Ok folks I would like a bit of advice, I have my first litter due in 2 weeks - getting a bit scared - but have done my homework and have a very long list of people wanting pups (not all vetted to my satisfaction as yet). Scan man says 11-12 puppies currently have 13 homes and might even keep two myself!!!!

I would love to mark the pups in some way so I know who was born 1st 2nd etc, I have heard people say they use nail polish I want to make sure I do not damage the pups or do anything that could harm mummy so what do you suggest, I was thinking of a permanent marker- advice gratefully recieved!!!

A lady I knew used felt tip pen Good luck with the puppies

Jean

Food colouring on the tail - depending on the colour of the pups, of course!

im using 2 colours of nail polish on 10 pups! i mark a male and female the same, all in different parts, so they are 'blue boy tail' -'blue girl neck' etc

its worked so far!!!
good luck!
chel & the harrjak pack

Nail varnish in different places.
left hind, right hind, both hinds,left ear, right ear, both ears,base of tail, & on & on & on. Never had a problem with it.

We used a dab of Tippex on our three black boys - right ear, left ear, top of tail.
Cathy.

None of that worked for us.  Mom kept cleaning off anything we used (markers, polish, etc.)  So we bought those ID collars.  Very similar to a hospital ID bracelet.  They worked perfectly, and were very affordable.  :)

where did you get them from.

tipex & snowpak is toxic.

Zoo Keeper what was the brand of nail polish :-))) ;-) ROFLOL..

Nail polish works for me.. :-)

Tried nail varnish but it didn't seem to stick to lab fur. The three black labs that had little dabs of Tippex are now hale and hearty 7 month olds - one of whom is ours. However you've now made me feel consumed with guilt for using a "toxic" substance. Surely nail varnish is, too, if it was consumed before it dried, or if it were to be inhaled? Sorry, I'm having a bad day today so everything is looming larger and out of proportion. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get things back into perspective again. :( :( :(
Cathy.

Try using the nail varnish to mark the nails.  It stays on pretty well and doesn't take more than a minute to dry!  If you just paint one nail, you can mark 16 puppies differently, excluding the dew claws. ;)

Ive got some white collars made from strong paper,that im going to add a different colour to by using non toxic felt tip pens.Julia

When my pups got a little older i used cat collars and numbered them bitch 1 dog 1 etc or you could try loose ribbon in different colours... i tried marker but it didnt work on dark colours lol...

With black lab pups I snip a little bit of fur off on different parts of the body. Mind you with a litter as large as yours I might run out of body parts!

if youve got time buy some diferent coloured ribbon and sew some velcro onto the edges to make collars which wont cause damage if caught on anything - i saw something similar on an  american site but was rather expensive i think - about $30 if i remember right :-0

Collars can be made with different coloured wool. iether crochet, knit or plait. they need checking regular & it's important to make sure they are just right, not baggy & slipping off, obviously not tight.
They are good for photos, as you can see clearly who is who on your pics.  :)

I had watch every pup born and wrote down the time, what sex, what marking and so forth, and when they where older they wore collars.. in the photo albam, I put them in order so, I could just look at a pup and tell straight away who it was..:) I also had a photo of each pup with the time of birth, weight at birth..colourings  at birth {as they change as the pup grows} I  writen  all this down so when the pups new Mummy and Dady came they had all the info they needed ..also, what they where eatting, and what I would like them to continue to feed their Baby's....

It depends on the colours - when we have parti-colours I write down a brief description at birth, of the markings, when I weigh them.  Then, after everyone is settle in I fill in markings on a little "puppy chart" on which I have a puppy outline so fill in the coloured bits!  then add new markings as they develop.  However with single colour soid litters (Buffs, Blacks) it is harder, so I have occassionally used the nail varnish dots on the pads.

The newborn collars are available on an American site -  www.cherrybrook.com  they are happy to ship to the UK.

bye
Gwen

I either crochet or plait wool to make collars - it more puppies than colours I use two or three colours together and just make them bigger as the pups grow.

gwen i cannot find the collars on the site,what are they under or what have i got to type in.

I will dig out my catalogue tonight and post the item number.
bye
Gwen

thank you

Good grief! The times I come on in order to ask a question or get some advice, someones just done it! Its brilliant! I marked all my pups yesterday for weighing etc & the pen is all gone & Im going to have to make non educated guesses at whos who, so I was going to ask the very same question. Im so glad I have you guys! Chez

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e07767-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5

That is where I got mine.  Very cheap too.  I tried EVERYTHING to mark my huge litter of pups, and this was the only thing that worked.  :)

Thank you all for taking the time to respond - now I need to work out which one I am going to do!!! LOL

Thanks again

Hi Briedog,

Sorry for the delay in replying, took me ages to find the catalogue!  They are called "Litter Bands" and come in 2 sizes, product ref: 23-245  and 23-247.

bye
Gwen

Sorry I may of just missed out where you put the link
for the bands Gwen. Where do you get them from.
They sound brilliant. You can e-mail me if you click on my name.
Nutkin

Thanks everyone for the advice I ended up using nail varnish

Thanks once again! I may be looking for more advice soon!