One of the new puppy owners asked me a a very good question about the use of a crate for their new puppy and I thought it may be beneficial to others to share my views on this here.
Just like nearly everything else to do with raising a puppy, there are no shortage of viewpoints as to the best way to do things. With regards to crate training though, it's a fairly agreed consensus that the use of a puppy crate is a very valuable training tool. Of course there are still people who have never used them and fail to see why you would want to. I'm sure that for some people who don't like the idea of a crate, it is because they view it as a cage and think it's mean to confine a puppy to it. Unfortunately they are thinking like a human and not as a dog (very common training mistake but very easy to do when they become such a large part of your family :)
We have always used a crate for Jess, right from her very first trip in the car from the breeder to present day (except until we needed to rearrange everything for the breeding !). I personally would highly recommend the use of a crate for a number of reasons :
- Dogs naturally live in dens. Dens protect them from danger, keep them warm and dry and help to protect their young. In the wild they will burrow holes to sleep in. A crate becomes your puppy's den - somewhere they feel warm and safe. Jess chooses to spend the majority of her sleeping time during the day in her crate. While she has the choice of the whole downstairs floor she prefers to sleep where she feels most comfortable and safe - it's her favourite place in the house :)
- Young puppies cannot be left unsupervised ! A crate provides a safe place for both your puppy and for your furnishings if you cannot watch the puppy for a short time (especially at first, young puppies should never be confined to their crates for more than a 1-2 hours - except at night time)
- Crate training greatly increases the speed and success of toilet training. Dogs by nature do not like to soil their bedding area which helps to teach the puppy when and where to go toilet (ie when you let the puppy out of the crate and take them to the back yard). Obviously to start with a young puppy cannot hold their bladder for more than a few hours so you need to get up in the night, let them out then put them back in.
- Crates are great for travelling - both in the car and when you go and stay at friends places, B&B's, hotels etc. Because your puppy will view their crate as a safe place they will be more comfortable in strange environments if they have the familiarity and comfort of their crate - and it saves you having to worrying about your friends place or hotel room being demolished !
- Crates can help with separation anxiety
This site has some excellent information and training tips associated with the use of a crate
Dog Obedience Training Review
We have 2 crates - a 30" for when Jess was a pup and then a 42" once she got bigger. You could just start with the 42" and section a part of it off. We bought our crates from The Pet Shop in Rugeley. These ones at the UK Dog Crate Company also look very good and reasonable priced.
Monday 31 May 2010
Sunday 30 May 2010
The truth about commercial pet food
For those that are interested, an excellent article from "Born Free USA" (a US national animal advocacy non-profit organisation) titled "What's really in Pet Food" is a real eye-opener.
"What most consumers don’t know is that the pet food industry is an extension of the human food and agriculture industries. Pet food provides a convenient way for slaughterhouse offal, grains considered “unfit for human consumption,” and similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes intestines, udders, heads, hooves, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts....."
The article can be viewed from the Born Free USA website here
"What most consumers don’t know is that the pet food industry is an extension of the human food and agriculture industries. Pet food provides a convenient way for slaughterhouse offal, grains considered “unfit for human consumption,” and similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes intestines, udders, heads, hooves, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts....."
The article can be viewed from the Born Free USA website here
Saturday 29 May 2010
Week two photos
Here are some pictures of week 2 - you can see the cute collars we have on them now :) They started opening their eyes today ! Not all have yet but a few have had their first peek at the big wide world - then hurriedly gone back to sleep :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brentharlow/sets/72157624161046854/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brentharlow/sets/72157624161046854/
Friday 28 May 2010
11 days old
Feels like 11 weeks already ! Can't believe it's not even been 2 weeks yet. The pups are all doing really well, and so is Jess - she is back to her diet in full swing - munched down a huge turkey wing for dinner :)
All the pups have now doubled their birth weight which is excellent progress. We've been weighing them daily up till now and making sure the lightest couple of pups get on the back teats first when Jess gets back in the box with them. They're currently all sucking greedily away now as I type this up :) When she first lies down in the box it's like a sea of wriggling fat worms ! They can obviously smell her and start to go mad trying to get on to a teat. The pups on the top teats are often carried right off the floor and end up body surfing on the ones on the teats below. It's amazing to watch the incredible tenacity they have to feed themselves. They will push and push like mad with their little back feet and if need be, not spare a thought for their sibling that they've just managed to push off ! This is where the heavier ones have an advantage :)
As of yesterday morning there were 3 pups tipping the scales at just over 1kg. We're reducing the weighing frequency down to weekly now. There is still a 200g variation between the heaviest boy and the lightest girl but that will be easier to level out once the pups are weaned.
We've got new collars for them - the nail polish needs to be re-applied every couple of days and is not that easy to spot. We've gone with these collars based on recommendations from other breeders that have used them on Labrador Forums and the testimonials on the website itself. The use of collars on pups is something else (like seemingly every little matter) is cause for great discussion amongst the breeding world. Some say they use them all the time, others would sooner hand over their first born then put collars on their pups. I can see valid arguments for both, but it certainly makes it far easier to identify them ! Obviously with growth so rapid I will need to check them once a day to make sure there is still plenty of slack.
Been nearly a week since pictures - I slowed down because as I looked back through the photos realised that I already had hundreds that looked mostly the same ! I'm sure people are keen to see their development though so I'll be taking a whole load more over the weekend and will post the link to the new sets - you'll be able to see their collars in all their glory :) We have a friend who is an amazing photographer who is going to do some photos shoots at 3 weeks and again at 7 weeks - these (along with all of my photos) will be made available on a DVD for the new puppy owners !
