Kadbury Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 A torch essential for toileting during first stage labour at night! Best of luck. Exciting but scary :D Oh yes I had to catch a pup in the dark.....Torch is Very Important... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwaY Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Panadol phone mobile charged petrol in the car and smooch them all from me !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 If possible have your mentor there with you, if not have the phone handy and call if you are worried about anything at all. If you bitch whelps easily and works out what to do you won't need to do much except identify the puppies, weigh them and check all is well. Clamps and ties for umbilical cords are only needed if the bitch doesn't chew through them properly and they bleed. Let the bitch do as much as possible. With a large breed it is important to avoid the puppies being stepped on as the whelping progresses. I prefer to just move them to a corner of the box out of the way as each new puppy is born. Some breeders put them in a separate warm box but none of my girls would ever tolerate that and woudl jump out trying to get them back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawksdale Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 A good bottle of wine! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 A good bottle of wine! :D Tempting as it may be to have something to steady those nerves remember you may have to drive. That's why I toasted the new year in at 6am once. When mum & babies were clearly really settled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilaryo Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 In between pups being born, put any pups onto mum to suckle, only removing when she starts to get restless for the next birth. If she's agreeable of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 :D Hi here is a link I found for clamps. http://www.whelpingsupplies.com.au/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=245 Thank you :) My main bit of advice - as The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy says: DON'T PANIC I have now seen 8 litters of puppies whelped & the best thing you can do is be relaxed so the bitch is relaxed. Stay with her, talk to her & encourage her but don't assume that you are going to have problems. The 1st litter I bred was 18 years ago - I had read EVERYTHING possible and was a real mess - the 2nd was much easier :D. If the breeder of your bitch is mentoring you, ask if it's ok if you ring her when the whelping starts. The breeder of my bitch was great - she was in NZ, though, so we ended up with a BIG phone bill! As others have said, good to ensure your vet will be available after hours - my bitches always seemed to whelp at some ungodly hour of the morning. Will write a BIG note and stick to the whelping box "relax...dont panic" Her breeder has told me to call at any time if i need them...they really are fantastic :) Relax. Essentials are Hope to hear good news & see wonderful photos soon. thanks you and i promise to post photo :D my friend is a doctor, who works in the ante-natal clinic at the W&C hospital here, along with doing the GP clinic at the same hospital. I asked her where I could get clamps for the umbilical cords and could she help me source them. She said don't bother - clothes pegs work just as well and are cheaper... or those "bull-clips" that you use to clip pieces of paper together. will add some to the kit sounds like a great alternative if my clips dont turn up in time :) A torch essential for toileting during first stage labour at night! Best of luck. Exciting but scary :D Will grab it from my car now Panadol phone mobile charged petrol in the car and smooch them all from me !! Will definitely grab the panadol :) and promise lots of kisses will be provided :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 If possible have your mentor there with you, if not have the phone handy and call if you are worried about anything at all. If you bitch whelps easily and works out what to do you won't need to do much except identify the puppies, weigh them and check all is well. Clamps and ties for umbilical cords are only needed if the bitch doesn't chew through them properly and they bleed. Let the bitch do as much as possible. With a large breed it is important to avoid the puppies being stepped on as the whelping progresses. I prefer to just move them to a corner of the box out of the way as each new puppy is born. Some breeders put them in a separate warm box but none of my girls would ever tolerate that and woudl jump out trying to get them back. i have a basket ready if she seems upset at all will go with your suggestion of just moving them to the side :) A good bottle of wine! :D i am sure we will celebrate with a nice bottle of wine once it is all over A good bottle of wine! :D Tempting as it may be to have something to steady those nerves remember you may have to drive. That's why I toasted the new year in at 6am once. When mum & babies were clearly really settled. good point defi will not start drinking till mum and bubs are doing well :) In between pups being born, put any pups onto mum to suckle, only removing when she starts to get restless for the next birth. If she's agreeable of course. thanks you :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlemum Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 One thing I forgot, once the whelping is finished & mum & pups are settled - please take a photo so we can see them! Oh, and I can't count - it's NINE litters of pups I've raised :laugh: & I've got zillions of pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mini girl Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Good luck - the first is the hardest - you have been given some wonderful advice - stay calm and reassure your girl the whole way through - I keep my girls close to me day and night when I know pups are on the way - the temperature is also a good guide - also they often seem to want to go outside to the toilet when a pup is near - and may try and get under a bush or something - take her out if she really seems restless on a lead - one very early morning on a St Patricks day my girl who had been with me all night wanted a toilet break outside and I turned my head for a second and she was under a bush - I managed to get her out as a pup was being born and had him outside on the pavers - of course we called him Patrick and he still has that name. You won't forget your first litter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Also rememeber to have something easy prepared for you to eat. It may take a while and you may not want to be out of the room for long to grab something, but you may need to eat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwaY Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Toilet paper and washing power are a must have as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Toilet paper and washing power are a must have as well. yes! I got caught short with the washing powder, so much washing and I didn't want to go to the shops and leave the newborns. I did have enough of everything else though :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 and lots of coffee to keep you going through the long nights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) Also rememeber to have something easy prepared for you to eat. It may take a while and you may not want to be out of the room for long to grab something, but you may need to eat! I had everything organized for my first litter except for this! When I finally got someone to get me some takeaway we had to rush to the vet. So I ate breakfast, then a cold burger about 10pm. I normally cannot last more than 4 hours without eating. So remember what u will need too. Edited February 9, 2012 by buddy1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) Thanks everyone...sorry for late reply internet has been playing up...just to let you know puppies arrived late thursday night...4 boys and 3 girls...sadly number 8 didnt make it edited becuase photo didnt load correctly Edited February 10, 2012 by king Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldielover Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Congratulations king.. they look like nice healthy bubbas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadbury Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Congratulations King.....how did it all go ? We need to know if you coped well following all this wonderful advice. Isn't puppy birth the most amazing thing - I cry with each new little pup. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumnut Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Congratulations Your babies are just gorgeous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 It went really well...the first one i was like omg it is here had tiny little freak out because it didnt breath the secound the bag was broken screamed out to hubby to come help then i looked back and pup was doing little squeels (big relief then messaged to self now stay calm :D ...pup was all clean and when it didn't drink immediately when placed near teat another minor little freak out and call to breeder (who assured me it was perfectly normal and to just relax...thought okay cool will send out a text message no sooner finished that received reply and looked at mum just as another pup started arriving 20mins after first arrival...followed 6 mins later by number 3 (was way to busy to even think about having a stress by that time lol)...chord 3 chewed a touch to short and bleeding so tried to tye with floss (yer right hands shaking, puppy wiggling not a chance)...so put bull clip on but mum kept licking at it and knocking it...just then breeder calls for update and says to grap a small cloth and squeeze cord really tight for a minute or so which works a treat :-)an hour past before next pup....so far 2 girls and 2 boys so very excited...then another hour to relax and sort things out and number 5 another little boy arrives...an hour later another boy followed half hour later by number 7 another little girl...at this point i am thinking this is no where near as bad as i had imagined but sadly things did not continue to go smoothly and despite her breeder calling numerous times and getting updates and telling us what to do next three hours later the last little one arrived not breathing and despite spending 30mins trying to revive it...it wasnt to be...sadly we had to admit defeat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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