When I went to see my litter of puppies this morning in their kennel I got the shock of my life!  Most of the puppies had saw and bleeding pads on their paws.  When I fed them all last night at around nine o'clock they were all clean and kennel clean too.  This morning, what a mess! Kennel was pitted and all pups were covered.  It took me about three hours to clean them all and dry them and I have put vasaline on their paws.  Has anyone else ever had this happen to them.  I wondered if it could have anything to do with the fact that they were all wormed yesturday and maybe their poo has been a bit runny because of the wormer and then hurt their feet.  christine x

HI Pepsi...were they on concrete?? its probably not a good idea to use vaseline since it inhibits the healing process..its definely not normal for that to happen..if they are on concrete i would put newspaper down to shield the paws

how old are these puppies?

hy
puppies are now eight weeks old.  The only disinfectant used at the moment is very dilute dettol.  Then it is rinsed away thoroughly.

Yes puppies run is actually like a tarmac rather than a concrete as such.  The only thing with putting down papers in the run is if it rains, although it is a covered run, it does still tend to get wet, ending up with very soggy papers.

A friend of mine had this happen and it was due to the disinfectant used in the run.

Marianne

this may help  i hope they are doing better    http://handsnpaws.com/product/JMRHIKTL1105090L

I hope the pups paws are soon on the mend !
I always raise my puppies within our family home and our dogs are  pets first and foremost and are considered part of the family, and I have no experience of this problem. Sorry, I can't be of any help.

Puppies paws are fine now thanks.  I had the pups in our home with us until it got to the stage were the smell on a morning was unbearable.  After all eight puppies is quite a lot to keep indoors when they start to get quite big.  They are also pets first and foremost.  Just because we have decided to house them in a kennel outside has'nt made any differance to that.  They still get all the love and attention that they can possible get from all of us.  Thanks for asking after them anyway.  Hopefully this has been a one off. 

Zoe so do most people, but few litters of any sizeable breed can be reared entirely indoors, there is often simply not room enough for pups to run about.  My indoor puppy quarters can only be 3feet x 5 feet which would have the pups screaming for more space by 4 weeks as they siomply get upset at pooing so close to where they sleep.

For this reason I do have a double keennel and run adjacent to my kitchen.  This acts as the dogs bedroom for four of them (not the room for 4 beds in the kitchen all the time, though ther ae two baskets there all the time as well as an open crate).  The kenenl and run also give the pups somewhere to spend time, and if the weather is warm somewhere to sleep also.  This does not mean they are not in the home for much of the day. 

They are brought in for their meals and for socialisation throughout the day, but it would be dangerous to ahve them lose under my feet all the time.

I totally agree Brainless.  If I had kept all the puppies in our house for the full eight weeks, I would be very concerned that I might injure them or that my three children accidentally trip over them or worse.  At least having a kennel means they are not all couped up together and have more of their own space to relax and chill out without being bothered constantly by my young sons and that's not to mention the smell would be awfull.  Puppies are now eight weeks old and are really getting big now.  As it happens they are all starting to go to their new homes  so it will be nice when numbers have dropped to be able to spend more quility time with them in the house.  Just because people choose to kennel their dogs does'nt mean they are not loved and cared for does it. I too had to hand rear these puppies (10 in total) so Zoe I do know what the sleep deprivation is like on top of caring for my young family too.  After what I have been through with these puppies nobody could love them any more than I do.   

Well I have FOUR CHILDREN ..... they have been taught how to respect the puppies and so in actual fact our puppies THRIVE on the contact they have with children ... new owners when they visit always comment on how wonderful my children are with the puppies (my youngest is three)
as for the smell, well, I clean up after mine constantly and as I said, they do, weather permitting, go outside for their toileting once they get to a certain age and they are certainly not couped up and have lots of space to play with no danger of them getting hurt etc.
I believe all puppies and dogs should be raised in the family home, no dog wants to live in a kennel and as the puppies themselves will be off to a new home where they will live as part of a family (I would never sell a puppy to someone who is going to keep the dog in a kennel), it makes perfect sense to me, that pups should spend their early weeks in a family home environment. Surely it makes the transition to their new home less stressful and daunting.
Just my opinion and that of my breeder friends, I hasten to add.
I hate to see litters kept outside and I worry so much about the puppies when they are with us that I cannot even begin to imagine keeping them outside of the family home .... no matter what anyone says, pups raised in kennels will not receive the attention that pups in the family home do.

Zoe everyones houses and circumstances are different.  I my self find from 4 weeks that a combination of the hosue and kennel and run work best from the space and hygene and socialisation point of view. 

My children are older now (14 and 18) but were 4 and 7 when I bred my first litter.  We have always had a lots of peopel visiting of all ages including a whole nursery school class which does wonders for socialisation.

Mine start off life in my bedroom for the frst two weeks, then the kitchen for the next two, and in and out the kitchen and dog keennel and run until they go, as well as supervised time in the living room being cuddled and watching TV :D

Brainless, what you are describing is very different from those who choose to keep puppies in kennels for convenience.  What you describe is far from convenient, in fact is VERY time consuming, ensuring that your pups are well socialised and used to house noises, like the TV, washing machine, vacuum and, of course, children, as well as having plenty of space to play in the fresh air.:)  I can supply most of these things but now have to 'borrow' other peoples children to play with my puppies as I don't have my own at home any more.:p
This sort of rearing makes the transition from breeder to new home so much easier for both the puppy and the new family and is a good example of how pups should be reared.

Yes, I realise that but I just don't approve of those who keep their pups outside in kennels from whelping onwards .... and those that keep their own dogs out in kennels.The way you do things sounds absolutely fine to me .. :-)
LOl I have five dogs and ok we do have a lot of space in the house, but even so it can be a handful, but I still would not want for them to live outside, it just wouldn't be the same.

out of interest zoe, what breed do you have?

Standard Poodles and Cavalier King Charles.

What breed are they again?

Hi Blue.  They are boxers.  The ones that got the sore feet all had pink pads whereas the pups with black pads were fine.  They seem  to be doing fine now anyway. 

If it is Tarmac this could warm up to maelting point inthe heat and react with ntheir skin, especially the unpigmented less tough pads.

Well my litters have all been huge lol 11 or 12 and of course you cannot have them running all over the place .... we have ours in a large puppy pen in the conservatory, when we are not in a postion to have them loose running about .... would only get 6 out at a time anyway for obvious reasons !
Weather permitting , we take our pups out into the garden to play, often to eat their meals and to go to the toilet too !!!
I also sleep downstairs with the litter for the first month - as you all know with a large litter, there is always the risk of a pup getting accidentally hurt or even squashed by the mum and it does give me some peace of mind. With our last litter, we had to bottle feed for a week as mums milk did not come in .... 2 hourly feeds for 12 pups - well each feed took two hours nearly, as you can imagine ...... sleep deprivation was awful ... but I am proud to say they did all live. Mum had had an emergency caesarian as I noticed a slight green discharge and took her straight to the vets. Obviously a sign of fetal distress and the section was done there and then. As I say, the ending was a happy one but it could have been very different.
Sorry for going off topic, i am new here.
Dog breeding is very rewarding but it is certainly not for the faint hearted or uncommitted.
My very best wishes to all the caring and responsible breeders out there, sadly there are some very unscrupulous people breeding dogs and it makes my blood boil.

Forgot to say,pepsis mum so glad all is well now ! obviously the pink pads are more sensitive, hence their soreness but great that they are all on the mend.