Ask Dr Claire

My dog successfully had a litter of six puppies last night. When do I get them vet checked?

I like to have mum and pups checked out on day 1 after whelping.

Take them all in to the vet, mum can get a checkover paying close attention to her tummy to make sure all is ok and there are no remaining pups, her temperature, her milk supply and her teats.

All her puppies will have a check up too. This includes their temperature, a listen to their heart sounds and a check in the mouth to ensure there is no cleft palpate. It’s also good to weigh the pups daily to make sure they are gaining weight.

After that check, provided all is going well they are seen again at 6-8 weeks for their vaccination and microchip. Note that intestinal worming for the pups starts at 2 weeks age (and every 2 weeks until 12 weeks age, then reduces to 4 weekly).

If you’d like to chat in person, you can get a vet on a live video call or start a chat to discuss in more detail now.

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Chat soon,

Dr Claire