It's been nice to be able to keep my head out of puppy books for a week or so now but I need to get back and read up some more on weaning - suggested diets, timings, procedures etc..... This will certainly be a lot easier next time round :)
All the pups have now doubled their birth weight which is excellent progress. We've been weighing them daily up till now and making sure the lightest couple of pups get on the back teats first when Jess gets back in the box with them. They're currently all sucking greedily away now as I type this up :) When she first lies down in the box it's like a sea of wriggling fat worms ! They can obviously smell her and start to go mad trying to get on to a teat. The pups on the top teats are often carried right off the floor and end up body surfing on the ones on the teats below. It's amazing to watch the incredible tenacity they have to feed themselves. They will push and push like mad with their little back feet and if need be, not spare a thought for their sibling that they've just managed to push off ! This is where the heavier ones have an advantage :)
As of yesterday morning there were 3 pups tipping the scales at just over 1kg. We're reducing the weighing frequency down to weekly now. There is still a 200g variation between the heaviest boy and the lightest girl but that will be easier to level out once the pups are weaned.
We've got new collars for them - the nail polish needs to be re-applied every couple of days and is not that easy to spot. We've gone with these collars based on recommendations from other breeders that have used them on Labrador Forums and the testimonials on the website itself. The use of collars on pups is something else (like seemingly every little matter) is cause for great discussion amongst the breeding world. Some say they use them all the time, others would sooner hand over their first born then put collars on their pups. I can see valid arguments for both, but it certainly makes it far easier to identify them ! Obviously with growth so rapid I will need to check them once a day to make sure there is still plenty of slack.
Been nearly a week since pictures - I slowed down because as I looked back through the photos realised that I already had hundreds that looked mostly the same ! I'm sure people are keen to see their development though so I'll be taking a whole load more over the weekend and will post the link to the new sets - you'll be able to see their collars in all their glory :) We have a friend who is an amazing photographer who is going to do some photos shoots at 3 weeks and again at 7 weeks - these (along with all of my photos) will be made available on a DVD for the new puppy owners !
It's been nice to be able to keep my head out of puppy books for a week or so now but I need to get back and read up some more on weaning - suggested diets, timings, procedures etc..... This will certainly be a lot easier next time round :)
Tuesday 25 May 2010
Worming
Thanks to the keen eye of Reed's owner (Lynda) she noticed by my earlier post that our vet was planning to use Panacur as a worming treatment for the puppies. In Lynda's experience this was more likely to cause tummy upsets for the pups as well as requiring 3 times the amount of administration (3 days every 2 weeks) when compared with Drontal puppy (1 day every 2 weeks). I called up my vet - I've only been with them a short time but I am already very impressed with the level of service and openness from them - to ask them why they use Panacur instead of Drontal and do they ever use Drontal. Their response was that they use Panacur because they find that most breeders prefer it and also because some people report more tummy problems using Drontal instead of Panacur !
Seems the tummy upsets can certainly not be attributed to one wormer or another (I guess if a real, consistent correlation was observed then one of them would eventually cease to be used). The vet recently had a litter himself and used Drontal puppy and had no problems.
The puppies need to be wormed at 2,4,6 and 8 weeks. For nine puppies on Panacur that would amount to us having to administer 108 doses of wormer !! On Drontal puppy that would be reduced to just 36. That (and Lynda's recommendation) was enough to convince me that Drontal was the way to go. The vets were very kind saying that I could probably source the Drontal on the internet cheaper than they could get it but I was still welcome to pop in and they would show me/supervise the first administration for no charge (no way my previous vets - Braid Vets - would have offered that). Turned out with the vet ordering it for me it would only cost an extra £7 so I am getting them to order it for me ready for the first worming next Tuesday :)
Seems the tummy upsets can certainly not be attributed to one wormer or another (I guess if a real, consistent correlation was observed then one of them would eventually cease to be used). The vet recently had a litter himself and used Drontal puppy and had no problems.
The puppies need to be wormed at 2,4,6 and 8 weeks. For nine puppies on Panacur that would amount to us having to administer 108 doses of wormer !! On Drontal puppy that would be reduced to just 36. That (and Lynda's recommendation) was enough to convince me that Drontal was the way to go. The vets were very kind saying that I could probably source the Drontal on the internet cheaper than they could get it but I was still welcome to pop in and they would show me/supervise the first administration for no charge (no way my previous vets - Braid Vets - would have offered that). Turned out with the vet ordering it for me it would only cost an extra £7 so I am getting them to order it for me ready for the first worming next Tuesday :)
Back to raw :)
Along with her old appetite being back she is also keen to eat her normal raw "prey-model" diet again - except I cannot interest her in anything with a bone in it. She is wolfing down green tripe, liver, heart, kidney, chicken mince, steak all with gusto :)
One of the great benefits to a raw diet is the drastic reduction in stool size and odour. Jess has been on a raw diet since a puppy so I've never seen the sort of poo from jess that she was producing the past few days with all the processed wet food I was using to try and get her to eat. Huge, soft, smelly poos - on a raw diet her poo is small, hard and almost odourless. To me this is one of the best indicators when comparing a raw diet to a conventional processed one. Processed food (especially kibble) are high in carbohydrates (maize, wheat, rice) that are basically used as "fillers". Carbohydrates in this form are largely useless to a dog and indigestible, hence the large amount that comes straight back out ! On a raw food diet, their poo is mostly undigested bone (which is why it turns white if left in the sun for a few days) - everything else is put to perfect use and digested :)
While I don't want to spend too much time discussing the benefits of a raw diet (and the disadvantages of a commercial, highly processed diet) , I would like to say that additional benefits of a raw "prey-model" diet are :
- healthy, shiny, thick coats
- no doggy odour
- no doggy bad breath
- no teeth problems
I would encourage people to at least take a look at the following reference sites - the last one "myths" is particularly good.
http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=175912
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/honest.html
I will be feeding all our puppies on a raw diet but also giving them some puppy kibble as well as I realise raw feeding is not for everyone and it could possible cause stomach upsets to switch to pure kibble from raw once the pups are with their new owners.
