How to care for Newborn Shiba Inu

Everyone loves puppies. They are adorable, cute, and cuddly. And seeing them grow into majestic adults is always such a delight. But if you have an incoming litter to welcome, it is also important to know how to take care of them. In addition, mommy dog also needs optimal care so she can also provide warmth, bond, and food to her little pups. 

There are a lot of things to know to make sure the newborn puppies are safe and will grow and develop healthily. Fur parents who are new to handling newborn pups might ask questions like: how much should they eat? What is the normal weight of a newborn puppy? How to feed them? What are the vaccinations needed? And more. 

Newborn Shiba Inu puppies are almost entirely dependent for their first weeks, so caring for them means supporting the mother while she does most of the work and stepping in only where she needs help. The priorities are simple and non-negotiable: warmth, regular nursing, steady weight gain, and a clean, quiet space. Newborns cannot regulate their own temperature, cannot see or hear at first, and rely on their mother for food, warmth, and stimulation. Your job is mostly to observe, weigh, keep things clean, and catch trouble early, with your vet guiding the schedule and handling anything medical.

The short version, in four parts:

• Warmth first, because newborns cannot hold their own body heat.
• Feeding and weight are the daily scorecard, and healthy pups gain steadily.
• Support the mother, because a healthy dam is the best puppy care there is.
• Involve your vet from the start for the exam, deworming, and vaccine schedule.

Puppy Care 101: How to care for newborn Shiba Inu 

Puppies usually take nine weeks to develop inside their mother, however, their development doesn’t stop there. 

For one, puppies are born blind, mostly deaf, and without any teeth, so there’s a lot of care that goes on until they can care for their own. 

Here is a list of things that you can do to care for newborn Shiba Inu. 

Create a safe space

The mother and her puppies need to have a safe space for themselves. It must have a small heating pad, blankets, and pillows for warmth and comfort. There will be discharge from the mother so the sheets need to be changed regularly. 

Maintain cleanliness to make sure the puppies and the mother are healthy. 

Make sure to keep them with their mother

The mother dog is the puppies’ main provider when they are first born so make sure they are not separated.

The mother gives the newborn pups the nutrients they need from her milk, which helps with their development and immune system. If the mother is not around, it is best to bring the puppies to the veterinarian for consultation and milk substitution recommendations. 

Remember, human milk is not good for your puppies. 

Look out for signs of sickness

If you notice anything unusual in the puppies’ appearance and behavior, we recommend you contact your veterinarian immediately. 

Some signs of sickness are vomiting, excessive crying, diarrhea, rejection by the mother, and if the puppy is not nursing like the rest. 

How to feed Shiba Inu puppies 

Newborn puppies are mostly provided nutrition through their mother’s milk. They are protected from germs through a milky-textured substance from their moms called colostrum. Colostrum gives the puppies the ability to fight off infections. 

It is recommended to let the puppies nurse as long as possible so they can receive a good amount of colostrum. If the mother is not around, the puppies need to be taken to the vet for supplements to help them survive. 

After the first few weeks, if there are puppies that can’t nurse from their mother, you can do it yourself by using a bottle or tube. Just make sure you buy a formula made for dogs. 

With bottle feeding, feed the pup while lying on their stomach as other positions might choke them. Like human babies, warm the milk to body temperature. 

We don’t recommend heating the formula with the microwave. Instead, place the bottle in a bowl of warm water. After the feeding session, gently pat the puppy’s back to help them burp. 

How often should they eat?

Newborn puppies eat every 2 to 3 hours. If you are using formula, there should instructions on the packaging to tell you how much to give them. In most cases, you will need more or less so take note of how much the puppy needs per feeding. 

Also, prepare a warm environment for the puppies to eat and sleep in. For the first few weeks, their body temperature isn’t regulated. If they are cold, puppies cannot eat or digest food properly. 

When the puppies are around 3 to 4 weeks of age, you’ll see that they’ll start to bite or chew their bottle. This is a cue that they are ready to eat soft food. You can talk to your veterinarian about what and how to feed your puppies semi-solid food. 

Shiba Inu puppies and their first vet checkup

Newborn puppies can’t go to the bathroom on their own. Their mother licks their genital and anal areas, which stimulates the muscles and nerves and causes the pups to eliminate their waste. If your puppy is orphaned or wasn’t trained by its mother, you can use a washcloth or cotton ball soaked in warm water and gently stroke these areas, which simulates their mother’s licks.

When Should Puppies Have Their First Vet Checkup

Veterinarians suggest bringing in your puppies at around 6 weeks old. This is the period when the mother dog’s antibodies wear off, so they are not prone to infection and disease. 

During the first examination, the vet will give the puppy initial immunizations and deworming medication. 

