How many puppies???

Post by **kninebirddog** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 10:00 am

She looks like she is getting close.
I am like that also..I like to know when my females start to contract and when pups are born so I can monitor how they are doing and if it goes past 3 hours or they are pushing and pushing and there is no progression I can be safe and head to the vets if needed...

I know a guy that lost his setter not to long ago ..she was in a whelp box set up down at the kennels ...apparently the pup was stuck so the poor dog was contracting all night not being able to push the pup out and when he looked in on her in the morning she was just laying there barely alive so he rushed her to the vet he lost the litter and his dog. I have to much invested in my dogs to not spend that extra effort for them.

Post by **ezzy333** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 10:10 am

kninebirddog wrote:She looks like she is getting close.
I am like that also..I like to know when my females start to contract and when pups are born so I can monitor how they are doing and if it goes past 3 hours or they are pushing and pushing and there is no progression I can be safe and head to the vets if needed...

I know a guy that lost his setter not to long ago ..she was in a whelp box set up down at the kennels ...apparently the pup was stuck so the poor dog was contracting all night not being able to push the pup out and when he looked in on her in the morning she was just laying there barely alive so he rushed her to the vet he lost the litter and his dog. I have to much invested in my dogs to not spend that extra effort for them.

Think we all are interested in our dogs enough to take good care of them and that includes doing what is necessary to insure they are doing OK. Would be crazy to do anything else.

Ezzy

Post by **kninebirddog** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 11:13 am

ezzy333 wrote:
kninebirddog wrote:She looks like she is getting close.
I am like that also..I like to know when my females start to contract and when pups are born so I can monitor how they are doing and if it goes past 3 hours or they are pushing and pushing and there is no progression I can be safe and head to the vets if needed...

I know a guy that lost his setter not to long ago ..she was in a whelp box set up down at the kennels ...apparently the pup was stuck so the poor dog was contracting all night not being able to push the pup out and when he looked in on her in the morning she was just laying there barely alive so he rushed her to the vet he lost the litter and his dog. I have to much invested in my dogs to not spend that extra effort for them.
Think we all are interested in our dogs enough to take good care of them and that includes doing what is necessary to insure they are doing OK. Would be crazy to do anything else.

Ezzy

I just thought this was an unnecessary death of a nice female and a litter of pups. I find that at least with my females they do better and remain calmer when I am around as when I try and leave them they are bound to try and follow me to where I am at

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 11:43 am

I appreciate all the advice I can get. We've had Brittanys for 11 yrs now, we've competed for 6 yrs, we've put titles on our "breeding stock", did the health clearances like we were supposed to, but this is our first litter....the first "home grown" puppies we'll be adding to our string, and we're very excited (if you hadn't noticed already).

Post by **kninebirddog** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 11:53 am

Karen wrote:I appreciate all the advice I can get. We've had Brittanys for 11 yrs now, we've competed for 6 yrs, we've put titles on our "breeding stock", did the health clearances like we were supposed to, but this is our first litter....the first "home grown" puppies we'll be adding to our string, and we're very excited (if you hadn't noticed already).

You worked hard for it ...and No couldn't tell that you were excited at all about this

whole Newpapers, Garbage bags, Infant kit nasal aspirator nail clippers and liquid medicine syringe...wally world has then for about 10 bucks

a stack of bar /auto towels come in real handy

I get one of the kitchen wire shelves and put the water and food on it so it is up and out of the way of the pups My walls on my whelp box are a bit lower to I have the shelf on the outside where the female can get to it easy and if anything spills it s out side of the whelp box

Pillows laptop phone note books pen clock and a kitchen scale with a large plastic container to weigh pups..bottles of water

Post by **ezzy333** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 12:25 pm

Karen I understand your excitement. Was just kidding you a bit with my post. Think I may be beyond the real excitement of birth since it is something I grew up with practically everyday. I have found that I can tell about as much when a birth is near by watching the female. They will stop eating and you will notice a difference in the actions as she will be more nervous in practically every case. I never made a whelping box but in later years with the dogs I used a kids swimming pool. But with the dogs as well as all of the other animals I found it better to leave them alone, let them make their own nest, and let them take care of the babies without my interference unless it is needed. But when you averaged over a hundred such births a year my Dad taught us a lot about animal husbandry and what to look for as there was no way you could catch and take temperatures. Looking back over all of these years we never loss a mother trying to have a litter. I did have one Brit that labored for 24 hours so we did have to do a cesarean. And I had one Jersey that we had to pull the calf. I think you will find a much stronger bond between babies and Mom when she is left to take care of the birth plus she needs to eat the placenta instead of us grabbing the pup and cleaning it.

