Hi,

I`ve a litter of pups due in two weeks time. This is my first litter and i`m wanting any advice available regarding post and anti natal care. I`ve got my whelping box and heat pad ready. Any advice regarding helping out when she`s having them - Do I need to intervene? Will an heat mat be enough to help keep the pups warm? and any thing else I may need to help/assist in the birth.

Thanks Rachel

Hi
do you have the book of bitch, if you dont you should get this book and make it your bed time reading, this covers alot of the things that you will need to know, and give you an insight of some of the things to expect.

Do you have a mentor ?

Hi,

Not really a mentor - a family had some recently, but unfortunately a couple of them only survived for two days and we want to cover all bases and not make any mistakes. Plus its the dogs first litter. I will have a look around and see where I can get the book from.

Thanks a lot.

Book of the Bitch is available from Pets At Home :-)  As is the Whelping and Rearing of Puppies by Muriel Lee.   both excellent reading for novice breeders ;) 

hope this helps

we had our first litter 3weeks ago, we did have to intervene once, as she didnt realise the second puppy had cameout, it was still in the bag and so we had to get it open asap, after this she more or less did it herself, although we stayed very close to her just incase, oh and a coupple of times we had to show her the puppy that had just came out as she was so wrapped up in the one she was cleaning, you really need to speak face to face with someone experienced, even the vet to talk you through it, did you get her scanned? this can give you an idea on how many your looking at, although we thought we were having 6 and ended up with 10, also be prepared, sometimes not all of them survive, dont have an audience too when shes giving berth, just u and partner, and no kids as she may get stressed and can cause problems during, dont let her go anylonger than 2 hours between puppys, and no longer than 3hours when her waters break to having the first puppy, i only know all of this because everyone on here helped me through my girls pregnancy,

sami

You could try Amazon for the book(s) I got mine (used) in two days and in tip top condition :) It covers everything you need to know, though nothing prepares you for the 'real thing' and it really helps having someone with you that's done it before.
Scanning is a good idea as mine only showed 6 and she went on to have 10 ! Maybe scanning at a later stage would have shown the others, but at least we had a rough idea what number to expect :)

i had my first litter 4 weeks ago and it was scary although it went well considering but i found this forum invaluble throughout her pregnancy and whelping all the advice i can give really is be prepared have everything out ready as soon as her temp drops to 37.1 or lower my girl went up to 38.1 dropped to 37.5 and then dropped again to 36.6 and had them a few hours later so be prepared and like the op my girl was scanned and was told 3/4 so we expected 6 she had 14 over double breed average

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I ordered it last night from amazon - hopefully it will tell me all I need to know.

Thanks

Hi,

Thanks for the replys - all really useful. With regards to her due date, I`m I correct that the date is between day 59 and 64. (days after mating). Someone told me that you can more or less tell to the exact date? Is this true.

> Someone told me that you can more or less tell to the exact date? Is this true.

Nope!

It depends on the breed and how many puppies she's having and also when she actually conceived. They can conceive up to 2 days after the actual mating. I would be prepared from 7 days before her due date. I have a couple of tips they never tell you in the books. Always make sure you have enough fuel in your car to get you to the vet and back. Prepare the back of your car in case you have to get her into it and to the vets in a hurry, (old towels, newspaper etc.), keep your mobile charged up and most importantly, don't drink any alcohol, you never know when you will have to drive.

Thanks for the advice - better watch what were drinking?

Once she`s had the pups, how long would you leave it before I take her to the vets to get her checked out incase theirs still a pup or placenta still in there? What possible problems could occur to her once she`s had them?

