HI my dog is getting ready to have puppies, this will be her second litter, but i don't remember how she acted the last. She is a very hyper dog and does not like to sit still, so she has to be kenneled most of the time. Right now she does not want to be in her kennel and whines almost constantly. I have taken her temp. But when she had her last litter our vet said we could use our thermo scan to take her temp and according to the thermo scan yesterday it was at 103. today it was at 100. I don't now how the thermo scan varies from other thermometers so I don't now if this is accurate. But the whining is driving me crazy.  She is on her 57th day so she is really close I think. If anyone can help I'd appreciate it. Thanks

Maybe she is whining because she is scared and needs some human company and reasurance. Why is she kenneled most of the time. I know you said she is hyper but perhaps she needs something to occupy her. How much exercise does she get and what breed is she.

She is a labrador retreiver, we let out to run quite often and play ball with her. So she's getting excercise. Plus we have bought soft raw hides for her to chew on. She isn't eating any food and drinking very little water, she does chew the raw hide. The reason she is kennel is because she destroys things when she is lose, it doesn't matter what it is she'll eat it. (she's also a very good escape artist, she eats through her kennel fencing). We have had labs before and she is the most active and hyper. We hoped the last litter would calm her down but she ate a bedroom that we were doing. She has had obediance training but that only works outside the house. But the good thing is is that the whinning has gone down and her temp is now at 97. so hopefully anytime now.

It really does sound as though she is anxious for your company and reassurance at this time.

hi Cougar68

my girl is also getting ready
she is now on day 61. and is in her box most of the time sleeping but if i leave the room to go any where she cries until i came back.  this will be her first litter but my other dogs have also done this when getting ready to have puppies.  where is you girl going to have her puppies to??
i hope you are going to be there for her, and i think that she should be in the place that she is going to have the puppies to, if that is her kennel then you should be down there with her

My girl is now starting to dig her bed and rip things up so it want be long for her

hi Linda

how's your girl doing?

<<She is a very hyper dog and does not like to sit still, so she has to be kenneled most of the time.>>

Ok, maybe it's a bit late to ask the question now but why did you breed from this bitch?

John

We breed from her because she has very good blood lines. She actually had the puppies on the 7th and has really calmed down enough so that she is able to wonder the house and not destroy it.

She is doing great. She had the puppies on the 7th and she had 7 of them. We took the pups to the vet the next day and they were very surprised at how healthy they were for not even being  24 hours old yet. they are a week old now and very fat. Gladys has also calmed down alot the worst thing she's done is gotten into the garbage with the last litter she destroyed a room. So maybe this litter has finally calmed her.

it can sometimes be a fallacy that having litters will calm a bitch. i agree that when they are in the later stages of pregnancy 6 weeks to term they can be calmer and less "bouncy" than normal but she may return to her usual antics once her pups are weaned and away to their new homes. we kennel all our dogs in pairs so they have doggy company all the time and when they are ready to whelp they are moved to individual kennels where they are given our undivided attention, after the puppies they go back to thier other kennel with their doggy pal you dont sayif you have any other dogs it sounds like your bitch is in need of some company have you thought of bringing her indoors and confining her to a large sized dog cage or indoor whelping kennel? that way she could get your companionship whilstyou can supervise her and not have to worry about her chewing stuff?

I'm sorry to say that was not a good reason for breeding. Did it not occure to you that her hyper trait would in all possibility be carried over to the puppies? I wonder how many you will get back because the puppy buyers cannot cope. I thought we had all learned years ago that the old wives tale about letting a bitch have a litter to calm her down was just that, an old wives tale!

I only wish people would stop and think before breeding. It seems so often that the only pre-requsite for breeding a litter is four legs!

John

if the puppies are well socialised and homed with people who havelots of experience of dogs there is no reason why they shouldnt do well though. is your lab bitch from working lines cougar? some of the working labs can be leaner and more energetic types, requiring a bit more than just a toddle round the block twice a day...perhaps once she has had her pups it may be a good idea to think about giving her something to challenge her and turn her "hyper-ness" into something constructive, perhaps obedience/agility or something like that? could be fun for both of you if its soemthing youve not considered before? :-)

Hear hear!! Good bloodlines mean absolutely nothing when you have a destructive dog that is spending most of its life kennelled and unhappy.

Well just to let you know this dog was breed to be very hyper. My husband and father in law bought her for that reason, because alot of hunters like having a hunting dog that is hyper and high strung. This is her second litter and we know people who have pups from her first litter and they have had no complaints.

That would be the very last requirment for a dog in the field in the UK but then, we train in a totally different, and to me far more acceptable manner to handlers in the US. FF's and the like are not found to ne necessary over here. Possibly because our dogs are more controlable in the first place.

John, you remember Susan Scales, don't you? I'm sure I remember reading one of her articles about working gundogs in the US having to be trained with 'electronic' collars. Visiting Americans were, to a man, astounded that UK working gundogs are trained and worked without any collars at all.

A working Springer was exported last year, never seen an E-collar in its life and within weeks won their championship.

There are some good handlers in the states who do not use E-collars and train FF but after buying a book which is widely recommended on American working sites I'll stick to my methods.

Best wishes, John

Please make sure that you tell the prospective puppy buyers that the pups may well not have the typical golden temperament that they may be looking for!!  Temperament, of all things, both good and bad tends to be hereditary. :(