2-Week-Old Puppy: Poop Color Chart, Weight, and What to Expect

Disclaimer: The following guide is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for professional veterinary advice. Always consult a veterinarian for any health concerns regarding newborn puppies.

Caring for a litter of puppies—or a single orphaned pup—at the two-week mark is equal parts magical and exhausting. If you are sleep-deprived, constantly hovering over the whelping box, and obsessively checking on every little squeak, take a deep breath. You are doing a great job.

When searching for a 2 week old puppy what to expect, you are looking for practical, no-nonsense milestones to ensure these tiny fragile lives are on the right track. At 14 days old, puppies are entering a massive transitional phase. They are transitioning from completely helpless, squirming newborns into actual little dogs who are starting to see, hear, and interact with the world. This guide will walk you through exactly what to watch for this week, from eye-opening timelines to the very specific poop colors that tell you how their digestion is handling things.

The 2-Week Mark at a Glance: Executive Strategy

At two weeks old, a puppy’s primary job is still eating, sleeping, and growing, but major neurological and physical shifts are happening. What to expect at 2 weeks old puppy development includes their eyes opening (revealing a hazy blue color), their ear canals unsealing so they can hear loud noises, and their weight continuing to climb daily.

They still cannot regulate their own body temperature effectively, nor can they pee or poop without stimulation from their mother (or you, if you are hand-rearing). Your daily strategy right now revolves around monitoring weight gain on a kitchen scale, checking their stool color to ensure proper digestion, and keeping the whelping box strictly temperature-controlled. Do not attempt to feed them solid food or water yet; they still rely entirely on their mother’s milk or a high-quality canine milk replacer.

Physical Development: Eyes Wide Open

Around days 10 to 14, you will notice a huge milestone: their eyes begin to open. They don’t just pop open all at once; it usually starts as a tiny squint in the corner of the eye and slowly unseals over a couple of days.

Don’t panic if one eye opens a day before the other—this is completely normal. All puppies are born with hazy, grayish-blue eyes. Their true adult eye color won’t settle in until they are around eight to ten weeks old. At this stage, their vision is incredibly poor. They can mostly just distinguish light from dark and see large, blurry shapes. Protect their delicate new eyes by keeping the whelping box in a dimly lit room, away from harsh overhead lights or direct, bright sunlight coming through the windows.

Ear Canal Development and First Sounds

Just like their eyes, a puppy’s ears are sealed shut at birth. Right around the two-week mark, those ear canals begin to open up. You might notice them twitching their ears or suddenly startling when the neighbor’s lawnmower starts up or a door shuts heavily in the house.

While they are starting to hear, their auditory processing is still very raw. This is a great time to introduce gentle, ambient household noises to build their resilience. Think soft radio music, the low hum of a dishwasher in the next room, or normal conversational voices. Avoid loud, sudden, terrifying noises whenever possible. This early introduction to sound helps prevent sound sensitivities and noise phobias later in life.

2 Week Old Puppy Weight Milestones

Tracking a 2 week old puppy weight is the single most accurate way to measure their health. A healthy puppy should be gaining roughly 10% of their body weight every single day. By the end of week two, most puppies have doubled or even tripled their birth weight.

Weight gain is your early warning system. A puppy that stops gaining weight or begins to lose it needs immediate intervention. Larger breeds like Golden Retrievers or German Shepherds will put on bulk rapidly, while toy breeds like Chihuahuas will have much smaller, incremental gains. Regardless of the breed, the upward trend on the scale must be consistent.

How to Weigh Your Puppy Accurately

You cannot rely on guessing their weight by holding them. You need precise numbers. The best tool for this is a flat, digital kitchen scale that measures in grams and ounces.

Weigh each puppy at the exact same time every day. Morning is usually best, right after a feeding. Place a small, lightweight bowl or a folded hand towel on the scale, zero it out (tare), and gently place the puppy inside. Keep a dedicated notebook or a spreadsheet right next to the whelping box. Write down the time, date, and weight in grams. Grams provide a much finer, more precise measurement of daily gain than ounces do, making it easier to spot a puppy that might be lagging behind its littermates.

