Joan of Arc Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Long time since I posted her on DOL.... have recently had a litter of puppies and unfortuntaely lost 3 of 6. Autopsy results are due this week so more on that later. Of the three that are left, one does sleep more on his tummy than his side. but because they are bottle fed, I only feed him on his side... they are 10 days old today... a good friend suggested that becuase they are not with mum, and kept warm and well fed, they have a greater chance of becoming 'swimmers'.... this friend suggested that I make their bedding 'lumpy' which we have done by putting rolled up socks under the top layer of bedding... we have also got some small cuddly toys to put in there. Another breeder suggested that becuase of thier environment, they should all have 'a turn in the pillow slip' Some one once told me that all orphaned pups should be raised over egg cartons or similar. For instance, instead of egg cartons, would it be just as efficient to use that egg carton foam and put it under the top layer of bedding. And so I am interested in your thoughts and how you individually go about these issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjosa Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Sorry to hear that you have lost three of your babies I always have the eggshell foam in the whelping box under the blanket, it does help them to get up on their feet avoiding the possibility of flat chests. Are these babies orphans? If they are what is the substitute milk formula that you are using? I have hand reared singletons because the Dams are not overly interested, I have used a mixture of substitutes, Wambaroo, Di-Vetalac, with varying degrees of success, then about four years ago I bought Biolac, I can say I am more than pleased with the results, hopefully you are using a bottle and teat, not eye droppers or tube feeding, they need to suck to develop their jaws. Best of luck with the remaining babies, but do not forget go out and buy yourself some eggshell foam, I usually buy a single bed sized one and cut in half and jam it in the whelping box, then you have one in the box and one hosed down and airing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Roll them around lots ...... put them up each end of the pen/bed ...get them crawling/moving as often as you can ..... egg cartons are firmer than teh foam underlay. You may play around with bedding too .. make sure they can grip well .. and make 'speed humps' do not over feed ..... enjoy :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan of Arc Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 Sorry to hear that you have lost three of your babies I always have the eggshell foam in the whelping box under the blanket, it does help them to get up on their feet avoiding the possibility of flat chests. Are these babies orphans? If they are what is the substitute milk formula that you are using? I have hand reared singletons because the Dams are not overly interested, I have used a mixture of substitutes, Wambaroo, Di-Vetalac, with varying degrees of success, then about four years ago I bought Biolac, I can say I am more than pleased with the results, hopefully you are using a bottle and teat, not eye droppers or tube feeding, they need to suck to develop their jaws. Best of luck with the remaining babies, but do not forget go out and buy yourself some eggshell foam, I usually buy a single bed sized one and cut in half and jam it in the whelping box, then you have one in the box and one hosed down and airing. Thanks Mjosa - They are orphans in as much as mum isnt with them at this stage.... I am feeding Di-Vetalac, I was using a milk mixture but they we not thriving on that so went back to what I have used for 20 years... 25 years ago I used Bio-lac and it was wonderful... I have used Wamberoo once, with the Labs, but didnt find it as good as Di-vetalac and much dearer.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan of Arc Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 Roll them around lots ...... put them up each end of the pen/bed ...get them crawling/moving as often as you can ..... egg cartons are firmer than teh foam underlay. You may play around with bedding too .. make sure they can grip well .. and make 'speed humps' do not over feed ..... enjoy :) Hi Persephone.... it is a long time since I posted and spoke with you and others.... At this stage I am making them get lots of exercise before I feed them... I let them crawl around thier 'box' and encourage them to chase each other for company so that they are getting circulation going and building body strength... have plenty of egg cartons at home so I take you just put a layer of egg cartons directly under the top layer of bedding? and speed humps made of socks would be sufficient at 10 days I guess and as they grow maybe empty toilet rolls inside the socks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjosa Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 I find Biolac the best, I get mine sent from Pets on the Park in NSW, the last lot I got cost me around $35, worth every penny. As for the foam I use, the bumps are shaped like the Toblerone chocolate, much firmer than the eggshell shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Roll them around lots ...... put them up each end of the pen/bed ...get them crawling/moving as often as you can ..... egg cartons are firmer than teh foam underlay. You may play around with bedding too .. make sure they can grip well .. and make 'speed humps' do not over feed ..... enjoy :) Hi Persephone.... it is a long time since I posted and spoke with you and others.... At this stage I am making them get lots of exercise before I feed them... I let them crawl around thier 'box' and encourage them to chase each other for company so that they are getting circulation going and building body strength... have plenty of egg cartons at home so I take you just put a layer of egg cartons directly under the top layer of bedding? and speed humps made of socks would be sufficient at 10 days I guess and as they grow maybe empty toilet rolls inside the socks? :) They sound well rolled :p I roll half towels into tight , long rolls - so pups have to climb over them :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvawilow Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 I did try to toys and speed bumps in the box plus side sleeping but alas it didn't work and he ended up becoming a swimmer. I started out with egg cartons covered in pillow slips and then when he hit about 2.5wks and his chest had gone back to a more normal shape I switched to acoustic foam which is more expensive than the egg cup foam but a bit firmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessicaM Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 One of my friends who is a long term gsd breeder just recently had a litter of pups, one of the pups was a swimmer and had a terrible flat chest. She has never heard of or had a swimmer pup before so her vet reccomended the pup to be pts. I urged her to work on him and it will correct itself, he is now 9 weeks old and you wouldn't have known. Her pups usually sleep on a flat surface but after this issue she put carpet and egg shell foam as their bedding. Deffinantly worth investing in! Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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