Hi -

I was wondering if it would be a good idea for us to use a DAP diffuser from the start of season, through mating, pregnancy and whelping and rearing pups?

I just thought this whole process is really stressful for the bitch and involves a lot of 'firsts' for a first-time mum and that it might be a good idea to reduce stress?  And might similarly help newborn pups?  I was wondering if anyone has tried a DAP diffuser and how it went?

(I worried incase the pheromones involved might interfere with mum's pheromones or hormones during pregnancy or something...).

Thanks.

Would seem pointless as she will be producing her own hormones/pheromones.

Also a bitch should be able to cope with the natural rigours/stress of rearing a litter, if she can't then really she is not a breeding candidate temperamentally/emotionally.

DAP I think is really designed to help alleviate man made stresses that the dog isn't designed to cope with.

I think it might be a bit arbitrary to divide stress into man-made and not man-made.  We've been living alongside dogs for so many decades now that what is 'natural' has almost become man-made, in many ways.  I doubt that a dog, on the receiving end of the stress, is aware of whether or not it is man-made and, either way, I'm sure the dog would appreciate it being alleviated!

Of course a bitch should be able to cope with rearing pups without DAP, but it has been proven time and again with human mothers that reducing stress during labour results in less intervention and smaller risk of c-sections and drugs.  If using a DAP is unnatural, yet reduces stress and the need for a c-section, I'm all for it, whether or not that is a man-made stress or not. 

These days, what is natural and what is man-made is a bit of blur:  Otherwise, a bitch should be able to cope with rearing pups in the garden under a bush and scavenging for food to feed them on, however no one is advocating that...  We all help bitches in so many 'aritifical' 'man-made' ways already, to rear the best litters they can, that making an arbitrary division seems not helpful.

I've never heard of anyone using DAP for pregnant/whelping/nursing dams, as has been said the coping mechanism should be already be inbuilt.

C/sections are rarely due to stress and more often mechanical/hormonal problems which are not going to be relieved by DAP.

Have you got a female you are hoping to breed from that doesn't cope well with the normal stresses of life that makes you think this treatment would help? What happens when the dog is away from home and the DAP is not available for instance has to stay at the vets etc.

Would be interested in hearing if anyone has used this technique in these circumstances and the outcome

No, my bitch is v well adjusted and happy - but it will be her first mating, pregnancy, whelping and labour.  Just as, when she had her first ferry trip, first GA, hip-scoring etc etc, I took all precautions I could to ensure she was as little stressed as possible, so I'd assume it would be beneficial to mum and pups to ensure everything is as stress-free as possible during all stages of breeding.  I use DAP preventatively, to prevent stress arising (when bringing pup home, when kennelling dogs etc) - I don't wait to see stress and then use DAP.

The only thing I'm not sure about is the effect of the DAP pheromones on her - but I have emailed DAP to ask, and will let you know what they say.  If it hasn't been tested then I probably won't risk it.

Hi Rabid.  I agree with you regarding giving natural help whenever possible.  I too try to anticipate possible stress and help in any way i can.  I have used DAP diffusers whilst a bitch was pregnant, during birth and rearing.  Not just for my girl but for the other dogs in the house, changes can affect all of them.  I also recommend DAP diffusers for all my puppy owners too and include them as part of my puppy pack. 

All seemed very relaxed, Mum took to motherhood like a duck to water and all the others coped brilliantly.  Would that have happened without DAP?  Who knows? Probably just coincidence, do I regret having spent the money on DAP in case it was just coincidence?  Nope!  Good luck with your girl and your litter.

Thanks Zajak!

Just in case anyone is interested, I had a reply from DAP which says:

"Many thanks for your email.

DAP is perfectly safe to use during canine pregnancy.  DAP is a copy of the naturally produced pheromone that all dogs produced, they cannot overdose or become immune to it.

I hope that helps."

Just as, when she had her first ferry trip, first GA, hip-scoring etc etc, I took all precautions I could to ensure she was as little stressed as possible, so I'd assume it would be beneficial to mum and pups to ensure everything is as stress-free as possible during all stages of breeding.

Not sure I agree with any of that. Dogs and puppies need to be able to learn to cope with stress, and when better to start than at birth? Otherwise what do you do if you have a dog that's never been stressed and suddenly something happens that's out of your control? Far better to toughen them up. With my last litter I was screaming and shouting, waving arms about, throwing metal dishes on the floor, etc, from a very early age, and these pups don't get bothered by anything. You could have a bomb go off and the noise wouldn't scare them. The litter before that I didn't do as much and the bitch I kept there freaks out if I as much as raise my voice (because it is out of the ordinary) or wave my arms about -I was TOO calm around them.

I totally agree Marianne, but would rather do all the things you state with a DAP diffuser running, so the pup does not associate stress with them.  Otherwise you are gambling on the pups not being stressed when first exposed to these things.  And some (genetically more predisposed) pups might be.  A certain amount of stress is 'good' for a developing organism (this is what the Battaglia exercises are for), but overwhelming and unmanageable stress is not good and is detrimental.  The point is to keep the stress levels just under what is manageable.  And what is manageable and what is overwhelming varies individually and by breed.  I think that exposure to stress is part and parcel of any animal growing up, and certainly don't think that a DAP diffuser is going to prevent any stress - but it will mean that any stress felt is hopefully manageable.

But pups when encountering the stress (as desribed by Marianne) will have the natural form of DAP to allow them to cope with the stress :0)

Yeah I know, it wasn't so much for the pups really as for mum during pregnancy.  There have been studies to show that bitches which have been exposed to stress during pregnancy have pups with an increased susceptibility to anxiety and stress and so higher incidence of aggression when those pups grew up.  I also thought that, if I give new owners a DAP collar/diffuser, then our houses are going to smell similar to the pup (I'm sure the synthetic version of the pheromone smells different to the one the bitch produces, whatever effect it has), so it might help the pup to settle into the new home more easily too.