Bon appetite :)
One of the great benefits to a raw diet is the drastic reduction in stool size and odour. Jess has been on a raw diet since a puppy so I've never seen the sort of poo from jess that she was producing the past few days with all the processed wet food I was using to try and get her to eat. Huge, soft, smelly poos - on a raw diet her poo is small, hard and almost odourless. To me this is one of the best indicators when comparing a raw diet to a conventional processed one. Processed food (especially kibble) are high in carbohydrates (maize, wheat, rice) that are basically used as "fillers". Carbohydrates in this form are largely useless to a dog and indigestible, hence the large amount that comes straight back out ! On a raw food diet, their poo is mostly undigested bone (which is why it turns white if left in the sun for a few days) - everything else is put to perfect use and digested :)
While I don't want to spend too much time discussing the benefits of a raw diet (and the disadvantages of a commercial, highly processed diet) , I would like to say that additional benefits of a raw "prey-model" diet are :
- healthy, shiny, thick coats
- no doggy odour
- no doggy bad breath
- no teeth problems
I would encourage people to at least take a look at the following reference sites - the last one "myths" is particularly good.
http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=175912
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/honest.html
I will be feeding all our puppies on a raw diet but also giving them some puppy kibble as well as I realise raw feeding is not for everyone and it could possible cause stomach upsets to switch to pure kibble from raw once the pups are with their new owners.
Bon appetite :)
More than 6 hours sleep
Last night was the first time in a week and a half I've managed to get more than 6 hours sleep ! Jess is doing such a good job as a Mum so we decided it was not needed to sleep beside her any more. Morag and I were sharing night time vigils but now we're confident that Jess has it all well under control :) The alarm is still set for 230am to get up to check everything is ok and let Jess out for a pee - only last 2 mornings she hasn't been interested in a 230am pee so we might give up on that as well !
Her appetite is back with a vigour - she seems keen to eat constantly ! Of course with her being a Labrador we've been well used to this behaviour ;) A lot of the literature around lactating mums (especially between weeks 2 and 4) suggest that the she should be fed as much as she wants - I'm not sure they wrote that with a Lab in mind ! According to the book of the book calorie schedule which I have pinned up on the notice board, weeks 2 and 4 require energy consumption around 3 to 3.5 times that of maintenance levels, which is basically what I'm giving Jess now. Unfortunately it's impossible to distinguish between hunger and greed - at 1.5 kg of meat a day she can't possibly be hungry tho :D
Her appetite is back with a vigour - she seems keen to eat constantly ! Of course with her being a Labrador we've been well used to this behaviour ;) A lot of the literature around lactating mums (especially between weeks 2 and 4) suggest that the she should be fed as much as she wants - I'm not sure they wrote that with a Lab in mind ! According to the book of the book calorie schedule which I have pinned up on the notice board, weeks 2 and 4 require energy consumption around 3 to 3.5 times that of maintenance levels, which is basically what I'm giving Jess now. Unfortunately it's impossible to distinguish between hunger and greed - at 1.5 kg of meat a day she can't possibly be hungry tho :D
Saturday 22 May 2010
Vet check
Yesterday we took the pups and mum off to our vets for a checkup of both mum and the puppies. Each puppy was checked by the vet for any inherited defects - checking mouth, feet, anus, chest sounds and a quick once over. All the puppies are doing very well, putting on lots of weight and in good health :)
For poor Jess, the story wasn't quite the same though. She has really been off her appetite which was worrying us - I know a lot of dogs get quite fussy just after whelping so I had thought that was the main reason and we were trying her on anything we could think of (never used to any sort of appetite issues from Jess before !) Thankfully she was still drinking plenty - and I was mixing tons of glucose powder in with her water. Her vaginal discharge, which normally continues for the first couple of weeks after whelping, was a little pussy and "dirty" (vets words!). She also had a high temperature. The vet believed she had an infection in her uterus so prescribed her a course of antibiotics. After one day of tablets what a difference ! Her appetite, while not completely back, was definitely heading in the right direction. When Morag came down to relieve my puppy vigil at 4am Jess wolfed down a whole tray of natures diet puppy food along with some other treats :) Yay, seems antibiotics are working very effectively (and quickly) which I hope is a sign that the infection was not too bad. It's a five day course of antibiotics.
Started to take Jess on slightly longer walks and staying outside with her a bit to give her a break from the pups ! She will come back in and stay out of the box for a while but if there's too much noise coming back from the pups, she's back in and they're all feeding off her within seconds ! It really is incredible to see her mothering instinct.
We're back to the vets in 10 days time to start the first round of worming - 3 days treatment at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks.
Costs : Second treatment of oxytocin during whelping at our vets £34, xray before oxytocin £50, puppy and jess check up £26.50, antibiotics £22
For poor Jess, the story wasn't quite the same though. She has really been off her appetite which was worrying us - I know a lot of dogs get quite fussy just after whelping so I had thought that was the main reason and we were trying her on anything we could think of (never used to any sort of appetite issues from Jess before !) Thankfully she was still drinking plenty - and I was mixing tons of glucose powder in with her water. Her vaginal discharge, which normally continues for the first couple of weeks after whelping, was a little pussy and "dirty" (vets words!). She also had a high temperature. The vet believed she had an infection in her uterus so prescribed her a course of antibiotics. After one day of tablets what a difference ! Her appetite, while not completely back, was definitely heading in the right direction. When Morag came down to relieve my puppy vigil at 4am Jess wolfed down a whole tray of natures diet puppy food along with some other treats :) Yay, seems antibiotics are working very effectively (and quickly) which I hope is a sign that the infection was not too bad. It's a five day course of antibiotics.
