hi this will be my first litter, and i have been advised to cut the cord by means of using my fingers but in the book of the bitch it says it should be done with scissors but ive been told to do it with fingers because it bleeds much less. The breed i have is a bit heavy handed to say the least. Did you do it with your fingers.
Also any tips on keeping my bitches milk plentyfull would br great:rolleyes:

If all goes well you won't need to do anything - the bitch will take care of the cords. If by some chance you need to do them, get hold of the whelp, squeeze the blood in the cord towards the pup, grip the cord between pup and placenta and crush and tear the cord using your thumbnails, taking care not to pull the cord. This method enables the bloodvessels to close much quicker than a sharp cut.

Milk is produced on a supply and demand basis - the more the pups suckle, the more milk will be produced. At first there won't be a lot of milk because the pups are small - as they grow the supply increases. Maximum milk production is at about 3 weeks, and the bitch will need loads of high-quality food (about 4 times her usual quantity) and masses of fluids.

Hi yes you can do it with your fingers, but make sure your hands are very very clean, dont pull on the cords and dont cut them to short. warm regards debbie. all the best.

hi im glad that you have asked this question as this was on my mind and people say to do differentthings, i hadnt heard of this one when are you pups due  mine are due tomorrow

well the way i do it is if the bitch wants to let her if she doesnt do it yourself have all your siupplies just incase but the chewing thru the cord and removing the sack is part of the bonding period for mum and pup i usually find if they are having a large litter they may be a little to big to reach around comfortably so maybe the first or second pup should be done by you if this is the case but if mum goes to do it leave her to because cutting it yourself can be harmful to the bonding process i always prefer to get the pups breathing myself that way i know the pups wont have any brain damage if mum doesnt get them breathing in time but as soon as all fluid is clear and pups are screaming give the pup straight back to mum so she can finishing licking the pup finish the bonding

Your bitch should automatically do the pups herself without your help, but if she is a first time mum she may not understand what to do immediately, so you may have to intervene for the first pup or two, until she gets the hang of things. I have done the odd pup with fingers and with scissors too, I found no difference at all. If this is your first time, you may feel a little panicy, tugging the cord the wrong way can cause an umbilical hernia so if doing it by hand, take your time.  Keep a pair of sterilised scissors by the whelping box just incase, and snip approx an inch from the belly squeeze the cord together and hold for a few seconds. Having used both techniques, I have to say I prefer the scissors.

yeah i once caused an umbilical hernia on my first ever whelp it doesnt matter how many books you have read you canstill have little slip ups however i can say this pup lived a very jhappy healthy life without any problems until he died of old age at 16 and he was lovely