It's always a good idea to keep the placentas. If she wants to eat a couple that's ok and quite normal, they're pure protein and also contain various hormones that help with post natal bleeding and milk production etc. Take a note of how many she eats, (I recommend no more than 2, if she throws them up again it's horrible having to clean it up), and wrap the rest in individual little newspaper parcels, then when she's finished whelping, you should have as many placentas as there are puppies. I wouldn't take her to the vet unless there is an emergency. If she's still straining and you suspect she still has a puppy inside her, quite often if you take your bitch out to empty her bladder she will then be able to pass the puppy. The puppies have to get past the bladder on their way out and if it's full they sometimes get stuck. You can give her a couple of small drinks of milk during whelping, but not warm milk as it may make her drowsy. Have some old towels handy and as each pup is born, hold it in the palm of your hand with it's head pointing downwards, and rub it's back with the rough towel, you can be fairly vigorous doing this but obviously not TOO rough. This gets any fluid out of the puppies lungs. I always have a cardboard box handy with a heat pad in the bottom, covered by a towel, and I just let the bitch have the puppy that has just been born, putting it on the teat until the next one comes along. If you would be happier having her checked out by the vet, get him to come to you. Bear in mind the vets waiting room is full of sick animals. Warn your vet in advance that your bitch is due to whelp and if she whelps in the night, which is quite likely, ring the surgery the following morning and ask the vet to come after morning surgery. After she's whelped, it's quite normal to have a dark brown discharge which can go on for several days. It's also perfectly normal for her to pant and have a raised temperature. This can be a problem if you want to keep the puppies warm but the bitch cool. When she is lying down feeding the puppies you can drape a towel wrung out in cold water over her side, just leaving her belly exposed for the puppies. Most of all, don't panic, if you're anxious, she'll pick up on it. Good Luck

I took my girl in the day after she had the puppy for a quick health for cleft palates etc, check she was ok, oxytocin injection just to be safe etc, but I think I got an appointment at the start or end of surgery so I was the only one in the waiting room. We did have to give the first puppy a second's rubbing with an old towel but everything went very straight forward. The book of the bitch is brilliant, try not to be scared by all the 'what to do if...' bits, most whelpings are pretty straight forward. :-)

I quite agree LucyDogs, the 'what if' bits in the books can be VERY scary. The good thing is that there is so much help and advice about nowadays. When I bred my first litter in the early 1960s you really did have to hope for the best. Veterinary science now is so advanced compared to those days. We used to use things with wierd names like M&B Powder, Potassium Permanganate Crystals, Benzyl Benzoate and not forgetting my vets own concoction which went by the mysterious name of 'Pink Ointment' and was used for just about everything. I remember asking a local terrier breeder for some advice before my first litter, his pearl of wisdom went thus 'drown the wrong 'uns'. Needless to say, I never took his advice. Hand rearing puppies was done with Carnation evaporated milk, I still remember the formula ' 1 tin of Carnation diluted with 1 1/2 tins of water' weaning was the aforementioned diluted Carnation mixed with something called Farlene, which was for human babies and resembled wallpaper paste. If there is anybody out there who's also very very old, I'm sure they'll remember. As you say, whelping is usually pretty straightforward, if it wasn't, given the medicines and nutrition available 40 odd years ago, dogs would be extinct by now.

> Hand rearing puppies was done with Carnation evaporated milk, I still remember the formula ' 1 tin of Carnation diluted with 1 1/2 tins of water' weaning was the aforementioned diluted Carnation mixed with something called Farlene, which was for human babies and resembled wallpaper paste.

Thank you Saxon! You have just made me feel ancient!  :-)  I was given the Carnation evaporated milk tip by a Toy Poodle breeder back in the 70's - and admit to diluting it for my bitches now if I don't feel that they're drinking enough. 

It's nice to know there are one or two other 'oldies' using this site. We ought to have a nostalgia thread. I think I'll start one  in 'General'

another tip.  inform your vet  of her  due dates if you haven't done so aleady..  good luck x

my bitch ate all the placentas- no probs at all. we give glucose in water during labour for energy. check each pup for cleft palette as soon as its breathing ok. after birth mum had chicken soup

I've tried glucose in water. My bitches just turn their noses up at it. You've given me a good idea though, I'll try glucose in milk next time. I've got a bitch just come into season today and I'm having her mated this time. I must say, I do learn a lot of tips from this site. Us oldies do get set in our ways, it's good to catch up on more modern ways of doing things.

Thanks again for the great advice. If we have to intervene and break the ambilical cords do they need dipping in iodine to prevent infection. Also, would it be worth have some puppy formula milk at hand just incase she cant manage to feed them all.