Started to take Jess on slightly longer walks and staying outside with her a bit to give her a break from the pups ! She will come back in and stay out of the box for a while but if there's too much noise coming back from the pups, she's back in and they're all feeding off her within seconds ! It really is incredible to see her mothering instinct.
We're back to the vets in 10 days time to start the first round of worming - 3 days treatment at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks.
Costs : Second treatment of oxytocin during whelping at our vets £34, xray before oxytocin £50, puppy and jess check up £26.50, antibiotics £22
Thursday 20 May 2010
Photos on Flickr
I will be putting lots of regular photos up on Flickr - you can see them here
Currently the first set that is up are all taken on day 1 :)
Currently the first set that is up are all taken on day 1 :)
Milestones in a puppy's development
I find it amazing that for at least the first week of a puppy's life, they are both blind and deaf. The one thing they are born with though is an incredible urge to gravitate towards a teat, hang on for dear life and suck like crazy :)
The milestones in the development of the puppy include :
- Eyes opening 7 - 10 days
- Ear canals open 14 days
- Primary teeth through 14 - 21 days
- Can see 10 - 15 days
- Barking 18 days (and it seems noisy now with just contented murmurs and the occasional squeal !)
- Stand upright 21 days
- Wee and poo without stimulation from bitch (don't envy her that job ;) 21 days
- Play with other pups 25 - 28 days
- Walk and run 28 days
- Sight as good as adult 28 days
- Hearing acute 35 days
The milestones in the development of the puppy include :
- Eyes opening 7 - 10 days
- Ear canals open 14 days
- Primary teeth through 14 - 21 days
- Can see 10 - 15 days
- Barking 18 days (and it seems noisy now with just contented murmurs and the occasional squeal !)
- Stand upright 21 days
- Wee and poo without stimulation from bitch (don't envy her that job ;) 21 days
- Play with other pups 25 - 28 days
- Walk and run 28 days
- Sight as good as adult 28 days
- Hearing acute 35 days
Finally got some sleep
Last night was bliss - a full nights sleep in a real bed while Morag spent the night with Jess and the pups. They are sooooo adorable ! I can't believe looking at them that they were actually all inside Jess - no wonder she resembled a blimp in the last week of her pregnancy.
Now that the whelping is over, it's time to turn my attention to the next stage of the process - care of the puppies (and mom). I'm paranoid about room temperature (making sure it's kept between 23 and 25 degrees C) as this is the leading cause of puppies not making it past the first week. For the first 7 - 10 days they are unable to regulate their own body temperature and rely entirely on ambient heat for their warmth, either from cuddling close in to mum or the bedding. I was originally going for some heat pads but didn't bother in the end - watching the little guys crawl around the whelping box I'm just not sure how you'd keep them in the area with the heat pad - I suppose they would gravitate to it in search of heat. I figured it was easier to ensure all the pups were kept at the right temp to monitor the room temperature. I have a large digital thermometer placed just above the whelping box with min, max and current temperature so it's easy to keep an eye on it.
We're also keeping a close eye on Jess - the poor thing doesn't get a moments peace. Thankfully she has been happy to leave the bed for a few minutes during the day so we can keep her clean, she can pee and poo and we get the chance to rotate the vet bed in the whelping box. I took her around the estate for 10 min today to allow her to stretch her legs. As soon as she's back in the house though she goes running quickly up to the box and checks on her babies :)
Amazingly enough (never thought I would see the day), jess is somewhat off her food. She normally eats entirely on a raw meaty bone diet - lots of bone, meat, liver, kidney, tripe etc.. but she's turning her nose up at most of it. Was able to tempt her with some steak as well as chicken mince. She had a few chicken wings but turned away after about 4 (previously she would have eaten 4 kg of them !). Started giving her a little bit of puppy biscuit as well, the type we'll be using to wean the puppies.
Up until the birth, my research was solely on the birthing process - what was expected, what was not, what constituted an emergency and how to handle it - I must have read the same chapters in each of the books 20 times at least :) Now I can forget about that and concentrate on getting the puppies through the first 2 weeks which is such a critical period for them. The literature on fading puppy syndrome and the myriad of problems/complications that can arrive is daunting :(
We are lucky enough to already have enough people on the waiting list to ensure that all puppies will have new owners looking to provide them with all the love and the care in the world they deserve :)
Now that the whelping is over, it's time to turn my attention to the next stage of the process - care of the puppies (and mom). I'm paranoid about room temperature (making sure it's kept between 23 and 25 degrees C) as this is the leading cause of puppies not making it past the first week. For the first 7 - 10 days they are unable to regulate their own body temperature and rely entirely on ambient heat for their warmth, either from cuddling close in to mum or the bedding. I was originally going for some heat pads but didn't bother in the end - watching the little guys crawl around the whelping box I'm just not sure how you'd keep them in the area with the heat pad - I suppose they would gravitate to it in search of heat. I figured it was easier to ensure all the pups were kept at the right temp to monitor the room temperature. I have a large digital thermometer placed just above the whelping box with min, max and current temperature so it's easy to keep an eye on it.
We're also keeping a close eye on Jess - the poor thing doesn't get a moments peace. Thankfully she has been happy to leave the bed for a few minutes during the day so we can keep her clean, she can pee and poo and we get the chance to rotate the vet bed in the whelping box. I took her around the estate for 10 min today to allow her to stretch her legs. As soon as she's back in the house though she goes running quickly up to the box and checks on her babies :)
Amazingly enough (never thought I would see the day), jess is somewhat off her food. She normally eats entirely on a raw meaty bone diet - lots of bone, meat, liver, kidney, tripe etc.. but she's turning her nose up at most of it. Was able to tempt her with some steak as well as chicken mince. She had a few chicken wings but turned away after about 4 (previously she would have eaten 4 kg of them !). Started giving her a little bit of puppy biscuit as well, the type we'll be using to wean the puppies.
