.

The water we will use will be lukewarm or at least room temperature but not cold in any case. We use lukewarm water so that the puppy’s body temperature remains stable. Make sure to not use too much water i.e. to not get the pup too much wet for too long. Make the body scrub quick. We can mix in a drop of any good antiseptic liquid in the water to keep any kind of bug or fly away from the pup.

How to scrub the pup clean

During full-body scrub pick the pup up by gently placing your hand under its belly and using your fingers to handle its neck and head. It’s extremely important to always support its head and neck while handling the puppy as the pup is not able to support its head on its neck until it is at least 15 days old.

After safely picking up the puppy, dip the washcloth in the lukewarm water and expel any excess liquid from it. Then gently rub the back, sides, head, the insides of the ears, its legs, and paws with it. Then very carefully rotate the pup so that its belly is exposed and very quickly and gently rub the belly clean. Lastly, Rub the hindquarters of the pup. There is a chance that while rubbing there it will pee and poop a little which is a normal thing. The rubbing should be done so that the puppy is not left wet too much for too long.

For just the Hindquarters we can take a big ball of cotton. Dip it in some lukewarm antiseptic mixed water and remove excess water from it. Then, swiftly rub the area while applying just enough pressure that any kind of gunk that might be stuck there comes out and the area is clean. If we do this right before or after a feed, the puppy will surely pee and poop right when the rubbing starts, so if the pup doesn’t expel on its own then this rubbing technique can be used to make the pup do it as the mother dog also starts licking the pup right after it is done with the feed so that it expels there and then and she is able to clean the pup and the other stuff with it too.

Basically, all we do is observe the mother dog and learn how she handles the pups and how she takes care of them whether it is while feeding or while cleaning, or while the pups sleep. There is nothing that can beat a mother’s care and love but we can do what we can to help the pups survive and thrive.

*Image source: google