sharpeiple

We are a rescue group and we have had a 6 year old dalmation surrendered. She is purebred, perfect in every way, except that her ears are almost completely closed up due to long term infection. We are looking into the options and have stumbled across this Zepps Surgery. I'm speaking to my vet today to see if he is willing to try it, but I want more information before we commit. Has anyone here ever had it performed? Was the outcome what you had hoped?

1 week on and all puppies are thriving. Mum is glossy,healthy and has enough milk for all of them.

I'm working on that, but so far I can't work out how to do it. There are photos on our facebook page. Red Collar Rescue Inc. Biggenden

If hubby comes in soon I'll get him to help me post them on here.

Eleven is a huge litter for a Border Collie to raise and a lot of puppies to find homes for. Glad she got them all out ok and that you survived the whelping as well. Well done on coping with a difficult situation. Depending on the Mum's physical condition, I really think culling some might be a good idea. If the Mum is in peak conditon and you have homes lined up 11 is do-able but a lot of work. Even among purebred registered breeders, very large litters are sometimes culled down in breeds that are difficult to find the right homes for and accidental crossbred litters are usually culled down if not able to be aborted. It is all about being responsible and not adding to the numbers of unwanted dogs. I know you work in rescue and will make a decision based on your current situation but a lot in rescue don't realise that culling is still carried out sometimes by responsible breeders to keep the numbers down.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

I know it's a lot, and I certainly would have aborted had she come in earlier, but each pup will be desexed, chipped, vacced and started on heartworm prevention prior to leaving us. All adopters sign a contract that states the dog must be returned to us in the event that the person can no longer care for it, so ultimately we take responsibility for them for the duration of their life.

I believe that their lives are as precious to them as ours are to us, and could never consider culling. We are in a regional area where the average block of land is about 160-1000 acres, so the chances of them finding good responsible homes are better than average. They will have a home here with us until the perfect person comes along. And they always do eventually! Mum is in pretty good condition all things considered, as I believe other people were feeding her when they realized the owner wasn't, she's now parvac'd, wormed and flea treated, so I think she'll cope alright with the rigours of motherhood. Us women are tough. :D

Does this last line .....parvac'd, wormed and flea treated,......mean that you vaccinated an in whelp bitch?

If it does mean that, then you may have a big problem in vaccinating the pups. If this is the case, the bitch may have passed on the anti bodies and it may be nigh impossible to vaccinate for that disease. Please note I did say may.

She was given a 'parvac' (killed vaccine)on arrival, but only after I contacted my vet to ensure that it was safe to do so. She was wormed and flea treated the next morning before we knew she was in labour. But before she was given anything it was all checked for suitability for a pregnant lady.

Thanks everyone, It's a steep learning curve for sure. I'm just hoping my brakes don't fail.

sharyn

Eleven is a huge litter for a Border Collie to raise and a lot of puppies to find homes for. Glad she got them all out ok and that you survived the whelping as well. Well done on coping with a difficult situation. Depending on the Mum's physical condition, I really think culling some might be a good idea. If the Mum is in peak conditon and you have homes lined up 11 is do-able but a lot of work. Even among purebred registered breeders, very large litters are sometimes culled down in breeds that are difficult to find the right homes for and accidental crossbred litters are usually culled down if not able to be aborted. It is all about being responsible and not adding to the numbers of unwanted dogs. I know you work in rescue and will make a decision based on your current situation but a lot in rescue don't realise that culling is still carried out sometimes by responsible breeders to keep the numbers down.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

I know it's a lot, and I certainly would have aborted had she come in earlier, but each pup will be desexed, chipped, vacced and started on heartworm prevention prior to leaving us. All adopters sign a contract that states the dog must be returned to us in the event that the person can no longer care for it, so ultimately we take responsibility for them for the duration of their life.

I believe that their lives are as precious to them as ours are to us, and could never consider culling. We are in a regional area where the average block of land is about 160-1000 acres, so the chances of them finding good responsible homes are better than average. They will have a home here with us until the perfect person comes along. And they always do eventually! Mum is in pretty good condition all things considered, as I believe other people were feeding her when they realized the owner wasn't, she's now parvac'd, wormed and flea treated, so I think she'll cope alright with the rigours of motherhood. Us women are tough. :D

I've had helpers here this afternoon while I've been out, but I'm happy to say that we have 11 healthy pups.

Thanks so much for everyones support, I needed it. Mummy dog is sound asleep while we are rotating pups on nipples, i think she is just happy to feel safe and warm.

I've had helpers here this afternoon while I've been out, but I'm happy to say that we have 11 healthy pups.

Thanks so much for everyones support, I needed it. Mummy dog is sound asleep while we are rotating pups on nipples, i think she is just happy to feel safe and warm.

We are up to number 8. She's been pushing out one every 15 minutes or so. We are a rescue group, so hopefully we'll find some foster carers for them once they are ready to be weaned. They will all be desexed, wormed, chipped and started on heartworm before they go anywhere. I lose about $50-100 for each dog we rehome, but it's worth it!

She had her first at 10.15, then the second at 12.08 and the third at 12.10. I don't know it maybe the second one had blocked the exit for a while. Oh god, and another on the way.

Just spoke to them. She had the first one at 10.15, nothing since, but seems relaxed and happy. Focusing on the little girl.

She's just had her first puppy, It's black and seems a normal size. She's eating all the placenta so looks like she knows what to do. All I need now is some sedatives for me!

Oh Dooley, it's going to be a long day.

Thanks so mch for all the good advice. She's a border collie, but I've been told the 2 possible fathers are a mastiff or a poodle. I'm praying it was the poodle. She's indoors, she's warm, and on lots of soft bedding, but she seems to be panting all the time. I'm thinking maybe the pups are pushing up on her lungs as she's still intact this morning. I'll give her a drontal and a flea treatment, and she should feel a bit more comfortable.

Talk about being out of my depth!

I know this is probably going to sound silly, but I have a dog refuge and have had dogs my entire life, but I've never been involved in the procreation side of things. I've had a bitch come in today who is still technically 'in the pound' but was so heavy in pup that we thought it safer for her to do her 72 hours here rather than a cold concrete floor.

She looks like she'll burst, has a great appetite but as I don't know this dog I have no baseline to compare re her normal behaviour. There appears to be a little bit of milk in the back 2 teats, and the teats are swollen, but not engorged.

How the ???? do I know when she's getting close? What do I do? Is it safe to worm her and give her a comfortis at this late stage? She's no doubt wormy and is crawling with fleas. I gave her a parvac when she arrived today as my vet assured me it was safe, but I forgot to ask about the others.

I've searched the net, but all of the info sort of assumes you know what your doing to some extent.

Thanks

Ok so IMO this is pretty slack!

A vet in Bundaberg has started selling pups and kittens, you know they type, those overpriced 'purebreds' that come from who knows where!!

And here I was, thinking that vets were meant to be promoting the demise of 'backyard breeders' and puppy farmers. Isn't this just encouraging them??

Just my thoughts

This doesn't totally suprise me, and I think I know which one. I was in there the other day and noticed puppies and kittens in cages up the back. Is it the one that's just gotten a lot bigger right near the big shopping centre? I am really happy I use Isis Vets for all of our refuge dogs, he would certainly never do anything like that.