how we raise our pups

THE ABOVE PIC IS ONE OF OUR GIRLS 5 WEEKS PREGNANT

THEN BELOW 8 WEEKS PREGNANT IN THE PAST THEY HAD 8 & 9 PUPS

HAVING PUPPIES

Preparing for your dog's labor and puppy care can be both exciting and fun; still, awareness of potential problems is of paramount importance. It is a good idea to keep track of your dog's breeding date so as to know when to expect what.

After about 35 days of pregnancy, the mother's caloric requirements will begin to increase. In general, she should require about twice as much food as usual whereas, when she begins nursing, she will need three times as much food. The best nutritional plan is to buy a dog food approved for growth and feed according to the package; such diets are balanced and require no supplementation plus they typically have the extra Calories needed by the pregnant or nursing mother. Exercise of the pregnant bitch need not be restricted until after the first 4-6 weeks of pregnancy.

A comfortable area should be set aside for whelping and raising the puppies such as a whelping box in a warm & quite area of your home , The bitch should feel at home here and should be able to come and go as she likes while the puppies will remaine in the whelping box.

The gestation period of the dog is considered to be 63 days though this is not written in stone and a normal range might be 58-68 days.

IMPENDING LABOR

When your dog's due date is approaching, you should begin monitoring her rectal temperature. When her temperature drops below 100^o F (normal canine temperature is 101-102^o F), labor may be expected within 24 hours.

THE FIRST STAGE OF LABOR

During this stage, uterine contractions begin. The bitch will appear very restless and may pace, dig, shiver, pant, or even vomit. This is all normal and all an owner can do is see that the bitch has water available should she want it. This stage of labor is very long, lasting 6-12 hours and culminates with full dilation of the cervix in preparation to expel a puppy.

THE SECOND AND THIRD STAGES OF LABOR

The second stage is the "hard labor" stage in which the puppy is expelled. The third stage refers to the expulsion of the placenta and afterbirth. Each pup may not be followed by afterbirth; the mother may pass two pups and then two placentas. This is normal.

Puppies are born covered in membranes which must be cleaned away or the pup will suffocate. The mother will bite and lick the membranes away. Allow her a minute or two after birth to do this; if she does not do it, then you must clean the pup for her. Simply remove the slippery covering and rub the puppy with a clean towel. The umbilical cord may be tied with thick cotton about one inch from the pup and cut with scissors on the far side of the knot.

Expect one pup every 15-60 minutes with 10-30 minutes of hard straining. It is normal for bitches to "take a rest" partway through delivery and she may not strain at all for up to four hours between pups. If she is seen straining hard for over one hour , a veterinarian should be consulted.

Expect some puppies (probably half of them) to be born tail first. This is not abnormal for dogs.

CALL YOUR VETERINARIAN IF:

30-60 minutes of strong contractions occur with no puppy being produced.
Greater than three hours pass between pups and you know there are more inside.
She fails to go into labor within 24 hours of her temperature drop.
She is in obvious extreme pain.
Greater than 70 days of gestation have passed.

It is normal for the bitch to spike a fever in the 24-48 hours following birth. This fever should not be accompanied by clinical signs of illness.

Normal vaginal discharge after parturition should be odorless and may be green, dark red-brown or black or bloody and may persist in small amounts for up to 8 weeks.

PROBLEMS TO WATCH FOR...

METRITIS (INFLAMMATION OF THE UTERUS)

Signs of this condition are as follows:

fever
foul-smelling vaginal discharge
listlessness
loss of appetite
no interest in the puppies
decreased milk production

If these signs are noted, usually in the first day or two postpartum, a veterinarian should be consulted. Your dog may have retained a placenta or have suffered some trauma during delivery. Animals who have required assistance with delivery are often predisposed to metritis.

ECLAMPSIA

This condition results when the bitch has trouble supporting the calcium demand of lactation. Calcium supplementation predisposes a bitch to this condition. Usually affected animals are small dogs. They demonstrate:

nervousness and restlessness
no interest in the pups
stiff, painful gait

This progresses to:

muscle spasms
inability to stand
fever
seizures

This condition generally occurs in the first three weeks of lactation and a veterinarian should be consulted immediately.

MASTITIS (INFLAMMATION OF THE BREASTS)

Normal nursing glands are soft and enlarged. Diseased glands are red, hard, and painful. In general, the bitch does not act sick; the disease is confined to the mammary tissue. The bitch may be sore and discourage the pups from nursing; however, it is important to keep the pups nursing the affected glands. This is not harmful to the puppies and helps flush out the infected material. Hot packing may be helpful.

Most dogs are excellent mothers and problems are few. The basic rule is to seek veterinary care if she seems to feel sick of if she ceases to care for her young. Puppies nurse until they are about six weeks old and then may be fully separated from their mother. A good age for adoption to a new home is 8 weeks or later

THE BIRTH & RAISING PUPS

2 weeks before the birth

mom to be is introduced to her whelping box, 2 week before she is due so she can sleep/rest in it ,

she is away from my other dogs, we set her whelping box up in my room or dinning room, close to a radiator , so she will be warm & quite & I can see her

3 days before the birth

mom to be is getting ready to give birth , so I now sleep down stairs, at her side, to await the arrive of the new pups, & to watch for signs of labour, so I can help with her birth,

Labour has started

mom has started to go into labour, [ the signs & symptoms can be different with all dogs/bullies]

she starts to shiver, as her temperature has dropped [ you can also check her temperature a few days before birth as it will start to drop up to 24 hours before birth ]

she starts to circle. & is very unsettled , she cant settle down, & starts to rip her bed up, , she also whimpers, & starts to pant [ this can last from as little as an hour or a lot longer sometimes over 24hrs ]

her waters brake & she might lose a mucus plug [ which might also brake up to a few days before birth ] she will keep looking at her behind.