Up until the birth, my research was solely on the birthing process - what was expected, what was not, what constituted an emergency and how to handle it - I must have read the same chapters in each of the books 20 times at least :) Now I can forget about that and concentrate on getting the puppies through the first 2 weeks which is such a critical period for them. The literature on fading puppy syndrome and the myriad of problems/complications that can arrive is daunting :(
We are lucky enough to already have enough people on the waiting list to ensure that all puppies will have new owners looking to provide them with all the love and the care in the world they deserve :)
Tuesday 18 May 2010
More puppies !!
Just when we thought it was over and the rest of the house was in bed asleep, Jess started having contractions again at 1:35am ! ( 4 hours since last pup born).
pup 7 (choc boy) was born 1:53am
pup 8 (choc boy) was born 4:10am
At 6am she started straining again but seemed to be having trouble due to exhaustion. Spoke to the vet who suggested leaving it a but longer to see if she could manage by herself. Wasn't happening so got to the vets at 930am for another injection of oxytocin. The vet took a quick x-ray so we would know how many more to expect. Turns out 2 pups were still in there.
pup 9 was unfortunately born still born and all attempts to resuscitate failed :(
pup 10 (choc girl) was born 11:27am.
So, in total we have 9 wonderful pups
- 3 black (2 girls and a boy)
- 6 choc (3 girls and 3 boys)
Jess is finally getting some peaceful sleeping - she has been an amazing mum through a very long (48 hours) labour. She has worked tirelessly to clean them, tidy up cords and stimulate the bowel and is lovingly protective of them all :)
Further costs : Out of hours vet, blood test and oxytocin shot £126.03. Further costs today for vet, xray and oxytocin but haven't paid yet so don't know how much !
pup 7 (choc boy) was born 1:53am
pup 8 (choc boy) was born 4:10am
At 6am she started straining again but seemed to be having trouble due to exhaustion. Spoke to the vet who suggested leaving it a but longer to see if she could manage by herself. Wasn't happening so got to the vets at 930am for another injection of oxytocin. The vet took a quick x-ray so we would know how many more to expect. Turns out 2 pups were still in there.
pup 9 was unfortunately born still born and all attempts to resuscitate failed :(
pup 10 (choc girl) was born 11:27am.
So, in total we have 9 wonderful pups
- 3 black (2 girls and a boy)
- 6 choc (3 girls and 3 boys)
Jess is finally getting some peaceful sleeping - she has been an amazing mum through a very long (48 hours) labour. She has worked tirelessly to clean them, tidy up cords and stimulate the bowel and is lovingly protective of them all :)
Further costs : Out of hours vet, blood test and oxytocin shot £126.03. Further costs today for vet, xray and oxytocin but haven't paid yet so don't know how much !
Monday 17 May 2010
Puppies ! :)
Well 2 hours passed and still no pups even after regular straining from Jess. Rang the emergency vet (of course the vet clinic had just shut !) and they suggested we bring Jess up so the vet could take a look. After inspection vet believed Jess was doing fine, just slowly. Did a quick blood test to check for levels of glucose and calcium. Seems her glucose drinks and raw meaty bones served her well and both levels were in the ideal range. With that, an injection of oxytocin was made to help Jess kick start the process. The drug cause the uterine muscles to contract meaning that the birthing process is done with little help from her (rather than relying on her abdominal muscles to squeeze the uterus). We we warned to expect a puppy within 15-20 min after the injection and since our trip back home takes 20 min, Jess had her first pup 5 min down the road from home. A hasty stop at the side of the road to make all was ok (she took over instantly, without fuss) and then home with the second one being born 25 min later.
It's now 10.30pm (32 hours after stage 1 labour began) and we now have 6 puppies :
1. Black boy born 7.15pm
2. Choc girl 7:40pm
3. Choc boy 8:22pm
4. Black girl 8:50pm
5. Choc girl 9:00pm
6. Black girl 9:57pm
Jess seems very relaxed now so we think that's all the puppies but we'll be keeping a close eye on her for a while. She is being so good with them all - I had no idea how noisy they would be ! Can't imagine how noisy a litter of 10 would be.
What an exhausting 32 hours it's been ! Got a few more ahead of us no doubt as well :)
It's now 10.30pm (32 hours after stage 1 labour began) and we now have 6 puppies :
1. Black boy born 7.15pm
2. Choc girl 7:40pm
3. Choc boy 8:22pm
4. Black girl 8:50pm
5. Choc girl 9:00pm
6. Black girl 9:57pm
Jess seems very relaxed now so we think that's all the puppies but we'll be keeping a close eye on her for a while. She is being so good with them all - I had no idea how noisy they would be ! Can't imagine how noisy a litter of 10 would be.
What an exhausting 32 hours it's been ! Got a few more ahead of us no doubt as well :)
Stage 2 !
Wow, after an anxious 25 hours her water has broken and we've started to see visible abdominal straining :) First pup should be delivered within 2 hours !
Stage 1 ... still
Perhaps it was my fault, saying that I hoped it wasn't as long as 18 hours ! It's been 20 hours now and Jess seems to finally be calming down - less frantic panting and she even seemed to be having a little sleep. I'm sure she's as keen as we are to get the puppies out !
Sunday 16 May 2010
Stage 1 labour underway
It started about 2pm this afternoon (Sunday). Jess has been heavily panting and shivering since then (it's now 11pm). She's also having bouts of shredding all the newspaper in he whelping box into confetti ! Poor thing, it does not look comfortable. Right now I'm just waiting for Stage 2 to start. According to the book of the bitch, Stage 1 labour (especially in first time mums) can last up to 18 hours - certainly hope not ! The average is 6 to 12 hours.
Watch this space :)
Watch this space :)
Temperature drop !
