Bitch pregnant??

Wee update, Jet beginning to get big now lol. All of a sudden she has begun to widen, hair is beginning to cast from around her teats. Bringing her to the stud dogs owner tomorrow night, just so he can have a wee look at her and hes going to talk me through what to expect etc. Ive to bring him a photo of Jets whelping box (which my father in law) helped my build yesterday so he can see if there needs to be any alterations etc (must post a photo for you all).
Jet still to sleep in it lol, i put in a few blankets and her cushion which she normall sleeps on, she goes into it to retrieve a biscuit but then soon leaves it again lol.

 

I've been going through the process of getting myself registered as a breeder here, and there are a few important pieces of advice I have been given.

1. Make sure your vet is available right around the expected time of birth, in case of emergencies.
2. Don't leave Jet alone at all, from around a couple of days before the expected birth.
3. Try to attend a birth of puppies from another litter beforehand, so you know what to expect.
4. Have someone present at the birth, who has had experience of breeding puppies or who has helped at a whelping.
5. Once birthing starts, don't leave her alone at all. If she needs to go out for a wee, take her out on a lead.

Loads of other pieces of advice, but those are the most important.

 

Number 4 depends a little on the bitch. Some bitches are definitely upset by having people near them or near their puppies during whelping. A stranger in the room, or even a person she knew fairly well, could be very stressful. In which case, you may need to make sure that you are the only person with her, and have your mentor on the other end of the phone.
Going out on the lead is very important - and take a torch if it is dark - plenty of puppies have been born on the lawn during a toilet break!

 

Thanks Karen, the vet says they will be only minutes away if theres a problem, also the stud dog owner lives 10mins away and has also assured me that he is only a phonecall no matter time of day. He said that at the end of the day he feels part responsible for the puppies welfare as well. Definately used the right stud dog!

 

Thanks for that Pippa, a friend in works dog gave birth to the final pup 20mins after the rest had appeared and she thought all was over. Ive already prepared the missus that ill be sleeping downstairs from a few days before Jet is due (she didnt complain lol).

 

Sounds good!

 

sounds like you're getting your bases well and truly covered. Best of luck

 

Exciting. When is Jet due?

 

Sat 13th - Tues 16th June. She was tied both those dates in April!

 

Quick question - how high should the heat lamp be from the puppies?

 

Ive been told various things from i dont need a heat lamp if the pups are to be born in the house and itll make them more hardy to i definately need a heat lamp because puppies cant regulate their temperature?? And if i get a heat lamp how high do i hang it?

 

We had only heating pad & kept the room warm.

 

I've been told, and my book says, that if they're indoors, and especially in the summer, they should not have a heat lamp.

I had a representative from our breeders' association do a house visit a few weeks ago, to assess our house and garden for its suitability for raising a litter of puppies. If and when we do breed Pops, the puppies will be in OH's studio/office for the first four weeks, and then moved to our garage, which has direct access on to a little terrace and the garden. I asked about having a heat lamp in there (as it is unseated) and was told it would not be necessary in the summer.

 

I was present at the birth of my pups - which is how I ended up with them; I couldn't not have one after experiencing that! Ruby had a very long time between the first and second pups - almost an hour. The third came along after about thirty minutes and then the rest in very quick succession, until there were seven. We weren't sure if she was finished, but I gently felt her belly and there was an obvious lump still in there. Not being au fait with dog anatomy, I wasn't sure if this was just some normal part of her body, but twenty minutes later, another puppy came and the lump was gone. So, if Jet is anything similar and is happy to be handled, you may be able to tell when she's finished.
Ruby was greatly soothed by our presence and touch, and got distressed if either of us left the room.

It wasn't completely straightforward, because she tried to eat the first two puppies. Apparently it's not unusual for them to do this with the first one, because her instinct is to eat the sac, and sometimes they don't realise there's a puppy inside. Normally, by the time the second one comes along, she'll have got the idea. This wasn't the case, so we took the decision to take the puppies away from her as they were delivered, and break all the sacs ourselves, then giving them back to her to clean up. This worked fine and she did fabulously.

I have a friend whose bitch had a litter of one! They called the vet out when no more arrived because they were worried there was something wrong, but he confirmed that it was an only child. Poor little thing - but he got nicely fat very quickly with no competition from siblings!

When is Jet due?

 

Just wanted to chip in that my friend who breeds cats (rag dolls and something blues) had a litter during the week. She thought there were 4 but seemed all done after 3........then a full 24 hours later !!!! delivered the 4th kitty. Wow..
I just think it's all so exciting

 

She is due today fortnight (first tie) or Tues fortnight (2nd tie)!!

 

The stud dog owner seem to say i SHOULD have a heat pad or lamp? If i was to do this, how long should i leave the pups under the heat pad/lamp?? Is it just during the night or also during the day? Also do i only use it for a couple of days or a few weeks??

 

Also another thing (sorry for all these questions), the umbilical cord... do i need to cut it or will Jet eat it? If i need to cut it does it need clamped?

 

Also heat lamp or heat pad??

 

Do you think this one would be big enough? Her whelping box is 4ft by 4ft

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cat-dog-b...968?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35ea0fd5a8