Giving birth is a tiring process and also a joyful moment in welcoming new members of the family. However, this process will create a messy condition afterward. Body fluids and bloody discharge will contaminate your dog’s bed and her fur. Not only amniotic fluid which expelled during delivery process, but sometimes a dog can also vomit, urinate or even defecate. Not to mention she can experience bleeding for several days postpartum.
Your dog needs to be clean and dry for her hygiene to be able to care her new puppies. The question is, how will you clean up your dog and her whelping after she delivers without disturbing her and the puppies? Will it be safe to bathe a dog right after she gives birth? Well, let’s read this whole article about safest ways to clean mother dog after she gives birth to find the clues and tips.
Naturally a mother dog will clean her puppies by herself. But in doing so, she might forget about her own cleanliness. And in this case, you need to step in to cleaning up her own fur and her bed. When you do that, try doing it in a way that the dog and the puppies won’t feel disturbed.
Bathing a new mother dog right after her delivery is not advised because you will take her away from the puppies who needs their mother’s warmth in their first days of lives. And most mother dogs refused to leave her puppies. However, your dog and the puppies need to be cleaned and to rest in dry and comfortable bed. You can find out more about their nature in easy guide to take care of dog at home for-beginners
Here are some tips for the safest ways to clean mother dog after she gives birth in which you could apply to your dog.
1. Cleaning the whelping area
First thing to do is to remove all soiled items after the birth. After the mother dog is finished giving birth, please remove all the soiled things like newspaper, blankets, or any other things. All those things will contain fluid, blood and tissue from birth. Properly doing so in removing all soiled items will reduce the risk of contamination and infection.
Move the mother dog and the puppies to other clean area or to a temporary place before you put them back after cleaning the dirty whelping area. Use a warm clean cloth without any soap used, to clean the mother dog. Wipe the mother dog repeatedly until she is cleaned. Don’t forget to wipe nipples area gently and the back area to remove afterbirth and blood.
Gently pat dry the mother dog. Puppies chills easily and wet mother dog is not a good thing for the puppies who need their mother’s body warm.
After getting rid all of soiled items, fix a clean soft bed for the mother dog and her litter. Place clean towels beneath the dog. It is recommended to place newspaper down as there might be accidents happen in the whelping box as the mother dog likely will refuse leaving her pups, even to relieve herself.
Be ensured that the bedding is comfortable for the puppies to. Check if there are loose threads or large loops which might trapped the puppies. Sometimes there are unhealthy puppies and you may consider looking at this link tips to help a malnourished puppy to gain weight to get help.
Clean the bedding daily. Change all the towels/blankets into new ones on everyday basis. Sometimes you need to do it several times a day. It usually happens for the first few weeks. As for the first few days, mother dog usually refuses leaving her puppies, you should keep an eye on the bedding in case the accidents happen. Take immediate actions afterward.
We are not talking about mother dog’s hygiene only, but also about the puppies. Mother dog is helping the puppies to eliminate waste during the first few weeks, so puppies’ waste might end up on the bedding too. Prepare the safe bedding for both mother dog and puppies. Don’t choose inappropriate material like wood shavings or sawdust. It’s very dangerous for the health of both mother dog and puppies. Choose materials that are soft and washable.
2. Keeping the mother dog clean
Do not disturb the mother dog for first few days after giving birth. She needs to rest and to spend her full time caring the newborn puppies. You can bathe her after several days if it is required. The right time to bathe her is after she finished nursing her puppies and the empty mammary glands are not going to expel milk during bathing.
Bring your mother dog very gently. Avoid pressuring her stomach and mammary glands. Bathe her using a gentle, non-toxic dog shampoo very gently. Use warm water instead cold water. You must rinse and dry her thoroughly so the puppies won’t get cold from their wet mother. While bathing her, check if there are any signs of infection or abnormal symptoms. Is she having fever, pain, abnormal vaginal or mammary discharge.
Make sure the mother dog is dried very well, especially if you have a long-haired dog. You may want to consider using a hairdryer to speed up the dry process. Don’t let the belly wet as it will have direct contact with puppies when the mother nursing them.
Delivering a litter is tiring and messy. Your dog may not be in the mood to be cleaned and bathed right after birth, but she will need your help in cleaning and changing her soiled bed into a warm and clean one. Work quietly and gently, do not disturb nor stress her. You must continue to control the bedding to make sure they have dry and clean bed.
It is also important to trim your dog’s hair. The most important part is to trim the belly-side hair. Which will help the puppies to find the nipples and to keep the area clean from any waste or bacteria.
Another thing you might want to do before the birthing is trimming around her bottom will reduce the mess. You will have less difficulty in cleaning the area after the birth.
When you want your mother dog keeps cleaned, another option is to give her a sponge bath. Use some soft washcloth dip into warm water. Wipe your mother dog very gently to clean her on daily basis. Although this treatment is not as thorough as a full bath, at least it keeps her clean until her next full bath.
Well, what do you think about the safest ways to clean mother dog after she gives birth? Is it useful for you? We are offering you with other useful info which you can find here, easiest ways of caring puppy at home for beginners and here how to take care of a pregnant-dog. By getting to know a lot about the dog, we may make our dog happy and it’s happiness is your happiness as well.