Jess was very restless last evening, observed her going in to the corner of a room and started pawing at the ground (around 9pm). From midnight for a few hours she was pacing around, sometimes just standing up still for a few minutes before settling back down. Then she dropped off into a longer sleep and didn't make much fuss for the rest of the night.
This morning she vomited clear, mucus like fluid, the same as what she had about 3 weeks into her pregnancy.
Took her temperature at 9am and it's finally dropped ! It's been very constant between 99.5 and 100.0 for the past couple of days, this morning's reading was down to 98.4. The temperature drop is regarded as the most predictable, nearly constant indicator that stage 2 labour will begin in 12 to 24 hours. I wish now I had taken her temperature a couple of times during the night as it could have dropped anytime between the last reading at 10pm last night and 9am this morning.
I'm certain that come Monday morning, we will have pups ! :)
This morning she vomited clear, mucus like fluid, the same as what she had about 3 weeks into her pregnancy.
Took her temperature at 9am and it's finally dropped ! It's been very constant between 99.5 and 100.0 for the past couple of days, this morning's reading was down to 98.4. The temperature drop is regarded as the most predictable, nearly constant indicator that stage 2 labour will begin in 12 to 24 hours. I wish now I had taken her temperature a couple of times during the night as it could have dropped anytime between the last reading at 10pm last night and 9am this morning.
I'm certain that come Monday morning, we will have pups ! :)
Saturday 15 May 2010
Still waiting !
Saturday lunchtime now and no movement on the puppy front :( Jess' temperature is still fairly constant. Dropped a little (0.3 F) yesterday down to 99.4 but then this morning was back up to 99.7. Seems it may be Sunday night before we see any puppy action. Jess woke me up at 2am, 4am and 6am this morning by coming over and standing, inches from my face with her tail wagging like mad :) Thought each time she was desperate to go outside but she wasn't - seems she had just woken up, spotted me sleeping there and decided to come over and say hello :)
Friday 14 May 2010
Consuming the placenta
This seems to be another area that causes great discussions (or arguments !) amongst breeders hence I felt it warranted a separate post. Like many other whelping lore, both arguments for and against are very subjective and not confirmed by research.
In the wild, the purpose of the afterbirths was to provide enough food and energy for a few days before she could go hunting again. Obviously in the modern home this is not required but a number of breeders claim other benefits such as
- More copious milk production
- Earlier uterine emptying
- Subsequent pups to be delivered faster and with fewer complications
All sounds very positive so what are the arguments against ? As far as I have heard/read it is limited to
- Bitch vomiting back some of the placenta
- Copious, fluid, dark bowel movements
This is no doubt because of the richness of the placenta. They are blood filled and very nutritious and consuming too many is probably an overload for some.
So in my opinion the summary is
- Possible benefits, while not proved by any scientific research, are steadfastly held to by some breeders and all sound very positive and exactly what you would want for the bitch
- Possible problems are vomiting and messy bowel movements
My philosophy throughout the whole process is to interfere as little as possible. Possible mess seems to be far outweighed by the possible gains in my opinion. Once again, Dan Rice is his book "The complete book of dog breeding" sums it up well
"I would far rather see a bitch allowed to eat all placental tissues than to see someone interfere with her normal maternal processes by grasping the placentas from her reach and taking them from her. Moderation is the key. If the whelping process allows you to retrieve and destroy some of the placentas, you will see less of the undesirable side effects. But use discretion, don't interfere ! Let the dam's natural, maternal instincts prevail"
Well said Dan :)
In the wild, the purpose of the afterbirths was to provide enough food and energy for a few days before she could go hunting again. Obviously in the modern home this is not required but a number of breeders claim other benefits such as
- More copious milk production
- Earlier uterine emptying
- Subsequent pups to be delivered faster and with fewer complications
All sounds very positive so what are the arguments against ? As far as I have heard/read it is limited to
- Bitch vomiting back some of the placenta
- Copious, fluid, dark bowel movements
This is no doubt because of the richness of the placenta. They are blood filled and very nutritious and consuming too many is probably an overload for some.
So in my opinion the summary is
- Possible benefits, while not proved by any scientific research, are steadfastly held to by some breeders and all sound very positive and exactly what you would want for the bitch
- Possible problems are vomiting and messy bowel movements
My philosophy throughout the whole process is to interfere as little as possible. Possible mess seems to be far outweighed by the possible gains in my opinion. Once again, Dan Rice is his book "The complete book of dog breeding" sums it up well
"I would far rather see a bitch allowed to eat all placental tissues than to see someone interfere with her normal maternal processes by grasping the placentas from her reach and taking them from her. Moderation is the key. If the whelping process allows you to retrieve and destroy some of the placentas, you will see less of the undesirable side effects. But use discretion, don't interfere ! Let the dam's natural, maternal instincts prevail"
Well said Dan :)
Stage 3 labour
Stage 3 labour is the expulsion of the afterbirth (placenta). It may not arrive until shortly before the next pup is born. Make a note if it's not expelled with the pup and observe if expelled later on.
The bitch will relax a little and spend some time cleaning and nursing the puppy. It is important that the puppies are fed by the bitch as soon as possible after the birth so they get maximum benefit from the colostrum, the first milk. Although colostrum may be present in the teats for a few days, puppies can only utilise it properly for a limited time, perhaps as little as 12 - 36 hours after whelping. The colostrum contains antibodies to all the diseases that the bitch has encountered in her life as well as those she has been vaccinated against.
After a variable time (10 min to 2 hours), stage 2 labour will begin for the next pup. You should not allow more than 2 hours in between delivery before contacting vet
The bitch will relax a little and spend some time cleaning and nursing the puppy. It is important that the puppies are fed by the bitch as soon as possible after the birth so they get maximum benefit from the colostrum, the first milk. Although colostrum may be present in the teats for a few days, puppies can only utilise it properly for a limited time, perhaps as little as 12 - 36 hours after whelping. The colostrum contains antibodies to all the diseases that the bitch has encountered in her life as well as those she has been vaccinated against.
