Dr. Marty Greer, JD Winter 2021
Managing each pup will include measuring, recording, and addressing their oxygenation, weight and weight gain, hydration, temperature, and blood glucose, each of which will be explained in the following sections.
The above scoring should be done for each puppy at birth and 5 minutes after resuscitation efforts have begun.
To effectively track puppies, a system must be developed. We avoid using neck bands due to risk of strangulation. A colored towel system (sterile towels) can be used at csection or vaginal birth. This can be followed by fingernail polish or fabric paint to allow you to follow puppy’s APGAR score, weight, temperature, urine color, SPO2, and blood glucose levels.
Using a spreadsheet or notebook with lines drawn is very helpful in managing all the parameters you can measure.