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How to Give a Newborn Puppy CPR

How to Give a Newborn Puppy CPR

Updated On August 21st, 2000

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Reviewed By Angela Walter, DVM

There are few things more wonderful than the miracle of birth. If your dog is pregnant and will be whelping soon, it is a good idea to know what to do if a newborn puppy is not breathing. If a puppy is born and is not breathing, you will need to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to try to save the pup. It is best to have more than one person present, if possible. While one person performs CPR, another person should contact your veterinarian for help.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is a procedure to maintain breathing and circulation for an animal who has stopped breathing and whose heart has stopped beating. By maintaining breathing and circulation, this will provide oxygen and blood flow to the vital organs, keeping the patient alive.

How to Give a Newborn Puppy CPR

The first thing to remember is to stay calm. If a pup requires CPR, you will likely be nervous and anxious about trying to revive the pup. By keeping calm, you will be more likely to remember how to perform CPR and to also think clearly during a stressful situation.

Begin by making certain the pup is not breathing on her own. Next, clear her airway. Hold the puppy's head downward to allow gravity to help drain fluid from the mouth, throat, and lungs. Use a suction bulb to carefully remove any fluid from the airway, being sure not to traumatize the fragile tissue in the back of the throat. Do not swing the puppy as this can result in brain trauma.

Next, you will need to breathe for the pup. Give two or three little puffs of air into the puppy's mouth and nose. In order to do this, your mouth needs to close around the puppy's mouth and nose. Do not give large breaths, as the puppy's lungs can be easily damaged. Give enough of a breath to see the pup's chest rise. Be aware that some diseases such as Brucellosis may result in weak or dead puppies and may be transmitted to humans through contact with the puppy or fluids.

Check for a heartbeat; feel the chest wall between your fingers or use a stethoscope to listen for a heartbeat. If no heartbeat is found, compress the chest in the area right at the back of the bent elbow. This is the approximate location of the heart. Press the chest between the thumb and forefinger. Compress the chest wall one to two times per second. Remember a newborn puppy's normal heart rate is 120-180+ beats per minute.

Stop chest compressions every 6 seconds, or 10 times per minute, to give the pup breaths.

Each minute check for a heartbeat and breathing. If the heart is beating slowly, stimulate the puppy by rubbing her vigorously (but carefully) with a towel and turning her over in your hands. It has also been found that massaging the groin area is particularly stimulating to a pup. This puppy needs stimulation and may need you to give her a few breaths of air in order for her to live. Continue to work with this puppy for 20 minutes to see if she can be saved.

If her heart is not beating, continue the CPR for about 5 minutes. If the puppy is not alive and active by then, it is unlikely the puppy will be saved. Puppies may require cardiopulmonary resuscitation if they are not breathing or lack a heartbeat at birth. By being prepared to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a newborn pup, you may just save a life.

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