After a variable time (10 min to 2 hours), stage 2 labour will begin for the next pup. You should not allow more than 2 hours in between delivery before contacting vet
Signs of Stage 2 labour
These are my notes made on Stage 2 labour
- Firstly, it's important to note the time when this starts, so as to know when to call for help
- Stage 2 labour begins when visible abdominal straining begins
- A moderate quantity of clear, straw or light pink coloured fluid leaks from birth canal
- The bitch must not be allowed to strain for more than 3-4 hours without having a vet investigate - call after 2 hours and warn vet
- Second and subsequent puppies should come with no more than 1 hour of straining - if not, call vet
- If the puppy is visible and applying gentle traction does not produce the puppy within 10 minutes, call the vet
- Puppies will often appear in pairs (one from each uterine horn)
- The sac membrane around the puppies do not always rupture at birth. If born with the sac intact, observe the bitch very closely. She should tear open the sac and lick the puppy vigorously, rolling the pup over and over, cleaning the puppy and chewing the cord
- If the bitch fails to break the sac then help her. Tear it open with your fingers and clear the pups nose and mouth
- If necessary, also use your fingers to ease the blood within the cord back down to the puppy and shred the cord. Rub the puppy vigorously in a towel before handing it back to the bitch. The key here, as is with the whole process, is to interfere as little as possible, only when absolutely needed and then once the safety of the puppy has been ensured, let the bitch take over
- 40% of puppies are born hind legs first, this is not a problem and is not a breech delivery (that is when the tail comes out first and the hind legs are tucked back inside). Most breech puppies will be delivered fine by the bitch but you need to observe closely and call the vet if the pup is not coming out after 10 minutes. Never apply traction to the puppies tail in a breech delivery
- Firstly, it's important to note the time when this starts, so as to know when to call for help
- Stage 2 labour begins when visible abdominal straining begins
- A moderate quantity of clear, straw or light pink coloured fluid leaks from birth canal
- The bitch must not be allowed to strain for more than 3-4 hours without having a vet investigate - call after 2 hours and warn vet
- Second and subsequent puppies should come with no more than 1 hour of straining - if not, call vet
- If the puppy is visible and applying gentle traction does not produce the puppy within 10 minutes, call the vet
- Puppies will often appear in pairs (one from each uterine horn)
- The sac membrane around the puppies do not always rupture at birth. If born with the sac intact, observe the bitch very closely. She should tear open the sac and lick the puppy vigorously, rolling the pup over and over, cleaning the puppy and chewing the cord
- If the bitch fails to break the sac then help her. Tear it open with your fingers and clear the pups nose and mouth
- If necessary, also use your fingers to ease the blood within the cord back down to the puppy and shred the cord. Rub the puppy vigorously in a towel before handing it back to the bitch. The key here, as is with the whole process, is to interfere as little as possible, only when absolutely needed and then once the safety of the puppy has been ensured, let the bitch take over
- 40% of puppies are born hind legs first, this is not a problem and is not a breech delivery (that is when the tail comes out first and the hind legs are tucked back inside). Most breech puppies will be delivered fine by the bitch but you need to observe closely and call the vet if the pup is not coming out after 10 minutes. Never apply traction to the puppies tail in a breech delivery
No action yet
No action during the night - Jess seemed to calm down a little. Took her temperature this morning - still the same, hovering close to 100 F. So, will we see puppies today or tomorrow ?!
Forgot earlier to add extra costs : £33 for puppy gate, £18 for a bottle of Dopram V (respiratory stimulant - here's hoping we don't need it !) - total now over the £1500 mark
Forgot earlier to add extra costs : £33 for puppy gate, £18 for a bottle of Dopram V (respiratory stimulant - here's hoping we don't need it !) - total now over the £1500 mark
Thursday 13 May 2010
First signs perhaps .... ?
Jess seems very restless this evening, and very clingy. Getting up and down a lot, obviously finding it hard to get comfortable and I noticed for the first time a stringy, mucus discharge from her vulva while out walking her this evening. Been taking her temperature 3 times a day and it's been pretty constant at 100.0 F, last reading at 10pm was 99.7 F so no drastic drop. While I realise there are a number of indicators to look for, all the books also mention that for some, the first sign of whelping is a pup appearing so I'm not waiting until all the boxes are ticked before expecting whelping to start.
Don't believe it will be tonight but I've got everything ready just in case and I'm sleeping downstairs with her ......
Don't believe it will be tonight but I've got everything ready just in case and I'm sleeping downstairs with her ......
Wednesday 12 May 2010
Signs of Stage 1 labour
Stage 1 labour seems to be quite variable. On average it lasts between 6 and 12 hours but can be as long as 18 hours. For some though, the first signs that whelping has started is the arrival of the first pup !
Common signs that can be visible during stage 1 labour are :
- restlessness and nervousness
- shivering and panting
- scratching and digging at the floor
- repeated lying down and getting up
- frequent licking of the vulva
- a clear, odourless, stringy vaginal discharge (like raw egg white) : this is the mucus plug that filled the cervix during pregnancy
It's now Wednesday night, 60-61 days past ovulation so I'm expecting it all to start very soon :) We've been taking her temperature since last night and it's been fairly constant at around 100 F. I need to finish assembling the whelping gear tomorrow, the list is
- box with bedding and hot water bottles should any of the puppies need to be temporarily removed from mum
- surgical gloves
- towels
- newspapers (lots of them)
- dettol wipes
- dopram v
- kitchen paper and gauze pads
- vet details !
- torch with fresh batteries
- glucose and water drink (for the dog !)
