Hi, Im new to breeding and new to this forum.
I have a 2 year old toy breed bitch although not of show standards, she is very healthy and passed all ness tests and vet checked reg as well as wormed fleaed and fully vacc which. I bred my bitch 4 weeks ago, with my "mentors" stud dog. I only bred her once because it was her first ime and she was a little unsure of what was going on and I wouldnt stress her out anymore (although my mentor wasnt happy that I didnt take her back the twice afterwards although she was paid her stud fee in full)!

I am 90% sure she is pregnant and she will be going to the vet friday for a routine pregnancy check and ultrasound. Anyway my mentor decided tonight she have not got th time to mentor me any longer, I dont know why as I have followed everything she said except breeding her 3 times instead of 1! She just said she dont have time anymore. Anyway Im not sure about a few things, 1 is she cannot manage a walk, Inormally walk my dogs (3 of the for are neutered) for about 1 hour in te morning and half hour in the evening, but she cannot managed more than 10minutes and I have to bring her home because hse is too tired to walk anymore, Is this fine for her or should she be more active?she also has what looks like her mucus plug? should this be visable at this time?And can anyone else help me out wth advice, and anything I need?
I dont have millions of pounds but have 300 for check ups until the pups are gone, and 700 for vaccines and chipping, and also2000 for emergency costs as my vet said this should cover it. I have wormer here for both bitch and pups, I have a whelping kit (bought from the internet ready made,)loads of towels and bedding and a heat pad. oh and a whelping box.

Mother and pups will be raised in my home and wont ever be left alone at all. Im just scared now as I would NEVER have bred her if I would not have had any support form an experinced person and dot want to make any mistakes that could harm pups or more importantly  my bitch!
Anyone who can offer their advice all will be heeded! THANKYOU

Hi Samie,
And welcome to Champdogs.
First, is it possible your "mentor" was more interested in her stud dog being used, than actually
giving time and support to someone new to breeding?
Secondly, at CD you've come to exactly the right place if you're in need of sensible advice
and friendly support. As long as you're prepared to listen to what's said, not only looking for the answers you
want, you'll find this is the well of all knowledge ;-)

In answer to your question about walks. Since you're not mentioning the breed, size will have to be taken into consideration as well.
But if your girl at this stage is starting to show signs of tiredness, it's not because her body is too heavy yet, but her mind telling her to rest and take it easy. Some bitches would gladly spend their nine weeks in whelp lying on the sofa ;-) Which definitely isn't good for them! They must be fit enough to deliver their litter, no muscles means weak labour. It's not until the last two-three weeks that the body becomes heavy and the litter makes it difficult to move about as before. This too is very different from one bitch to another, also the breed will make a difference.
If the check up shows all is well, and the ultrasound shows she's in whelp, you'll have to try to encourage her to go for walks, and maybe take her out more often for shorter walks.
The mucus you're noticing is nothing to worry about, as long as it's not miscoloured or smelly. A white discharge around three weeks is usually a good sign. And a stringy, none coloured discharge at the end of the pregnancy,is the mucus plug that protects the litter from infection.
As for your funds and equipment, you're definitely very well prepared. And most important of all, you're having the time to be with the bitch and her litter at all times. This is the most important thing of all, no whelping kit in the world can compensate for your presence in the whelping box.
I'm sure everything will be fine. When you're back from the vet on friday, let us know if she's in whelp, and I'm sure you'll get all the support you need here.
Good luck, Karen

Samie,

Dont worry too much about the mentor thing, it's comforting and helpful but not essential.
Over the years I have been on the other side of this arrangement as other peoples mentor and eventually Ive had to give them a nudge to 'get on with it themself .... and they have.
People who thought they couldnt cope -did, and once they went through the whole process themself, they had the confidence to 'go solo' ever since.

You seem pretty well organised already and many folk here will give pretty much instant help when you get stuck.

Between the members of this forum there must be hundreds of years of breeding experience and all at your disposal.

Good luck

Hi and welcome!

We're only on our second litter, and don't strictly have a "mentor" although I had loads of advice last time, this time we're pretty much going it alone. I have an old friend who I've recently got back in touch with, who is going to help me whelp this time.

I would say, go and get "The Book of the Bitch" if you don't already have it, and if she's confirmed, perhaps see if there is someone nearby who has done this before who might come and hold your hand when the time comes... I appreciate how scary it is - I had to whelp 10 puppies last year on my own...

But this forum is absolutley great for getting quick answers and general support if you need it.

Good luck, and try not to worry too much, I'm sure all will be well... and did I mention "The Book of the Bitch"?

Tanya

not of show standard? what does that mean??

She could be used for other things, like a working gundog/terrier, does obedience or agility....

I have a bitch that is not show standard, but her son went BIS at the breed clubs champ show a couple of years ago. Sometimes you have to see the potential, and find a suitable stud dog.

Please keep the thread on topic.

Hi Samie,

I have also just bred my first litter (large breed gundogs) - I didn't have a mentor as such but the owner of the sire and the owner of my bitches sire have both been very helpful to me. I might have been lucky this time but everything went really well (pups are now 8 weeks), no poorly puppies or horror stories that you worry about..... The only small blip I had was that the bitch got a little bit of mastitis at about 4 weeks - quick trip to the vets sorted that out.
As long as you are sensible about things then you should be fine and there are always people on here offering great advice.
You sound like you are sorted financially - be aware that from about 3 weeks the puppies will start being weaned so you have to take their food into account. Mine have eaten A LOT but if you have a small breed you may not have that issue! Hopefully you have a few potential new owners lined up but also be warned that they my not all sell straight away

Good luck! 

