Hi all,

My bitch whelped 6 pups this morning (Sam Wilkinson - she of renowned accuracy - scanned her 3 times and said 6 pups each time), no issues at all and mother and pups are doing well.  I'm a first time breeder myself (although grew up with parents breeding, but not quite the same thing!), and was planning on taking her and the pups to the vet for a check up, as recommended in The Book of the Bitch and other places.

But is this really necessary if there are no issues?  If all are still healthy and ok, it seems a bit daft to me to have to put them in the car and take them to a vet practice where there will be other animals/risk of infections etc, particularly when they are so tiny.  I can't imagine my bitch being terribly happy about it either.

What do you all do?

I always have a house call to check alls well. Worth the money in my opinion and less stress for Mum and babies.

I get the vet to come to the house to check everything's well. Much safer for all.

If all is going well, I don't take the dog to the vet OR get a house call out. I don't think bitches appreciate a stranger interfering so soon after birth (in fact, not even me taking the pups to weigh them is permitted and I have to do that right next to her), so I wouldn't stress mum out if it's a normal whelping and all is good. 

I also believe the majority of vets are excessively interventionist and really don't know when the best thing to do, is nothing.  So I firmly believe in only using a vet when I really need one.

Ditto onetwothreefour.

me too, never interfere if things seem to be going well.

Thanks all.  My instinct was telling me not to have them checked at all, so glad others don't.  Mum is doing great (I'm watching her like a hawk for things like pre-eclampsia etc), I'm sleeping beside them, and pups are all doing very well and back to birth weight or above, so I'm happy with their progress.

We're telling people they can't come and see them for a few weeks due to risk of infection and the unknown of how our bitch will react with strangers, so would rather not have anybody else here, even if it is a vet, unless needed.  I'll just keep a very close eye on them all, luckily the vets is only 5 mins away should the need arise.

Thanks again.

I'd have to go with not bothering BUT I'm not a novice and would (hopefully!!) know when to involve a vet, and when it's not necessary.   For a novice breeder, it can be helpful to know that mum is empty, and that the puppies are all healthy - it could be possible to miss something a vet will pick up on.

On balance if everything seems to be proceeding normally (quiet puppies, other than when nursing = a happy healthy situation), I don't think you need to bother.

As Basset puppies change drastically from day one through to week 5+ I don't let any potential buyers come to see before that age.  Their ears don't come down until around that time +, and that could be disappointing to the new Basset owner!!   And even then, I tend not to allow touching - all too often people go from kennel to kennel, bringing any infection doing the rounds in.  I have them take off their shoes too.   And if there is a need to touch them, they have to wash their hands!   That may be ott (bearing in mind that provided the puppies have taken mum's colostrum, they should be protected up to around 5 weeks when it starts to drop away) but for me, it's just not worth risking infection getting in.

For the sake of socialisation, I have people visit the pups as soon as they are in the weaning pen (so age 4 weeks on).  I have people wash hands and use hand sanitiser before coming in, and either remove shoes at the door or use shoe protectors over their shoes. 

I also take puppies off the property - we go to cafes, pubs, walks around local woods - all in the arms of people and not on the ground.

> For a novice breeder, it can be helpful to know that mum is empty, and that the puppies are all healthy - it could be possible to miss something a vet will pick up on.

And you can be unlucky and get a vet who doesn't pick up on something vital.  I consider myself experienced enough to know when a vet is needed.

I had a bitch whelp one pup and stop.  Nothing, nada.  I took her in out of hours and requested Oxytocin.  She whelped another pup 40 minutes later.  The vet insisted on waiting another hour before a second shot.  It took another 40 minutes before another pup arrived.  Then nothing.  I examined her and felt another pup, and the bitch was worn out.  I asked for a section.  The vet examined her and said there were no more pups, it was her spleen.  I actually know a spleen from a pup, and asked for an x-ray (to determine size.)  He got shirty, refused an x-ray and insisted on a scan.  I didn't care either way.  When I saw the heart beat I said "Now can we go in while it's still alive?"

So vets can't always be relied upon to know a single thing about breeding and whelping.