They should get their first round of vaccinations at around 6 weeks, such as: 

• Distemper virus
• Adenovirus
• Parainfluenza virus
• Parvovirus

Later, at around 8 to 12 weeks, they need to get the following shots: 

• Bordetella
• Canine Influenza H3N2 and H3N8
• Rabies first year
• Leptospirosis

Aside from vaccinations, the physical exam also allows your veterinarian to address conditions and you also get to ask for recommendations and guidance regarding feeding and care. 

The first weeks of a newborn Shiba's life

The newborn stage moves fast, and most of the real care is observation plus a few non-negotiables. Here is what matters, roughly in order of priority.

1. Warmth and the nest. Newborns cannot regulate their own body temperature, so a chilled puppy is an emergency, not a minor issue. The whelping area stays warmer than the rest of the house, draft-free, and clean, with the mother able to move away from the heat if she needs to. Keep the nest quiet and out of household traffic.
2. Nursing and colostrum. The first milk, colostrum, carries antibodies that give the litter early protection, so getting every puppy nursing in the first hours matters. In a healthy litter the mother manages this. Your role is to confirm each puppy is latching and that no one is being pushed out. Feeding problems are a vet call, not a guessing game.
3. Daily weight checks. Weighing each puppy every day is the single best early-warning tool you have. Healthy newborns gain steadily. A puppy that stalls or loses weight is telling you something is wrong before any other sign appears. Keep a simple chart and share it with your vet.
4. Hygiene and stimulation. In the first weeks the mother normally cleans the puppies and stimulates them to eliminate. If she is doing her job, you mostly keep the bedding clean and stay out of the way. If she is not, your vet will walk you through what to do, because this is one of those areas where technique matters.
5. Milestones. Eyes generally open around one to two weeks, hearing follows, and the puppies start to wobble around and, a few weeks in, begin weaning onto soft food. Let these happen on the puppies' timeline. Do not rush weaning or handling; follow the mother's lead and your vet's schedule.
6. Warning signs. A cold, limp, constantly crying, or non-nursing puppy, or one the mother rejects, is a same-day emergency. Newborns have almost no reserves and decline within hours. When in doubt, call. The cost of an unnecessary vet call is nothing next to the cost of waiting too long.

A composite from our foster network: a surrendered Shiba delivered a small litter in a foster home, and the fosters kept a daily weight chart taped to the wall. When one puppy's number flatlined for a day, they called the vet immediately, got guidance on supplemental feeding, and the puppy caught up. The chart, not luck, is what flagged it. Because the mother's condition drives everything here, read our companion piece on caring for a dog after giving birth, and for the wider picture of how dogs find homes, see our pillar on rehoming a Shiba Inu in California.

What raising litters through our foster network has taught us

Across 250+ Shibas placed since 2019, the litters that came to us, usually through surrender rather than by plan, taught us that newborn care is less about heroics and more about steady observation and a fast phone.

What has worked: a warm quiet nest, a daily weight chart, a calm confident mother left to do her job, and a vet involved from day one. Foster homes that keep it simple and watch closely have the best outcomes. We do not try to out-parent the mother dog; we support her and monitor the litter.

What has not worked, and what we caution against: home remedies for a struggling newborn, or waiting to see if a fading puppy perks up. Neonatal problems move in hours, and the right move is always the vet, not the internet. If you find yourself with an unexpected litter and it is beyond what you can manage safely, that is a normal moment to ask for help. Our Surrender Concierge exists so a mother and her puppies land somewhere ready to care for them properly.

Related questions

How often do newborn Shiba puppies need to eat?

Newborns nurse very frequently, roughly every couple of hours around the clock in the earliest days, because their stomachs are tiny and they grow fast. In a healthy litter the mother handles this and you mostly watch to be sure every puppy is latching and gaining. If a puppy is being pushed off, is not nursing, or the mother cannot feed the litter, call your vet right away about supplemental feeding rather than improvising.

How do I know if a newborn puppy is healthy?

The clearest sign is steady daily weight gain, which is why breeders and vets weigh newborns every day. A healthy newborn is warm, round, nurses eagerly, sleeps quietly, and squirms when picked up. Warning signs are a puppy that is cold, limp, constantly crying, not gaining, or being ignored by the mother. Any of those is a same-day call to your vet, because newborns decline fast.

When do newborn Shiba puppies open their eyes?

Puppies are born with eyes and ears closed and typically begin to open their eyes at around one to two weeks, with hearing following soon after. Do not try to open them yourself, and keep the nest dimly lit as the eyes develop. If eyes look swollen, crusted, or discharge appears, contact your vet rather than treating it at home.

What to read next

The mother's care and the puppies' care go hand in hand, so read caring for a dog after giving birth alongside this, plus the pregnant Shiba Inu post for the weeks before. To understand how Shibas move into new homes responsibly, see our pillar on rehoming a Shiba Inu in California, and if a surprise litter is more than you can carry, our Surrender Concierge is built for that.