Can you please tell me how long you wait before bathing and walking your female after she has puppies? I understand that she can get an infection if bathed too early - so do you wait a few weeks for any discharge to subside and just keep the tail wrapped (changing that as needed)???

Also I understand that when a female is nursing she can transmit airborne germs to the pups, so how long do you wait before taking her for a walk?

I do plan to ask my vet as well.

Hi K9 after each of my 3 litters the mums let me know when they wanted to go for a walk.Each time they headed for the pool & had a "paddle, NOT a swim" before I could stop them. Yes they can pass on all sorts of germs but most of the time this is how new borns build up their immune system to guard against the diseases. I alwats made sure mums under carriage was wiped clean & dried before going back to pups. You will probably find she will only want to go out to do her business & get straight back to pups for first wk or2 anyway.
Christine2

Dear Christine,

Thank you for that information. We have pups on the way - any time now (Bichon Frise) and I need to know more about that. I wish my little gal loved to swim as I hear it's a great way to get back in shape, but she has never wanted anything to do with our pool. Kindest regards, Janet

Hi, Unless the bitch rolls in something awful mine dont have a full bath until the pups are about 5 weeks old, but a hind quarter/tail wash down with plain water when needed. I only use a tiny bit of shampoo on stains that wont come out with water. After every walk I wipe the teats down with a clean damp flannel. For the first 4 or 5 days I just take the mum out 5 or 6 times a day do to her business but after a week I start to take her further. A little more each day until by 2-3 weeks she is out for a good 15 minutes twice a day. This is only the "average" some bitches are ready for a walk by 4-5 days and some hate to leave their pups for a fortnight, but by two weeks they nearly all enjoy the walk once they get started even if you have to drag them away to begin with. Exercise does improve the milk supply and they recover their fitness more quickly and I always think the bitches must get very stiff and uncomfortable just lying with their pups day after day. They have a "jogging suit" which covers most of their tum, for them to wear if the weather is wet - a godsend to keep them cosy clean and dry, so returning them to the pups is much easier.

I sponge my girl's back end after whelping and normally wash it more thoroughly after a couple of days when she is settled with her new babes.

My girls are housebound while they have pups, and so are all the others. I have a good sized garden and they take as much or as little exercise as they feel that they need. If any of the dogs need to go out, then they are sprayed with parvocide on their return. Humans walk through a pad soaked in Parvocide. I protect my pups at all costs while allowing them to come into contact with "normal" bugs to allow their immune systems to develop.

But then I don't walk my bitches in season either, out of respect to owners of male dogs, as I believe it is difficult (not impossible) to control even a well trained dog once the hormones kick in! Others do differently and will disagree!

I want to thank all of you for your information. It's very helpful!
Best regards, Janet R. (k9design2002)

Hi, sorry I should have made myself clearer, I wouldn't walk a newly whelped bitch in public either, its just that I am very fortunate to have open country available to me, without having to go on a road/public place Sorry for any confusion.