Arlette, none of this means I don't care or do not take as good of care because I let Mom take care of it till I am needed. It is just what I found worked over the years and I did try it your way too before I found that everything worked better when I kept out of it. Our toy terriers always whelped out in the barn and we were told to leave them alone for a couple of days till Dad cut their tails. Then the next day we could pick them up and hold them for a few minutes. Guess that is where I learned as it worked and we just didn't have problems. It even carried over to our kids as we never had a MRI but have to admit it caught up with us when the last pregnancy turned out to be two 7 pound boys. But I still can't think why we needed to know that before we did.

Have fun Karen, It will be exciting I am sure and I know the pups and mom will be well cared for.

Ezzy

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:40 am

And the puppycam is working, wtih sound!

Don't worry, my son is home, so at the first sign of puppies coming, he'll remove her bedding and we'll be out the door on our way home from work.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:50 am

If you have whole newspaper when he removes the bedding have him toss in a few sheets of newspaper it will give her something to dig and tear up plus will help absorb fluids

what was her temp this morning

GUNDOGS · Post by **GUNDOGS** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:54 am

love the cam idea, man she looks like shes gonna explode i cant wait to see the pups, good luck..ruth

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 10:05 am

I didn't bother with temps this morning since someone would be home all day with her. I do have a small pile of newspapers down there to to in the whelping box, so we should be good there.

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 4:37 pm

Tess refused her dinner (well she picked at it when she thought one of the other dogs might be interested in it, but that was it), and her temp is down to 98.6

Chukar12 · Post by **Chukar12** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 4:40 pm

Here they come

Post by **kninebirddog** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 5:55 pm

yep some time tonight

Ruffshooter · Post by **Ruffshooter** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:09 am

Karen: Did you have a long night?
Hope all is well.
Rick

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:18 am

I'm STILL having a long night

Tess is fine, she's STILL in early labor (no pushing, no babies yet....just panting, digging, shaking. Just off the phone with her co-owner, who bred her last year....sounds like the same progression as last time.

Just off the phone with the vet who is not concerned but is on notice and available.

Ugh!

Knightfarms · Post by **Knightfarms** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:30 am

Good luck with everything today!!!

I'll put in a last minute guess of 7 pups; 5 boys, 2 girls.

doco · Post by **doco** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:34 am

Hope all is still good Karen. You need to be careful about home grown puppies, I ended up keeping three!

Bill

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:43 am

Hope all is going good...

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:50 am

She seems to have stalled, and is trying to rest. We went from endless hours of panting, digging, shivering, vomitting (well, 3 times), to her being much more calm, and trying to rest.

Vet said not to worry unless she's pushing for hours without results but she hasn't reached that point yet.

big steve46 · Post by **big steve46** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 12:46 pm

I'm starting to pace the floor!

mountaindogs · Post by **mountaindogs** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:02 pm

me too

this puppy cam is almost too much

GUNDOGS · Post by **GUNDOGS** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:12 pm

What happened to the puppycam???..i cant find the link...ruth

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:17 pm

Sorry, kept getting "too many users" message and had to take down the link.

Oh no! You guys saw me "feathering"?? Ooops! Tessa probably would have liked more privacy than that.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:32 pm

Karen wrote:Sorry, kept getting "too many users" message and had to take down the link.

Oh no! You guys saw me "feathering"?? Ooops! Tessa probably would have liked more privacy than that.

I do that when they are done also ...

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 6:50 pm

The first one was REALLY dicey! Water broke but puppy didn't come, and didn't come, and didn't come. BUT after walking her, feathering her and praying, we now have 3 boys and 2 girls, and she may not be done yet.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:07 pm

Yeah finally

She sure taking her sweet time

How big are the puppies are they fat little teletubbies

GUNDOGS · Post by **GUNDOGS** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:10 pm

Karen wrote:The first one was REALLY dicey! Water broke but puppy didn't come, and didn't come, and didn't come. BUT after walking her, feathering her and praying, we now have 3 boys and 2 girls, and she may not be done yet.

