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The puppies' first weeks

Weight, warmth and quiet observation — the neonatal period rewards routine and early action.

Weigh daily

Puppies should gain weight every day and roughly double their birth weight in the first week to ten days. Weigh at the same time daily and log in the app — a puppy that stalls two weighings in a row needs attention and possibly supplemental feeding.

Warmth is life

Newborns cannot regulate temperature; chilling is the biggest killer of young puppies. Keep the box warm the first week and watch behavior: piled puppies crying are cold, spread-out puppies panting are too hot.

Early handling

Gentle daily handling — lifting, touching paws and ears for short moments — supports nervous-system development and future vet visits. Keep visitors minimal and hygiene high during the first fragile weeks.

Test yourself: The puppies' first weeks

How fast should newborn puppies roughly double their birth weight?
  1. Within a day
  2. By eight weeks
  3. Within the first week to ten days

Correct answer: Within the first week to ten days

Daily gains that double birth weight in 7–10 days indicate healthy nursing — daily weighing catches problems early.

What is the biggest threat to newborn puppies?
  1. Too much sleep
  2. Chilling — they cannot regulate temperature
  3. Being handled a few minutes daily

Correct answer: Chilling — they cannot regulate temperature

Hypothermia is the classic killer of neonates — a warm box with a cooler corner lets puppies self-regulate.

A puppy's weight stalls two weighings in a row. What do you do?
  1. Act — check nursing and consider supplemental feeding
  2. Wait a week and see
  3. Nothing — puppies plateau all the time

Correct answer: Act — check nursing and consider supplemental feeding

Stalled weight is the earliest warning sign in neonates — early support saves puppies.

When does the important socialization window in the litter start?
  1. After delivery to the new home
  2. Around week three, as eyes and ears come online
  3. At six months

Correct answer: Around week three, as eyes and ears come online

From about week three the puppies absorb new experiences — the breeder owns the most formative weeks before delivery.

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