Whelping Puppies

Preparing Your Bitch for Mating.

It is important to feed your brood bitch a balanced diet. She needs adequate protein and carbohydrates and you should include all the vitamins and minerals needed to supply a balanced diet. You can prepare her meals yourself using fresh meat and whole meal bread with fine minced veggies, or buy a high quality dry food such as Eukanuba, Medi-Cal or Science Diet. After mating continue feeding her as before until about 2 weeks before whelping, at which time you should increase the amount of food by 25%, and split her food into two feeds daily. This is because there's not much room inside her for a large meal and a belly full of rapidly growing puppies.

When your brood bitch comes into season, worm her with a good quality broad spectrum worming preparation. Also take her to the veterinarian for a culture and sensitivity test, to guard against any possible vaginal infections. You should take her to the stud dog by about the 8th or 9th day of bleeding so that the “stud master” can monitor her progress and ensure she is mated on the correct day. Generally they will mate at the 14th day, but they can be ready as early as the 8th or as late as the 24th day. You can get progesterone tests done to get it exactly right if you wish, especially if using frozen semen.

Preparing Your Bitch for Whelping.

She should be wormed at 4 weeks after mating and again 2 weeks before whelping. She should also be vaccinated either prior to mating or about 2 weeks before whelping. This will protect the puppies from viruses while they are suckling on her. The anti-bodies will pass from her to the puppies in her milk. She will stop eating about 12 to 20 hours before whelping. At this time you should phone your veterinarian and let him or her know that your bitch will whelp in the next 24 hours. Ask the vet if it's OK to call at any time of the day or night if she has any problems. Make sure you have plenty of clean newspapers on hand as whelping can be quite messy. She will start panting, pacing and tearing up her bedding (newspapers) a few hours before the contractions start. The first pup should be born within an hour or two of the start of the contractions. If she goes 3 hours and there's no pup, call your veterinarian.

The Whelping.

As soon as the first pup is born, your bitch will settle down to birthing the puppies and cleaning them up. The pups can be born in their sac or out of it. They can be born head first or tail first, it doesn't matter. Generally they will be born head first and still in their sac. If you have a problem with a pup getting stuck, try and help her by gently pulling the pup as she pushes. Don't try and pull a pup if she's not contracting though. If in doubt call your vet. All the puppies should be born in 8 to 15 hours, but they could take as long as 24 hours in some cases. When she's done, take her for a walk to empty her bladder. You may have to lift her or put a collar and lead on and force her to leave her puppies so she can urinate. Give her a drink of milk with some electrolytes, but don't try and make her eat right away. She will be very tired after whelping. Her appetite should return about 12 hours after she whelps.

After Whelping.

Clean the whelping box up, removing wet and bloodied paper. Replace it with a piece of carpet that you tack to the whelping box floor. Carpet will keep the puppies warm underneath and give them a good surface to grip on while suckling. Make sure the whelping area is warm, but not hot, and certainly not cold. For the next 2 weeks all you need do is feed her. She will begin to eat a lot after about 3 days, so be prepared. By the end of the second week, she'll be eating 4 to 5 times her normal diet. Keep plenty of fresh clean water available for her at all times. You should start feeding the puppies some food from about 4 weeks of age. With a big litter you may need to start feeding from as early as 3 weeks. You can feed them the same food as their mother eats, but be sure it is minced fine, as you don't want them choking. Feed them 2 to 3 times a day to 3 months of age, then twice a day.

Care of Puppies.

Worm them with a worming paste at 2 weeks old, then again at 4 weeks. Use tablet wormers from 6 weeks onwards. Change worming formula's to prevent the worms from building up immunity to the preparations. Trim their nails and dew claws on their front feet each time you worm them to prevent them scratching their mother while suckling. If you don't trim their nails, she will probably wean them early. Give the puppies some meaty bones to chew on and fight over from about 6 to 8 weeks of age. This helps prevent stomach upsets at the critical weaning age. If you follow this advice, you should have very few problems whelping and rearing a healthy litter of puppies. And remember, if you have any doubts or concerns at any time, do not hesitate to call your veterinarian.

Until next time,

Teia

To Breed or Not to Breed Your Dog?

It is very tempting to think about having a litter of small cuddly puppies from your beautiful bitch, but before even thinking about it, there are important factors to consider.

First of all, you may think your dog is the best in the world, but is it really? Look at her dispassionately. Is she of sound construction and reliable temperament? Is she free from any genetic defects? If she is a pedigree dog, is she a good example of the breed, coming from a good lineage?

Do not be tempted to breed a dog that has serious defects and do not contemplate breeding as a means of trying to compensate for any signs of nervousness or distress in your bitch. Your dog should be mature enough to physically cope with a litter (in a large breed this will be when the bitch is at least two years old.)

If you are happy so far that breeding is the right thing to do, then you should turn your attention to the pups. Have you the room for a whelping box and then perhaps 12 pups running around? Have you the time to sit with your bitch while she is birthing, perhaps more than 12 hours? Then there is the cleaning, weaning, feeding routine for the next eight to 12 weeks. What about money? The cost of the feed can be expensive and you must remember to budget for any veterinary costs that are caused by complications in the birth. Finally, what will you do with the pups? You must be in a position to look after them all. If it is a pedigree dog then you will be looking at registering the pups before they are sold. If your bitch is not a dog with a pedigree, you will be either giving the pups away or selling them for the going rate, in your area, for that type of dog. Either way, you should be checking very carefully where your pups are going, possibly including a home visit; this again takes time and money. Remember that the breeder is usually responsible for ensuring that the puppies have their first set of vaccinations before they are sold or given away. Remember also, that you are responsible for the birth of the pups and you should always be prepared to take them back, for whatever reason, as they are ultimately your responsibility for life.

If you still think breeding is for you, then your final consideration will be the stud dog. If attempting to breed a pedigree dog, then your ultimate aim will be to produce sound, quality dogs of both structure and temperament, that are ideally as near the Breed Standard as possible. Therefore, you should look at your bitch against the Breed Standard, identifying strengths and weaknesses and then look for a stud dog that will complement your bitch, building on her strengths and compensating for her weaknesses. If your bitch has poor pigmentation then do not use a dog that also has poor pigmentation. Study the dog’s pedigree and antecedents. Do whatever research you can to try to ensure you breed healthy well-developed dogs.

Remember you are breeding living animals. Their quality of life should come first and not your own interests, especially money.

Until next time,

Teia