Now the contractions start, I offer her fresh cool water to drink throughout her labour & it reassure her its ok,

she starts to push & the first pup arrives, a take the pup from her & remove the birth sack , from the head of the pup back, then I start to rub the pup with a soft towel. to stimulate her to breath, if she is slow to breath I will gently sling her down to clear her lungs of fluid. [ but I have to support her head & neck while doing this] if she still is not breathing I will gently blow into her tiny nose which helps, now she is breathing ,I clamp the cord, & tie it off, with cotton, then cut the cord just past where I have tied it & remove the rest to paper & a bag, but I also offer mom 1-3 of them which she will eat & helps to bring her contractions on

mom is now resting , so I show her the pup which she licks, [ sometime mom will not like the pup so

when I am sure she is breathing & dry I place her in a plastic box, on a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel & placed either near a radiator or under a heat lamp not too far from mom, if it is cold. otherwise just the hot water bottle enough

then I wait for the rest of the pups to come & I do the same for all the pups,

IF MOM HAS NOT DELIVERED A PUP 30 MINES AFTER PUSHING OR LOOKS IN DISTRESS I TAKE HER STRAIGHT TO MY VETS , [ their may be a pup stuck in the birth canal ] & a vet may need to help get the pup out or give the mom a C-section , IF YOU DON'T DO THIS IN TIME YOU RISK LOSING MOM & ALL THE PUPS

Once all the pups are born,

clean out the whelping box, & put the pups to mom to feed, [ NEVER LEAVE MOM ALONE WITH THE PUPS FOR THE FIRST 10 DAYS AS SHE MIGHT ROLL ON THEM OR EVEN KILL THEM ]

visit this link for further info on breeding & raising pups

breeding & whelping info

24 HOURS after birth

mom & pups are taken for a check up at the vets , & mom is given an injection to make sure all the placentas are gone & also antibiotics, he check all the pups & looks for cleff pallets,

pups are now feeding every 2hrs, & have to be cleaned [ made to wee/poo] either by mom or if mom doesn't do it then u will using , warm water & cotton wool,

both mom & me are very tired

keep a heat lamp over mom & pups to keep them warm, if u cant sit with mom & pups u should put the pups in a plastic box on a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel & then cover the box with a towel to keep the heat in,

week 1

pups are fed from mom ever 2hrs & if its a big litter I will offer a bottle with puppy milk. to a couple of the pups to help mom, & to make sure they are all fed,

the pups are kept in a plastic storage box with a hot water bottle to keep them warm or wheat bag. wrapped in a towel. & put to mom for feeding & cleaning

then also need to be top/tailed either by mom or me,

u hardly get any sleep the first week, mom doesn't want to leave the pups & will only go out/wee

week 2

around 10 - 14 days the pups will start to open their eyes they also start to crawl round the whelping box,

mom will come out to leave her pups but not for very long,

they are now fed every 2-3 hrs , they can be quite nosey & their bedding needs to be kept clean & fresh , as they now start to mess on their own & will get every where , often after clean the pups , as they too get covered in the mess,

week 3

pups are starting to walk about & play & bite one another & also their mom,

put paper in one half or the whelping box, & blankets in the other half, the pups will sleep on the blanket & go down onto the paper to mess, [ & yes even at the young tender age ]

introduce them to their first solid meal, usually pure baby rice & puppy milk mixed with a little honey & made into a paste, put it on your finger then into their mouth, & offer only a small amount for their first feed, & also put a shallow dish of fresh water in with them

replace one of moms feeds with a solid meal over a few days,

u also have to clean up after then changing news paper from them messing

week 4

the pups are very much active now, so I have them out of their whelping box to play then run round the room , my children also enjoy playing with them,

they are fed 4-5 meals a day now mixed solids milk feeds & from mom,

mom also offers to feed them in between & when ever they can seek to her

papers is changed a lot as they can sure make a mess now

week 5

mom doesn't want to be with the pups much now,

they fight & play together u can know see that they have their own personalities,

the are eating like pigs now ,

if the weather is warm take the pups out into the garden to go explore, & to get them used to going outdoors, & doing toilet outside this can also help them to run some energy off then they sleep when you bring them back in,

week 6

the pups are getting bigger now, & sleep a lot less, they play hard, & can hurt one another , I often have to split them up as their fighting can get rough,

have them out a lot more

they cry to come out of the whelping box now & don't like to mess in the box put them out side to go to the toilet weather permitting

children can play with them a lot more, & get then used to being handled

try to get them into a routine to go out in the garden [ whether permitting ] first thing on a morning, mid afternoon & tea time, & sometimes towards end of the night so they learn to mess outside, & most of them do