Temperature is even more important for orphan puppies who do not have a mother to keep them warm.
Ideal room temperature for newborn puppies.
As long as the puppies stay close to their mother the room temperature is not too critical.
Indoors a heating lamp can be used to achieve this temperature.
Ideally it should be approximately 30 c during the puppy s first week of life with the temperature gradually declining as the puppy grows.
Older dogs or dogs who have arthritis may be less tolerant of extreme temperatures than other pets.
What is an ideal room temperature for puppies is not necessarily the best for elderly animals.
In situations where keeping the puppy close to the mother s body is not possible such as the first puppy in a litter an incubator may be useful.
Short haired pets may have a harder time during the colder months while longer haired dogs could suffer during the warmer months.
Make sure the temperature is safe.
You should invest in a thermometer in the room or area where your puppies are kept.
Temperature newborn puppies are able to maintain a body temperature about 12 f warmer than the air temperature.
The temperature of the whelping box is especially important.
In normal situations the body warmth of the mother provides these needs.
In general you should set the thermostat between 75 and 78 degrees f when you re at home in the summer.
Choosing the best temperature for pets.
Newborn puppies need to be kept in a moist environment with a steady temperature close to 95 degrees.
However if the mother leaves her puppies alone they need to be provided with an external source of warmth.
The temperature under the heat lamp in the whelping box should be around 85 f for the first 2 3 days and then can be dropped to 75 80 f depending on the surrounding temperature.
During the first four days of life the environmental temperature where the puppies are kept should be maintained at 85 90 f 29 5 32 c.
Here are our recommendations.
A temperature of 70 75 f on the far side of the box.
After this the temperature can be reduced to 80 f 26 7 c.
To make temperature monitoring easier you might consider room sharing with your baby.