Thanks

Yes, always have puppy milk and feeders on hand when you have a litter. Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them. If you need to break the cords, gently 'milk' the blood in the cord towards the puppy and tear the cord with your thumbnails whilst pinching it together. This way best mimics the way the bitch tears the cord with her teeth. Don't do it too close to the puppy, leave at least 2 inches of cord. It will dry up in a matter of hours and drop of after a couple of days. I never put anything on the cord as putting stuff on it seems to make the bitch try to lick it off and they are best left to dry up. Obviously make sure your hands are clean.

Hopefully we wont need to intervene.

thanks a lot

It's worth keeping an eye on her to make sure she doesn't tear the cords too close. Remember it's her first litter and she hasn't read the books.

You will need lots of newspapers and towels,some bitches do well with the first born, but keep an eye out for the rest, she will probly need a little help, if any come out feet first with out there sack hold it gently but firmly behind the back legs and gentle help during the contraction by very gently pulling downwards. If mom delivers a pup and does not immediantely start to take the sack of the pups face you must do this straight away holding the pup up to mom, sometimes the bitch wonders were they are all coming from! as said before rub the pups downwards with the dry towel until it squicks. It will show you how in the "Book of the Bitch" also how to swing a pup if it is not breathing don't ever give up on a pup. I remove the born pups into a basket with a hot water bottle under a clean towel, when the next on is on the way, or they get all wet again and cold. Cold is a main killer of puppies. Make sure you count all the afterbirths, one will follow if the pup has been born without its sack.
After you think they have all been delivered, keep an eye on moms face and eyes. Try, to take mom out for a wee, she will be difficult and not want to leave the pups, Hubby does that while I put clean newspaper and vet bed in the welphing box also do a quick check on the pups as well. If a pup will not suck hold the pup back and check for cleph palate that is no roof on the mouth, they cannot suck and the milk goes down the nose. Any of these pups must go to the vet a.s.a.p.. Give mom as much food as she will eat, she will need this to get plenty of milk to feed her pups. Fish, tuna milk puddings lots of protein. I hold the dish up to her to make sure she eats and drinks, I give her milk and also puppy milk.
Spoil her, she deserves it, you look after mom well, she will look after the pups. If somethink is worring you after welphing ring the vet ask advise and take her down to an opp, only go in the back way not by the other dogs. The last thing you whant is an infection for your puppies or there mom.
Ebay have welphing kits with everythink in.
Best of luck!!

Denese 

And don't forget to let us know how you get on and how many pups etc.

My girl did this (chewed cord to close to pup).....tied cotton round to stop the bleeding but didnt work. Read somewhere about putting a wrapped 1p coin on the cord stump which we done and put a little bandage round his belly. After 5 mins all was ok. Most important thing is not to panic (easier said than done i know!!)

i would never touch a breech pup unless it is stuck- if you touch it it will breath and inhale the fluid, just be patient and wait

i also had mum bite a pups cord to far and i completely panicked but i held a cotton ball to it for a half an hour and all was ok and he dosnt have a hernia either also i found rubber gloves a complete waste i couldnt grip the pups and if i needed to get sacks off in a hurry i couldnt as you have to use your nails as they are very strong and after the first few pups i was covered in allsorts but really didnt care by that point as she kept trying to get on my knee lol so i would also wear old clothes as the green stuff dyes evrything and i put glucose in her water for that extra bit of energy during whelping my girl also ate all placentas  and was ok afterwards no loose stools or anything but i know this is not the case for all bitches good luck hope evrything goes as smoothly as possible

If bitches chew cords too close, use styptic, just as you would if you cut the quick when doing nails.  I had to do this on a pup recently.  It's something I always have in stock, and it worked immediately.  It stops you getting germs in, and heals great.

Hi,

Thanks again for all your comments - all really helpful. She will be approximately 59/60 days next Sat/Sun so anytime after that we should hopefully have some good news.

Thanks again

Did you read your PM? I sent a very long message to you!

Thanks to everyone for all their advice. She gave birth after 58 days. At first she would not have anything to do with them, but once she had whelped all of them she decided to start and take an interest. Mum and 6 pup all doing fine.
Thanks