Is she 43 days Pregnant? - Page 3

"Nice to see some of you giving the help and advice this woman came here for instead of the usual nasty, snide remarks."

I am impressed. Thank you guys for helping this new member out.

@ FirstAndOnly I wish you and your girl the best of luck. If you should need advice during whelp feel free to post here and I am sure members will be able to talk you through it.

 

It is too true, though, that if a breeder takes all the needed, expen$ive steps to ensure a healthy, genetically sound litter, does progesterone testing to ensure the bitch is in her fertile period, and goes to the trouble to do artificial insemination (MORE money) she won't take.

But let the neighbour's mutt jump the fence, and sure as shooting, she'll whelp 10 or more bouncing bundles of mixed-breed joy!

Remember Murphy? As in "Murphy's Law"?  Murphy LOVES the dog-breeding business! 

 

Oh, yeah...you can be sure she was a WILLING participant in all this! I haven't done any breeding, but have had a couple of in-heat females to deal with...   When they're ready, THEY'RE READY!  And if the male's not showing enough interest, they will shove their butt in YOUR face!

One of my dogs is the result of her mother opening her kennel and climbing an 8 foot fence to get herself in with the stud. Fortunately, he was the same breed as her, and it was a mating the breeder was thinking of doing, just not on THIS particular heat! 

 

The male can be just as persistent in trying to get to the female. I have heard of litters being conceived through chain link fences. One dog busted out of his crate, and chewed his way through two doors to get to the female.

If you don't spay her after this, please be aware that she isn't completely safe even on leash. A loose male dog can be VERY persistent, and even endure being kicked for the sake of a little pleasure. He may even camp out outside your house for the duration of her season, and be ready to pounce on her when you come out for a walk. I had this happen with my first intact female. She was a rescue, so I had no idea if she was spayed or not until she actually came into season. I sent this particular male off to the pound twice during the course of her heat, and made sure she was supervised even when I let her out in the backyard, in case he found a way around or under the fence!  You might want to take a stout walking stick with you when you walk her during her season, or get a pair of doggy panties for her, that will prevent the male from being able enter. You local pet store will probably sell these, or can order some for you. They are also good for preventing the female from spotting on your carpets and floors when she's in season.

FawnDallas: the vanilla ice cream, is it the same purpose as the shots I've read about? I'll read more about it if I can find it but so far, this is the first I've heard of vanilla ice cream...Thank you!

Feeding ice-cream during whelping may not stay down. Go to farm store or big pet store or on line and get calcium paste for dogs, or calcium paste for goats and follow directions.

FirstandOnly, no, they serve more or less the same purpose, but are totally different. Calcium is very important in the physiology of muscle contractions, and of course, muscle contractions are what pushes the pups out into the world.

The shots are oxytocin (also called pitocin, as it comes from the pituitary gland.) This is a  hormone that stimulates contractions of the uterus. While the calcium paste or ice cream will not cause any harm, oxytocin MAY cause the bitch's uterus to rupture, if she has a pup blocking the birth canal!

Experienced breeders often are allowed to use it by their veterinarian. Inexperienced breeders need to be aware of the risks. If labour stalls, you probably should go to the vet to get the drug.

There are safer ways to help a tired bitch pass those last few pups. One breeder I knew, (now passed away ) with more than 40 years' experience in whelping, would run her bitch up and down a flight of stairs. The combination of gravity and movement would often help move the pup down the birth canal.

First and foremost stop freaking out.  Nothing good comes from being a freak. Dogs don't work well under that sort of stress. She's a dog and most likely she will do just fine.

It would help to know what sort of dog the father was, (Best guess?) because finding home for large mixed breed puppies might be a real challange. Why not contact one of your local pet adoption groups now and find out if they have an experienced puppy raisers in the group. This person can be your mentor and also help you to correctly place your pups when they are 8 weeks. They can also be your guiding hand if problems should arise.

Next no one had mentioned that your female dog should be on puppy food from now until sher pups are weaned. She will need these extra calories to help produce the milk needed to raise these pups. And at 3-4 week when the pups can start on eating mushy puppy food you will have plenty already on hand.

Get her a large kiddy pool for a whelping box to start with. Fill it with blankets and towels from good will. Anything that can be washed or tossed. Because after 2 weeks puppies start getting really messy. Plan to have a area to contain the pups after 2 weeks that mom can get into but the pups can not get out of. Really big cardboard box? (I used a washing machine box for my litter until they needed an X-pen. Then it was time for puppy Fort Knox.)

I had friend that took in a female German shepherd that someone dumped in their neighborhood, one of the neighbor's claimed her, chained her in the front yard and ASAP she went into heat and got prego.  About 4 weeks into her pregancy they were evicted and left her chained to the tree. My friend cut the chain off and took her home. Heartworm + and full of puppies. She had 9 lab/shephrd and who knows what pups.  They were all born with very little help and that mom did a steller job of raising them. And my friends contacted one of out local shelter groups who helped them treat her heartworms, and treated and placed the whole litter at no charge. They even found a great home for the mom.

So i really hope things turn out as well for you.

Please ask lots of question, things are really not super hard when it comes to large breed type dog birthing. Just be prepared for some things to not go perfect, maybe lose a pup or one gets sick and needs treatment.) and keep your chin up. Lastly ask your vet about spaying her, because the longer you let an older female go through heats with no litters the better your dog's chance of getting a PYO. (pyometrosis a serious and life threating infection of the uterus.)

Best wishes!

Fry

 

 

 

Having the puppies on your bed is not a good idea. In my experience even newborns are mobile and scooted all around the box. You need to get whatever you are going to use and make her use it, you may have to sleep on the floor by it. Birthing puppies is a very messy process both during and after. She will have discharge for some time after . If you have carpet you will need to cover it with plastic.

K9gsd78: I'm sorry if I made you feel bad for your comment, that was not my intention. And I did not take your comment as mean spirited, in fact, I sympathized with your frustration and do not want anyone in this forum to feel bad for their comments, advice or words. Your humor was not lost on me, and I still appreciate any suggestions you can give.

As an update, I spoke to my vet who informed me I am full of chaos lol. She let me know in no short terms that I am barely treading water but she's there if and when I need her, she also told me I can't count. My baby is not 43 days but I'm fact 37 days. Which explains why it's not obvious that she's pregnant. We spoke about doing a scan or xray so we are going to do a "dry run" to see if she can handle it, but the moment she becomes upset we'll stop. If she does good, she'll go ahead and do it then.

Sunsilver: I've only had male dogs all of my life, they are easier to me and the bleeding in females was not something I was interested in. Once I got her, I grew accustomed to it. Since I made a huge effort to keep her "safe" while she bled I thought it was all under control. I assumed that female dogs were like us women, fertile while bleeding. Never in a million years could I have thought there was more to their cycle then that and since I thought that was all there was to it, I didn't think there was anything to learn. Man do I know different now.

Even we women aren't fertile while bleeding...

You'll have lots of time to read up on biology of both species when you're waiting in the dark for those pups to arrive. I get a good book or waste time online when waiting for a bitch to whelp. 

http://leerburg.com/streamingdetail.htm?smodel=s118&utm_source=nlist&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=04302014 Here's a video on whelping puppies and it's on sale right now!