The 2 Week Old Puppy Poop Color Chart

If you are raising an orphaned litter, you will become very familiar with poop. Monitoring a 2 week old puppy poop color is crucial for catching digestive issues early. Here is your quick-reference chart:

• Mustard Yellow to Light Brown: Normal and healthy. It should have a soft, toothpaste-like consistency.
• Green: Often indicates the puppy is eating too fast, the formula is too concentrated, or there is a mild bacterial imbalance.
• White or Pale Gray: A sign of malabsorption or that the formula has gone bad. The pup is not digesting the fats properly.
• Bright Yellow and Watery: Diarrhea. This leads to rapid dehydration and requires veterinary advice.
• Red or Black/Tarry: A medical emergency. This indicates bleeding in the GI tract. Call your vet immediately.

Stimulating Bathroom Habits

At two weeks old, puppies still lack the muscle control to pee or poop on their own. In a normal litter, the mother dog constantly licks their bellies and rears to stimulate elimination. If the mother is absent, not producing milk, or ignoring a pup, this job falls to you.

You must stimulate the puppy after every single feeding. Take a cotton ball or a soft tissue, dip it in warm water (never cold), and gently rub the puppy’s genital and anal area in a circular motion. Usually, they will pee within a few seconds, followed by a bowel movement. Keep rubbing gently until they are completely finished. Dry them off thoroughly afterward so they don’t get a chill.

Feeding Schedule and Frequency

A two-week-old puppy’s stomach is tiny, meaning they need to eat frequently. If they are nursing from their mother, they will naturally latch on every 2 to 4 hours round the clock.

If you are bottle-feeding or tube-feeding an orphaned pup, you must maintain this grueling schedule. Expect to feed them every 3 to 4 hours, including through the night. The general rule for canine milk replacer is to feed 1 cc (or 1 ml) for every ounce of body weight, divided evenly across the day’s feedings. Always weigh the puppy before calculating the day’s total food requirement to ensure they are getting exactly enough calories to support their rapid growth.

Choosing the Right Milk Replacer

Never feed a puppy cow’s milk from your fridge. It lacks the necessary fat and protein and will cause severe diarrhea. If you are supplementing a large litter or feeding orphans, you need a high-quality commercial canine milk replacer.

Brands like Esbilac or Breeder’s Edge are standard in the USA. Powdered formulas are generally preferred over pre-mixed liquid cans because they are more economical and last longer without spoiling. Always mix the formula with warm water right before feeding, ensuring there are no clumps. Test the temperature on your wrist just like you would for a human baby—it should feel pleasantly warm, never hot.

Temperature Regulation at 14 Days

Puppies cannot shiver to generate body heat until they are about two and a half weeks old. They rely entirely on their mother, their littermates, and the ambient environment to stay warm. A chilled puppy cannot digest food; if you feed a cold puppy, the formula will sit in their stomach, ferment, and can be fatal.

The whelping box should have a warm side and a cooler side. The warm side should be maintained around 80°F to 85°F (26°C – 29°C) during week two. If a puppy feels cold to the touch or is crying continuously, warm them slowly against your own skin or with a wrapped heating pad before you even think about offering food.

Optimizing the Whelping Box Setup

A safe whelping box is a lifesaver. By week two, puppies are getting slightly more mobile, though they aren’t walking yet. You need a setup that prevents drafts and keeps them secure.

In the USA, many breeders use heavy-duty plastic kiddie pools or custom wooden boxes with “pig rails” along the edges so the mother cannot accidentally roll on a pup. Line the bottom with high-quality, washable whelping pads (often called vet bed) that pull moisture away from the surface, keeping the puppies dry even if they pee. Avoid using loose towels or blankets, as puppies can easily get buried and suffocate under heavy fabrics.

Sleep Patterns: The Twitching Phase

If you watch a two-week-old puppy sleep, you will notice they twitch, jerk, and paddle their legs constantly. This often alarms new owners who worry the puppy is having a seizure.

This twitching is called “activated sleep” and it is entirely normal and necessary. This specific type of sleep helps build their developing nervous system and strengthens their muscles for walking. A healthy puppy at this age sleeps up to 90% of the day. As long as they are warm, plump, and quiet when resting, all that jerking and twitching is just a sign of healthy brain development.

