Newborn puppy weights: what’s normal and how to track them

Weighing is the simplest way to tell whether a newborn puppy is feeding well. A puppy that stops gaining is often the first sign of trouble, well before it looks sick.

How often to weigh

Weigh each puppy at birth, once it’s dry, then at least once a day for the first 2 weeks. After that, every few days until 4 weeks old, then weekly. Weighing twice a day in the first week catches problems sooner.

What’s normal

• Day 1: losing up to 10% of birth weight is acceptable.
• After that: a gain of about 5 to 10% of body weight every day. A 300 g puppy should be putting on roughly 15 to 30 g a day.
• Birth weight usually doubles by about 7 to 10 days old.

Warning signs

• Losing any weight after the first day, or gaining less than 5% of its weight a day.
• Crying constantly, restless, or cold to the touch.
• A belly that isn’t round and full after feeding.

Keeping them warm

Newborn puppies can’t control their own body temperature. Keep the whelping box at about 29 to 32°C for the first few days, around 27°C from the end of the first week to week 3, and about 21 to 24°C by week 4.

A newborn’s normal temperature is lower than an adult’s: about 35 to 37°C in the first week, rising to about 37 to 38°C by 4 weeks. Below 34.4°C is dangerous: warm the puppy slowly and call your vet.

Milestones

• Eyes usually open between 1 and 2 weeks old, and ears at about 2 to 3 weeks. Ask your vet if the eyes are still closed at 2 weeks.
• Weaning onto solid food starts at about 3 to 4 weeks. NSW’s breeding code requires solid food to be offered from 3 weeks.

Logging weights in WhelpHQ

1. 1Open the litter: Breeding → Litters, then tap the litter.
2. 2On a puppy’s card, tap the scales icon (Log weight), enter the Weight (grams) and save. The time is filled in for you.
3. 3Each card shows the puppy’s latest gain, for example (+25 g).
4. 4Once a puppy has two weights, tap the chart icon (Weight chart) to see its growth. Once two puppies have been weighed, scroll to Compare Weights to see the whole litter on one chart and spot a puppy falling behind.

Hand-rearing

If a puppy needs bottle or tube feeding, talk to your vet first, and ask how much and how often to feed. Then tap the bottle icon (Log a bottle/tube feed) on its card. WhelpHQ then sends feed reminders day and night (with push notifications turned on), spacing them out as the puppy gets older, and lists hand-reared puppies on your Dashboard.