Another excellent book (which in some ways I found more helpful than The Book of the Bitch) is called The Whelping and Rearing of Puppies.  You can find it here on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whelping-Rearing-Puppies-Complete-Practical/dp/0793804973/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281553924&sr=8-1

And one of the really nice things about it is it's spiral bound and the pages are kind of plasticised so it can stay open to where you need it and doesn't matter if it gets a bit of gunge on it.

Best of luck

Thankyou fr the advice! I will be with her from start to finish of her labour! I will definatly let you know if she is!

She is about 2 cm above the maximum high for her breed

I will have ot get the book of the bitch does anyone know where I can get it from?

Book of the bitch can be found on amazon. Just put in book of the bitch and it will come up.
Good luck
Lea

loads of copies on e bay :)

Also Pets At Home sell it, where I got mine from..

Good luck with it all and keep us all posted in how you get on :-D

Ah yes, I have the Whelping and Rearing of Puppies too. It's sitting next to me right now actually, I was having another read through last night. Can highly recommend it!! Very practical and straightforward advice.

Good luck with the litter, I hope all goes well.

I have TBOTB but not heard of that other one, will have to get it next time!

I have found it invaluable especially when read in conjunction with TBOTB.

Have just had a look on Ebay and very reasonable prices for it on there...

Worth every penny!

> I have found it invaluable especially when read in conjunction with TBOTB.

I agree. Could never replace BOTB, but as an addition (especially for novice breeders) as it has instructions about what to do in a particular whelping situation, rather than BOTB which tends to explain a situation rather than tell you how to deal with it.

What's the dfifference between the two books besides 'the'.  thanks

Think they are comparing 'The Whelping and Rearing of puppies' with 'The Book of the Bitch' (BOTB) Sunshine.

Sorry my post wasn't clear. The whelping and rearing of puppies is more instruction based, where as BOTB is more information based.

Thankyou for your advice. My girls pregnancy was confirmed yesterday, We are unsureof how many as she is carrying pretty high under the rib cage but my vet thinks about 6 puppies.

Also thankyou for your advice on buying the books, I was going to buy the book of the bitch from pets at home but l;ooked on amazon and have ordered the book of the bitch and the whelping and rearing of puppies for price of the 1 so i will have both to reference to throught out the pregnancy till the puppies have left.

The advantage to the book of the bitch is it is English, the other is American so there are references in how things are done over there.

For example no-one here would dream of x-raying a bitch to confirm pregnancy and numbers, we have of recent years used ultrasound, which seems to be used less often.

Also AI is used a fair bit, some of ti routinely because of Canine Brucellosis being a risk, in fact good breeders will test their dogs and bitches before mating, but ti is not something we have in this country.

Then worming is treated differently, most breeders I know in the USA do not routinely worm but take a sample of puppy faeces for testing to see if they need it.  I suppose it must mean that this is relatively cheap.

The vaccination protocols and things vaccinated for are different, and vaccines spread out over a longer period.

So I would like to see a book like that but UK based.

Oh..., I didnt realise different coutries had different procedures for something as natural as giving birth. (I just read that over and it sounds sarcastic but I assure you I am not being!) I mean I know different countries have different diseases therefore different vaccines, but I hadnt realised they do X-rays to confirm how many pups to expect :o , In my understanding X-rays shouldnt be dont "unless the bitch may have a retained placenta or pup that cant be felt" what my vet told me yesterday! :s

Is it safe to say then to use the book of the bitch as a guide and use th other for extra reference if needed  Obviously its no substitute for a vet but if I need a bit of reasurance that everything is in actual fact fine??

It can vary greatly.

For example I know that breeders stateside will get Oxytocin injections from their vets and give them to their bitches if needed, this would not be done here, as it is not legal. 

Same with vaccines, breeders can vaccinate themselves, buying the vaccines.

Yes many breeders routinely have their bitches x-rayed.

Dont worry about the "mentor."  You have come to the right place for support.  Have a good read of the books, TBOTB is excellent and will help you.  Treat her like a pregnant mum in the last trimester, rest, exercise but not too much, and plenty of LOVE! Enjoy your time and remember we are here to help.  I am no expert having welphed about 6-8 litters, but there are loads of experience breeders on here to help.

Thanks for clearing about the two books.  Wasn't sure if they were one or two, lol.

Good luck with your litter, you'll be fine on here.  Maybe just give your mentor a call and say you're in whelp.  it might soften her up, if you feel you would like to.

As a breeder who has sold pups that have gone on to be bred from I cannot understand the idea of a mentor not being there for the person they sold stock to.

If I am prepared to lift endorsements on a dog/bitch of my breeding I would want to be included, consulted, be there to advise on future breeding plans, help with puppy enquiries, advise re rearing etc.

i agree Brainless, i am lucky i guess.  I have lots of help from my breeder and her breeder (how lucky is that).  It nice to learn and understand your line, I can go to them with anything even if its a silly one.

> Is it safe to say then to use the book of the bitch as a guide and use th other for extra reference if needed  Obviously its no substitute for a vet but if I need a bit of reasurance that everything is in actual fact fine??

A friend and I both mostly used Whelping and Rearing (after having read BOTB for the information in it) as our 'manual' when actually whelping.  Obviously keep in mind there are some differences, but most of the ones described above are pre-mating.  When it comes to actual whelping and the things you may encounter it's the same worldwide.