newborn puppy supplies - Page 1

I have a litter of puppies due between the 18th-27th of this month. It is my first litter. Is there anything that I should have on hand to give the puppies for any problems that might occur? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Mysti

Mysti! You will need warmth above all. A heating pad to place pups on to stay warm for a bit if mom has problems is really nice. Dry towels are always handy. You will need a infant bulb suction to suction mucous from the mouth and nose. Dental floss is handy for tying any cord that tries to bleed too much. I found that disposable baby diapers were really nice to help soak up the fluids from delivery and help keep things clean and dry. I am sure all will be just fine and I wish you all the luck with mom and babies! Wanda

Buy the Leerburg video on whelping a litter. It is a good refresher for those that have done it before and a must see if this is your first litter. If you take the time to view that video, entitled "Whelping Puppies"-Ed Frawley, you will spend minimum time at the keyboard asking questions, looking for which way is up, when it is time to go through the process. Stephen

I have the Leeburg Whelping Video and I am going to watch it again to refresh my memory. I also have a nice book on whelping puppies that will help me out a lot too. I also have everything and much more then was listed by gsdfriends. How warm do you guys keep your whelping room? What kind of materials do you have in the whelping box for when your dogs are whelping? Does anyone use bene-bac gel? Mysti

Mysti, when time will come up you just have to relax. If you've already watched video and read the books you'd knew what to do. The most important things is not to panic. I have about + 20-25 C in the room during whelping. In the whelping box I use old news papers and carton boxes (change it after each pup).

Mysti, I realize that you are probably doing these things, but the only things that I would add is that you keep your veterinarian informed on a day-to-day basis and be sure to have his emergency telephone number. I hate to sound like an alarmist, but make sure that you have an automobile that is ready to hold a whelping mother, i.e. plenty of dry towels inside, etc. just in case she needs a C-section. And make sure that you have a clean clothes basket lined with towels so you can safely move the babies and keep them warm. As far as materials are concerned, I just keep handy surgical scissors (never needed them) dental floss (never needed it) a lot of dry and clean newspaper (there seems to be never enough) plus a lot of clean bath and hand towels that I am not proud of. Keep a small pan and plenty of fresh water in case the dam gets thirsty while she is in the box. I start delivery on the towels and change them constantly to keep the box dry. After all are born, several layers of newspaper are fine. As others have said, the temperature is very important. I try to maintain about 85F-90F (29C-32C) for the first week, then drop it to 80F (27C) for the final weeks of nursing. Per instinct, the dam will usually deliver at night, so enjoy all of the sleep that you can until the time comes! The best of luck, Bob-O

Mysti, I just helped a friend of my whelp a litter of Weims. She had whelped litters before, I just asked if I could come and be a set of hands. If you have someone who your felmale is used to it might be a good idea if they could be there. This female had 9 pups, she would go for an hour or more no pups, have one wait 30 mins and drop the next two within 5 mins of each other. The Repo Vet told her to feed Vanilla Ice Cream after each pup, the calcium helps keep the labor going, the sugar keeps the bitch's energy up and she gets fluid also. I got to fed the Ice Cream, I did about 1/2 cup between pups. Another suggestion is two garbage bags, one for trash the other for the washing machine, helps keep things clean and orderly. Also a comfortable place for you to sit or lay down near the whelping box. I am sure you know the rest of this, a note pad and several pens or pencils (always miss place one), scale to weigh the pups (with sides would be nice, even as newborns they want to roll off the scale) and ways of marking your pups. relax and have fun.

look at my posts from about 4 weeks ago "PLEASE HELP ME BITCH ATE PUPS' If this is your first litter or hers, buy the Leerburg Video Also, be prepared for anything. Everything that could go wrong went wrong with my litter. I have 4 great thriving pups now, but lost 5. Bottle feeding every 2 hours for about a week and making mom nurse while wearing a muzzle was a bit tiring. Everything is great now, but just be prepared. I would purchase a quality milk replacer and bottle just in case. If youd like to know more just let me know Cole