An Insight into the care of our in-whelp bitches and the rearing of our puppies.

Rearing a quality litter correctly takes commitment, time, hard work and dedication.  I enjoy ever second of it and go through their pregnancies and births with them. (It’s a labour of love!!)

The basis of a healthy litter starts with the care of the bitches before mating.  They have to be of good quality and meet the breed standard.  They have to be fit and healthy, not over weight, have a sound even temperament and be fed on a good quality food for a balanced diet.  Their vaccinations and worming treatments are all up to date.

After a bitch has been mated, there is not a whole lot to change until they are about four or five weeks pregnant.  I would generally have an idea that a bitch might be in whelp due to a number of signs:-

-They might go off their food about two weeks after mating and maybe vomit a bit. 

-The features seem to soften and the ear carriage drops slightly

-They will generally take a bit more care of themselves and not join in rough play.

-The vulva stays slightly swollen after the season.

I never believe it fully, until I have had a bitch scanned (about 4 weeks after mating).  Once a pregnancy has been confirmed I will start to feed her on a good quality puppy food.  As she starts to get bigger, she will not be able to eat her normal quantity in the twice daily feeds, so I give her three or four smaller meals a day.  She will continue her normal exercise (free running with the other dogs) until a week before the due date.  At that stage they tend to be happy with a little stroll around the block. They also sleep a lot more. A couple of weeks before whelping I take them away from the other dogs at night and put them in a whelping box in another room.  The idea of this is to get them comfortable with where they will give birth.  A couple of weeks before whelping you can feel lots of movements from the pups and you can hear their heartbeats with a basic stethoscope.  A week before whelping or sometimes only 24 hours before, they do lots of digging in the whelping bed.  I give them lots of newspaper to rip up.  As whelping is imminent, the digging, pacing and general restlessness and panting becomes frantic.  She will go from this to resting on her side, and you can sometimes she small contractions at this stage.  She will probably not eat the day she will whelp and she may have diarrhoea.  Her teats will be very full.

When whelping is well and truly underway, the bitch may squat down as if going to the toilet and the water bag will appear.  I have seen a water bag appear twenty minutes before the first pup follows it and I have seen the water bag coming nearly with the pup! Either is fairly normal.  Sometimes I have waited two hours between the births of each pup and sometimes it is only five minutes.  When the first pup arrives the bitch may get a shock if she’s a first time Mum, and not know what to do with it.  I step in here and break the membranes from around the puppies head.  This reassures the bitch and she will take over and bite the cord and lick the puppy clean.  Sometimes, they are so busy with the first puppy, that they don’t even notice the arrival of the next one.  This is when I weigh the first born and put on an identity collar.  I do this on each pup and it allows me to monitor each puppy’s weight gain.  When whelping is over and Mum has settled with her brood I give her scrambled egg and brown bread (something light). Within 24 hours my vet will arrive and check all the pups and give the bitch an injection, to clear out any remaining afterbirths that might be left in the womb.   She will get 3 or 4 meals a day, as she will always be hungry keeping up with her puppies’ demands.  For the first few days I have to coax her away from her pups for toilet breaks.  When she is willing to leave them of her own accord, she will start getting gently exercise again with a couple of short walks a day.  I generally find that after a couple of weeks she is ready to go running again and exercise with the other dogs.

For the first two weeks I weigh the puppies twice a day and keep a record of the weights.  I find this the easiest way to make sure each pup is getting enough milk and that they are gaining weight steadily and making good progress.  Their nails are cut once a week. Between 10 and 14 days the eyes start to open and they can have their first licks of some food.  At two weeks old they get their first worming dose with Drontal puppy suspension.  They get this every two weeks till they go to their new homes.  At three weeks old they get readybrek with goats milk for breakfast.  As the days go on I increase the amount of meals In the afternoon they get soaked Hill’s Science Plan puppy nuts with tuna, pilchards or scrambled egg or cooked mince added in.  In the evening they get Robbie’s chicken and rice soaked in hot water.  By the time they are four weeks they are up on their feet and wagging their tails and starting to play with each other and toys. They are also getting their first teeth around this time.   At this stage they will be on four meals a day and being slowly weaned off Mum.  She will continue to sleep in with them at night till about 5/6 weeks.  By six weeks I like to try and have them weaned fully.  This does not always work as border bitches will generally keep feeding their young till all the pups have gone.

From when the pups are two weeks old they get a noise and sound CD played in the room with them.  This includes traffic noise, fireworks, babies crying and lots more.  The idea of this is that the pups will get used to the many different noises when nursing from their Mum and have no fear of these sounds when they go to their new homes. 

At seven weeks old the puppies get their microchip and 1^st vaccine and a clean bill of health from our vet.  The 2^nd vaccine and a kennel cough vaccine (if not already done) needs to be done at 10 weeks by your vet.  After this your puppy is ready to go out and meet the world.

A puppy is a big commitment and not something to rush into.  Please research the breed as much as possible and ask lot’s of questions.  If you put the work in during the first year, you will have a loyal, well mannered dog for the next 15 years.

Our puppies are given the best possible start in life from us.  The rest is up to you!!!

Here are some do’s and don’t to help you on you way.

Do

• Enrol in puppy training classes

• Be prepared for the arrival of your puppy i.e. Have your garden and home puppy proofed

• Be prepared for a few nights of listening to crying

• Be prepared for accidents on the floor

• Bring you puppy out in your arms (before 2^nd vac.) to experience new things

• Include your puppy in what you do when you can

• Clean up after your puppy out on walks

• Be consistent with training

• Register your puppy with a vet you can trust

• Take out pet insurance

• Start grooming early to accustom your puppy to it  

Don’t

• Have lots of people into your home on the pups first days with you

• Give into crying at night

• Leave your puppy for long periods alone during the day

• Over exercise a small pup – little and often is enough till the bones are developed

• Let your puppy off the lead near traffic

• Don’t over feed your dog

• Ever let you dog be the pack leader.  You are the BOSS and you make the RULES!

Puppies we have bred 

					

					

					

					
This is Kayla

She is 15 weeks old and is absolutely gorgeous.She is a fast learner
and she enjoys playing with our two elderley Jack Russels.She will play all day long
inside the house and out and then she just flops out and goes to sleep.She has
always been excellent at night,the minute you put her into her cage she goes to
sleep and stays asleep all night.She loves other dogs and children whom she meets
when she goes out and has brought such a spark into our lives.She is very
adventurous and loves exploring in the garden but when she stays in she is very
content and very affectionate. 
  
So,thankyou Julie,for Cutie Pie Kayla she has enriched our lives beyond measure.

                                        John and Irene.....Co Kerry.