How to Clean a 3 Week Old Puppy

Your three-week-old puppy is really starting to grow and move around. His eyes should be open or opening soon. If he’s with his mother and littermates, he’s playing a bit more and still nursing. Your three-week-old puppy is learning to go potty on his own without his mother helping him along, and hopefully, you are beginning to make a separate area from his bedding area to go potty. Even with this separation, your young puppy might still get dirty either from milk, play with his littermates, or from going potty or accidents. If you need to clean him, you should know he’s still too young for a full bath but is not as fragile as he was just a week ago.

Baths and running water can be scary for some dogs, especially the very young pups. Your three-week-old puppy’s body temperature is still not yet regulated by him, so he still needs to be kept warm from the time you take his out of his nest to the time you return him. Any shaking could be from fear or from being extremely cold, both of which are dangerous for your puppy.

• Your three-week-old puppy isn’t ready for a bath just yet.
  
• Take in his sweet puppy smell. He might be a bit dirty, but at this age, he still smells like a sweet puppy.
  
• The most common areas you will have to clean on your three-week-old puppy are his potty areas and his face.
  
• Do not yet submerge your three-week-old puppy in water.
  
• He will be ready for a bath in another week or two, but only if truly necessary even then.
  
• If your puppy’s mother is around still, she is the best way to get your pup clean.
  
• Be sure to begin to make separate areas for potty within the puppy’s whelping area. Your puppies won’t want to go potty and sleep in the same area unless they are forced to.
  
• Keeping a separate potty area will help keep your puppy cleaner.
  
• Your three-week-old puppy cannot yet regulate his temperature. You will need to keep him warm before, during, and after any cleaning you do.
  
• Be sure not to use water too hot to moisten the cloth. Also, be sure the cloth is not left too long to cool. You want it to be warm, so it is comfortable on his skin as you wipe him clean.
  

 Enjoy these early moments of a sweet smelling puppy. It’ll be some time before your three-week-old pup smalls like a dog and is ready for a bath. Don’t put yourself in the doghouse with your puppy’s mother. Let her do most of the cleaning while you keep the bedding clean for the entire litter.