Good stuff. I've alerted coma. He's on standby with a supply of captions. Hope this all goes smoothly for you. Part of me is glad it's not me, but another part is really quite jealous!
Puppy food is for puppies (it's geared towards a growing pup not a nursing mother). There might be some specific pregnant or nursing mother food but any diet change this late in the day will have minimal effect on the development of the pups. Sounds like the pups are pretty much ready to come out any day. Probably best to keep your dog on what she's used to eating (although she'll need more of it to produce milk). Her system will be pretty sensistive as it is and a diet change could upset her stomach. Then at 3/4 weeks start giving the puppies 'puppy mush' until they're on dry food at about 7 weeks? There're as many ways of weaning puppies as there are breeders in the world. Probably best to get a very up to date book from the library and follow that. Any book by Bruce Fogle (Ben Fogle off the telly's Dad) are pretty good. I've had three dogs from committed breeders and each one had a different diet sheet and regime when we got them. They all worked out in the end. Most (all?) regimes will end up with the pups on four meals a day at 8 weeks. Then that is carried on with the new owner for another couple of months. Then one meal is dropped (but the quanitity increased as the dog grows). Then another couple of months and yor dog should be down to two meals. Some people leave it at two meals (we do) while others drop it to one meal when the dog is basically mature.
wow thats insane! just get a dog and shes up the duff!! nice one! If you struggle to get rid of the last one i'll get on the blower to my mum, im sure she will come to the rescue!!
I'm glad the puppy food isn't essential, it's taken us this long to settle her bum down after a change in diet from the dogs home. I'll be sure to let the new owners know food etc. And we'll definitely be selective in who we give them to, no young irresponsible chavs. I'm going to need a lot of newspaper...luckily the Metro is free so I'll grab a stack off the buses every day We'll build her a giant box later, then we can line the area with newspaper, put her bed inside with sheets and towels and we're away. *breathes* Knowing my luck, after all this I'll get home this afternoon to find her and 8 puppies on our bed!
I'll be sure to send the pics straight to you two then so you can vamp them up Aye, part of me is "OMG when will this stress ever end, what next!", but part of me is "aww cute puppies :love:" and the rest of me thinking "weeks off work woohoo!" :cry:
No need to have time off work really. So long as the box or area you keep them in has a high enough wall so that your dog can get out while keeping the puppies in everything should be fine. She'll get out when she's had enough and back in again when they need feeding. So long as the area is warm and free from drafts they'll spend the day sleeping, playing, feeding and crapping (in varying degrees as they age). Did I mention you need lots of newspaper? If she's a good mother (not all dogs are) then she already knows more about looking after puppies than you ever will. If you are going to build a puppy box then you might want to include something called a "pig-bar". It's basically a shelf or bar around each wall of the box that stops a clumsy mother from crushing the pups. They use them in pig-pens (hence the name). Although that might be more complex than you really need.
I think I'll still take a week or two off to make sure, as she's still new to the house really (shh time off work is the best part ). Our housemate will be off for two weeks after me so that takes us up to 4 weeks, by which point they should be eating and scuttling about. Hopefully they'll learn by then to go on the newspaper and not behind the TV, but that might be too much to ask
Apparently you have to lick it clean, "You'll know they're clean enough when the texture on the tongue goes from slimy to slightly wet furry" Mitch
I've gone this long without licking furry things clean and I have no intention of starting now. End of discussion on that matter
Seems like Pasmith has given some good advice and actually I was going to post something regarding the mother crushing her pups but, Pasmith already mentioned it. As to getting rid of the pups when the time comes.... You may want to consider the channels in which you go through since the pups will be at least half staff. I usually avoid selling them or giving them away through the papers and have a vet that I can trust put the word out. (I have used shelters in other areas but not the ones here in Ohio as they usually have a rule that leaves bully breeds being put down with a no adoption policy. So they don't tend to be sympathetic.) *Edit* Oh.... And yes, the birth tends to be messy. Also you should be prepared to extend some help breaking the amniotic sacs. Most dogs do just fine but in my experience, this is something that happens from time to time for various reasons. Inexperience, exhaustion, ect...
I need to start building her whelping box once we're out of the vet in the morning. I'm actually thinking of looking for a childs paddling pool, it'll be more hygenic than cardboard and wipe clean. She'll more than likely have her pups in our bedroom since that's where her bed is at night, but I'll move her down into the area set. She's quite restless tonight so I'm hoping I'll get to the vet and not wake up to puppies! Her stomach is massive, this is going to be a fair sized litter
Admittedly, humans are much larer, but I was surprised how much water there was when the water broke for my son. So yes, LOTS of absorbent material for the birth. Sorry I don't know much more about dogs.
coma and CF will be posting pics once they've doctored them We've now returned from the dog shelter. Their vet (not old enough to be out of school!) said another 5-10 days as she's not producing milk yet, and by the size of her belly he said 9-10 pups The only thing they can do is take her in to have the pups then give her back to us. No way! We're having them at home. Just have to get the whelping box set up now - then wait...
Quite right and you know you are. It's her home now and to take her back even just to have pups would be a betrayal of her trust. You and Mei look after her and everything will be fine. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
You'll have fun with them. Nothing like having that first (and hopefully last- get that dog to the vet to have her spayed after the pups are weaned!) litter. Especially as the pups get older and you have a mass of doggy love running about the place widdling on all the floors. Good luck!
Cheers The mother will be spayed asap. She'd be spayed now if it wasn't for the pups! And we're hoping to contain them in the non carpeted area once they find their legs. We're all set now, we picked up a big childs paddling pool today for a whelping area, which she loves. And they have the tiniest little chews for puppies in Pets at Home!
We had Chinese pug puppies (four in our litter) when I was a kid. They were a lot of fun, a HUGE mess, and very, very cute. It almost breaks your heart when you send them off to someone's home. I am trying to remember what we weaned ours on, but we had to do it really early as the bitch's milk dried up on us and she wouldn't take to her pups so we had to raise them totally by hand. Which was a true pain.
She's a very loving licky dog, so I'm hoping we won't have a problem with her caring for them. It's a bit concerning that she's not producing milk yet, she looks ready to burst and she doesn't have long left. If a big dog has had her it's possible she'll be premature and not have enough milk, so we're stocking up on puppy milk just incase. It's amazing feeling the pups move inside her
