WE JUST HAD 13 PUPPIES WOW - Page 1

My GSD just had her first litter of puppies yesterday. She had 13 of them and they are beautiful. She is being a really good mom.  I am new to this website but have found the information helpful that I have red and was wanting to get some advice on what to do and what not to do for the puppies. and my female. I want to do what is good for them and for her.

Congradulations!  I think a puppy shower for her is in order, LOL.  I'll bring a T-bone.  ~ Veronica

I totally agree. I have already promised her the biggest steak that Publix has

sicilysmom, the only piece of valuable advice I can give you is feeding rotations - I separated the boys & girls (for my sake only) and would make sure each group got equal feeding time and I made sure to weigh them at birth and then weekly to ensure they were growing and healthy.

Also, check the roof of their mouths to make sure it is not open (the main thing my vet checked on day 1), keep a log of the birth & weekly weights too.

Congratulations - WOW! 13 ....awesome !

Congratulations!  With 13 puppies (just went thru this a few months ago with 13).  Check their weights a couple times a day and in grams not pounds.  Much easier to see who is gaining/losing in grams.

Wow is right!

Keep Momma's weight up, too.  I think a Tbone is a grand idea.

Happy Birthday Babies!!

That's great news, that everyone is healthy too, be careful that the mom doesn't accidently
lay on a pup, my girl had her first litter, and it was 13, and she accidently layed on one,  
I'd hate to see that happen to anyone else. 

I was also told by a long time breeder of GSD's that in order to have good milk production,
you should feed the mom raw chicken, it brings the milk in, I've never had to supplement
the growing pups with formula, they would eat in shifts, some eat & some sleep, if in a couple 
of days you see some small pups, or pups that don't feed to vigorously, take the big pups off
the nipple that they picked & let the whimpy ones eat.

  I don't supplement, cause the mom's milk production adjusts to the number of pups nursing 
off her, and if you interfere it slows down production of milk.
   Also, make sure mom has 24 hour access to water, they get real thirsty!

My pups are fun to play with now at 5.1/2 weeks old, they don't do much at all until after 2 weeks!

www.vonryansgermanshepherds.com

WoW!!!  13 that is a HUGE litter!!  I was with some friends of mine all last week, and they have been breeding for 35 years, they give their bitches one quart of goats milke to help supplement milk production.  They said goat's milk is close to mother's milk, and that it seems to help replenish her milk faster!

Good luck with all of those little ones!  My friends had 9, six week old puppies when I was down there, and they were a handful!!

Best of luck to momma too!!

With 13 pups that is way too many for a first time mom, especially.  This really freaks me out....

The first THREE DAYS is when mom disburses the very important Colostrum to her pups and ALL pups need to get it.  It gives them that very important immune system booster.  

You need to mark all pups first, with little collared ribbons ID them, weigh them WRITE IT DOWN. 

then here comes the kicker; 

You can't sleep for the next 2 nights, sorry... 

YOu need to write down which ones just fed, they need about 10 min each, then rotate around, FEEL/squeeze (sorry)  if Mom has milk left in her teets, if not, she needs to recoup and you need to write down the next group which is due.  SLEEP in that room or have a baby monitor next to your pillow to watch for the pups well being. 

I started it with 2 pups at first, and kept rotating wiht ck marks that which ones had fed, then went to three, to four , to five and on day three had all 10 pups on her.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND SOLID GOLD TRIPE for your Dam at this point.  Raw chicken, sure, but wash it really well, and make sure you feed your Dam 4 times per day.    With that many pups, she needs 12 cups per day from a very good food.  IF she is still bleeding, her drinking water should be PEDIALYTE in stead.   I always have bottles on hand weeks before mine welp and that is all they drink for the first 3-5 days depending how they recover.    If she is panting a lot she really needs the pedialyte ok.  

Take moms temperature a couple of times a day too.  

In Germany if a female has more than 8 pups they try to find a foster mother for the extra pups, and she is not allowed to have another litter for a year.  All the best to you and your pups!

First of all, you should be sleeping in the pen or next to it,
second of all, plan on not having a full nights rest for at least a week,
but it they turn out to look cute & cuddly, hey, it was all worth it!