Motor Skills: The Army Crawl

They aren’t walking yet, but they are getting faster. At 14 days, puppies use their front legs to pull themselves around in a clumsy “army crawl,” dragging their weaker hind legs behind them.

This crawling is vital for building shoulder and chest strength. You might see them attempting to push up onto their wobbly front legs for a second before collapsing back down. Ensure the flooring of the whelping box has good traction. Slick surfaces like newspaper or bare plastic make it impossible for them to get a grip, which can lead to a condition called “swimmer puppy syndrome” where their chest flattens out.

Gentle Handling and Socialization

While you shouldn’t be inviting the whole neighborhood over to pass the puppies around, gentle, intentional handling by you is incredibly beneficial.

Many breeders utilize Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) exercises starting in the first week and continuing through week two. This involves gently holding the pup in different positions (head up, head down, on their back) for just three to five seconds each, and lightly tickling their toes. Even if you aren’t following a strict ENS program, simply picking up each puppy daily, gently stroking their ears, and touching their paws helps them learn that human touch is safe and positive.

Deworming Protocol Starts Now

The two-week mark is traditionally when the very first round of deworming happens. Almost all puppies are born with roundworms, which are passed from the mother through the placenta or through her milk.

Roundworms can cause a puppy to have a hard, bloated belly (a “potbelly”), diarrhea, and a failure to thrive. Your veterinarian will typically prescribe a gentle liquid dewormer, such as pyrantel pamoate, to be given at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age. Do not buy over-the-counter grocery store dewormers for neonates; always get the correct dosage and medication directly from your vet based on the puppies’ exact weights.

Warning Signs: When to Call the Vet

Things can turn south incredibly fast with a neonate. You need to know the signs of “Fading Puppy Syndrome,” a catch-all term for a puppy that is failing to thrive.

Call your vet immediately if a two-week-old puppy feels cold to the touch, refuses to nurse for multiple cycles, breathes with an open mouth, or cries constantly (a healthy puppy is generally quiet unless hungry). Another major red flag is a puppy that separates itself from the pile of littermates and sleeps alone in the corner of the box. Early veterinary intervention with subcutaneous fluids or antibiotics is often the only way to save a fading pup.

Caring for the Mother Dog (The Dam)

If the mother is present, she is working harder right now than at any other time in her life. Producing milk for a growing litter takes an astronomical amount of calories.

She should be eating a high-quality puppy kibble, and she needs as much of it as she wants—free-feeding is often best right now. Monitor her carefully for signs of mastitis, which is an infection of the mammary glands. If you notice any of her teats are hard, hot to the touch, red, or if she snaps at the puppies when they try to nurse, she needs to see a vet immediately for antibiotics.

FAQ: Common Questions About 2-Week-Old Puppies

Can 2-week-old puppies drink water?

No. Two-week-old puppies get all their hydration from their mother’s milk or their canine milk replacer formula. Offering free-standing water is a drowning hazard and their digestive systems aren’t ready for it.

When do 2-week-old puppies start walking?

At two weeks, they are mostly army-crawling. You will see them start to push up onto their legs and take their first truly wobbly, drunken steps right around 3 to 4 weeks of age.

Can I give a 2-week-old puppy a bath?

Avoid full baths. Neonates cannot regulate their body temperature, and a wet puppy can easily become hypothermic. If they get messy with feces or formula, use a warm, damp washcloth to spot-clean them, and immediately dry them with a towel.

Conclusion

Surviving the two-week mark is a massive achievement. You are watching them transform from tiny, helpless beans into miniature dogs with open eyes and twitching ears. Keep tracking those weights daily, keep an eye on their poop colors to ensure their tummies are happy, and maintain a warm, safe whelping box. Before you know it, week three will hit, and you will be dealing with the joyous chaos of first steps and escaping the whelping box!

Veterinary Disclaimer: The information provided on PuppySettled.com is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional veterinary medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Neonatal puppies—especially those under a few weeks of age—are exceptionally fragile, have immature immune and digestive systems, and can decline very rapidly.

Always consult a qualified, licensed veterinarian or canine reproductive specialist immediately if you notice unusual stool colors, sudden weight loss or failure to gain weight, lethargy, or any other signs of distress in newborn puppies.