NO she has to be done cause i predicted 3 boys and 2 girls in my post when we were saying how many and how many girls and boys..i said 3 boys and 2 girls..i just may have a gift

..ruth

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:28 pm

Sorry, I ran upstairs for a half a secon and came down to another boy!

4 boys, 2 girls so far

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:55 pm

#7, a girl, just arrived, and I think more are on the way.

PkerStr8Tail · Post by **PkerStr8Tail** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:58 pm

PkerStr8Tail wrote:10 pups. 4 males and 6 females.

Believe!!!!!!!

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:00 pm

Well, on 2nd thought, I believe she's done. 4 boys, 3 girls.

big steve46 · Post by **big steve46** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:08 pm

big steve46 wrote:I'm guessing 7 good-sized pups.

Could it be??

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:13 pm

This is where I take female to bathroom and gentle stream of warm water and do that feathering for clean out

That was a long day at least she was good to wait for a weekend

PkerStr8Tail · Post by **PkerStr8Tail** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:28 pm

Karen wrote:Well, on 2nd thought, I believe she's done. 4 boys, 3 girls.

I have said that before and then...oops.

GUNDOGS · Post by **GUNDOGS** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:15 am

glad the waiting is over karen, now you get to watch those 7 little babies grow, im jealous..keep pics coming for updates..YAYY TESS...ruth

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 4:07 am

The pups came so fast once they started, we had just enough time to make up descriptive names and get them weighed! No time for pictures, so that will be our task today....to figure out who is who and get pictures of the babies. I'll post a few later today

mcbosco · Post by **mcbosco** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:09 am

excellent news congrats

Ruffshooter · Post by **Ruffshooter** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:26 am

Ruffshooter wrote:Put me down for 7.
She is a cutie.
Rick

Ha!! Big Steve, hows it feel to be second.

Congrats, Karen, the future BHO pups will take the FT trial world by storm.

Rick

remmy · Post by **remmy** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 7:36 am

Congrats Karen! Now the fun begins!

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 9:57 am

I don't have a picture of all 7 together yet, but here's a picture of the first 5.

mountaindogs · Post by **mountaindogs** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:59 am

Good heavens so cute AND big! How big was the heaviest one??

How's momma? was hard work for her, bet she's glad to be able to "rest." for at least 3 second.

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:13 am

The largest was 13.1 ounces, the 1st puppy to come of course, and currently nicknamed "Bottleneck". Tess is doing fine. She looks great and is being an excellent mommy.

big steve46 · Post by **big steve46** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 1:26 pm

Ruffshooter wrote:
Ruffshooter wrote:Put me down for 7.
She is a cutie.
Rick

Ha!! Big Steve, hows it feel to be second.

Congrats, Karen, the future BHO pups will take the FT trial world by storm.

Rick

I was the FIRST to post that I was correct! Plus, I had predicted they would be big pups, and 13.1 ounces is big for the breed.

Ruffshooter · Post by **Ruffshooter** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:07 pm

Sorry Steve I was 13 before you but big pups takes it.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 5:58 pm

Teletubbies.

Looking good .. So which one is Forrest

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:11 pm

kninebirddog wrote:Teletubbies.

Looking good .. So which one is Forrest

We plan to take the whole litter over to Doug Tighe's place when they're 7 weeks old for his help grading puppies and picking out the best male & female conformationally for us to keep.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:19 pm

Karen wrote:
kninebirddog wrote:Teletubbies.

Looking good .. So which one is Forrest
We plan to take the whole litter over to Doug Tighe's place when they're 7 weeks old for his help grading puppies and picking out the best male & female conformationally for us to keep.

Now that's torture....My most favorite time with pups is from about 2-3 days after the eyes open to the 5 week age...So much changes and growth in them amazing to witness the difference

big steve46 · Post by **big steve46** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 8:00 pm

Ruffshooter wrote:Sorry Steve I was 13 before you but big pups takes it.

There were a couple of others who guessed 7, but added incorrect info. You and I were completely correct with our prediction, so we will call it a draw and expect congratulations to both of us. Number one congratulations goes to Karen and her new family!

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:41 pm

Thanks everyone for playing along!

You're going to get sooooo sick of Brittany puppy pics!

There's one little guy hiding behind mom:

GUNDOGS · Post by **GUNDOGS** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:56 pm

Now thats the one to get, look at him backing his mom already

they are all so cute, and i dont think we could ever get sick of puppy pics

..ruth