- bin liners for putting all the soiled paper in between puppies
and of course
- digital camera batteries charged
- video camera battery charged
Common signs that can be visible during stage 1 labour are :
- restlessness and nervousness
- shivering and panting
- scratching and digging at the floor
- repeated lying down and getting up
- frequent licking of the vulva
- a clear, odourless, stringy vaginal discharge (like raw egg white) : this is the mucus plug that filled the cervix during pregnancy
It's now Wednesday night, 60-61 days past ovulation so I'm expecting it all to start very soon :) We've been taking her temperature since last night and it's been fairly constant at around 100 F. I need to finish assembling the whelping gear tomorrow, the list is
- box with bedding and hot water bottles should any of the puppies need to be temporarily removed from mum
- surgical gloves
- towels
- newspapers (lots of them)
- dettol wipes
- dopram v
- kitchen paper and gauze pads
- vet details !
- torch with fresh batteries
- glucose and water drink (for the dog !)
- bin liners for putting all the soiled paper in between puppies
and of course
- digital camera batteries charged
- video camera battery charged
Saturday 8 May 2010
Signs that whelping is imminent
As mentioned in the earlier post, one of the most reliable indicators is the bitch's body temperature. The temperature will drop from a normal 101.5 F (38.6 C) to less than 100 F (37.7 C), often as low as 98 F (36.6 C). This happens about 12 to 24 hours prior to Stage 2 labour begins.
Another sure sign that it's all about to kick off is the presence of a green vaginal discharge. It is the result of early uterine placental detachment. This fluid can be intermittently observed until several days or a week after whelping.
Another sure sign that it's all about to kick off is the presence of a green vaginal discharge. It is the result of early uterine placental detachment. This fluid can be intermittently observed until several days or a week after whelping.
Signs whelping is getting near
Several days before whelping you can notice (although each bitch is different)
- Appetite gradually diminishes (yeah right, surely this is not going to happen, at any rate, Jess would be happy to consume an entire cow at the moment :)
- Bitch becomes restless and sedentary
- Stomach muscles relax and abdomen becomes more pendulous and distended
- Mammary glands enlarge
At this stage it's advised to start taking the bitch's temperature as this is one of the most predictable, nearly constant indicator that whelping is imminent (see next post). The temperature should be taken three times a day (at the same time each day) and the results recorded. It is of little use to only take a couple of random measurements. Got a digital thermometer but not so sure Jess is going to be very receptive of the method of obtaining the temperature (neither am I for that !)
Not long now !
Estimated whelping day is one week from today ! Over the last week I've been doing more reading and note taking on the actual birthing process - mainly so I know what's normal and what's not. I've found a really good book "The Complete Book of Dog Breeding" by Dan Rice (see links section for shortcut to amazon). I realy like the author's approach to the process - minimal intervention !
The Whelping chapter starts with the author saying "I don't subscribe to the concept and practice of taking over the dam's responsibilities. I believe it reduces natural, instinctive canine maternal behaviour.......our help should be reserved for those times when a puppy or the dam is at risk". Well said Dan :)
The following chapter covers difficult births (Dystocia) and once again ends with a great summary that I've decided will be my mantra through the whelping process
"Problems are often created by overzealous or radical actions. It is important not to offer assistance until you are sure it is needed. Once a decision to intercede is made, your assistance should be as quick and efficient as possible. Have a good idea of what you are going to do, do it, and get back into the audience. Use common sense and moderation."
Great advice I believe. I used this book and the "Breeding a litter" by J.M Evans (co-author of Book of the Bitch) to compile a summary of each stage of the labour and what constitutes the need to get involved. I'll type up my notes over the next few posts.
Costs since last post : Thermometers (one for the room and one for Jess) £12, Picket fencing for the garden (not going to be needing this for a few weeks but Argos had a special :) £20, Vet bedding (a monster roll 1.5m x 5m of basic vet bedding) £33
Eight people on the waiting list now so with our pup, that's nine accounted for - lets hope Jess has enough to give everyone what they're looking for !
The Whelping chapter starts with the author saying "I don't subscribe to the concept and practice of taking over the dam's responsibilities. I believe it reduces natural, instinctive canine maternal behaviour.......our help should be reserved for those times when a puppy or the dam is at risk". Well said Dan :)
The following chapter covers difficult births (Dystocia) and once again ends with a great summary that I've decided will be my mantra through the whelping process
"Problems are often created by overzealous or radical actions. It is important not to offer assistance until you are sure it is needed. Once a decision to intercede is made, your assistance should be as quick and efficient as possible. Have a good idea of what you are going to do, do it, and get back into the audience. Use common sense and moderation."
Great advice I believe. I used this book and the "Breeding a litter" by J.M Evans (co-author of Book of the Bitch) to compile a summary of each stage of the labour and what constitutes the need to get involved. I'll type up my notes over the next few posts.
Costs since last post : Thermometers (one for the room and one for Jess) £12, Picket fencing for the garden (not going to be needing this for a few weeks but Argos had a special :) £20, Vet bedding (a monster roll 1.5m x 5m of basic vet bedding) £33
Eight people on the waiting list now so with our pup, that's nine accounted for - lets hope Jess has enough to give everyone what they're looking for !
Wednesday 5 May 2010
New photos
I've added some more photos of Jess at 5, 6 and 7 weeks pregnant - see the photos link. Still waiting to be able to feel/see puppies moving but no luck yet :( Got to sort out final list for whelping requirements in next couple of days. Borrowed a whelping box from a friend which has saved some money (they can be very expensive !). Last night we turned our downstairs area upside down, rearranging everything to create a quiet, separate area where Jess and the pups will spend the next 2 months. Feeling comfortable about my readiness for the whole birthing process now and just can't wait for it to start (although I'm sure Jess is not so keen !)
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