BREEDING/WHELPING INFORMATION

BREEDING

There are a lot of different ways that breeders out there go about breeding their dogs. You can find a lot of great information in books on breeding dogs and I would recommend that you read quite a few before going through with the process. One book that we highly recommend is SUCCESSFUL DOG BREEDING The Complete Handbook of Canine Midwifery by Chris Walkowicz and Bonnie Wilcox, D.V.M published by Howell Book House. The following is the way that we go about breeding our females or doing our studing.

If you own a female and are planning on a studing then please remember that it is very important to first have a brucellosis test. Brucellosis is a terrible sexually transmitted disease that will cause sterility in dogs. A good breeder will require you to have this test done before eve considering you. Also you MUST take your female to the male. Males preform much better in their home environment than in strange surroundings. This presents a few issues to you the owner of the female. Some people cannot stand to be separated from their female. If you cannot stand the separation just think how long she will be away from you while she is raising the puppies. If you cannott stand that thought then I would seriously reconsider breeding at all. If the stud is close enough to you that you can drive there and stay while the dogs are breeding I highly recommend this. You are able to observe the breeding and to have a little more control. If you are not close to the stud you will then have to make arrangements with the breeder to leave your female. We usually tell our clients to plan on leaving their female for at least a week. This gives the male time to get to know the female and then time for the breeding.

When do I know my female is ready to breed

Most females come into heat and become puffy and swollen in the vaginal area. This is very noticeable! They should also bleed. Some females bleed like a stuck pig and others you can hardly notice. If you are having a hard time telling if they are bleeding you can use a moistened Q-Tip and swab the area. Note the first day that they start to bleed, and about 1 week latter they should just about be ready to breed. This is the time I recommend taking them to or putting them with the stud. Remember that females stay in heat for 3 weeks and that even after they have been with the stud it is still possible for them to become pregnant with an unwanted male if you are not careful and do not keep them locked up during this time.

In our experience we have found it best to breed every other day. This period of rest gives the male time to recoup and bring his sperm count back up. Other breeders think that it is better to breed everyday but we have found that this creates a tired male, and then they tend to loose interest in the female. It really is only necessary to breed every other day because the males sperm will stay in the female for up to 7-10 days. Sometimes one breeding is enough but we recommend having the female and male lock at least 3-4 times to assure a successful breeding. Do not become alarmed when the male and female lock or tie. This is normal. They should remain together for 12-20 minutes but we have had locks that have lasted upwards of 30 minutes or so. Do not try to separate a locked pair this could result in injury to the dogs. Once the male has done his job and relaxes they will separate naturally. We do recommend holding the female still during this process because they tend to drag the male around and this also could result in injury to the dogs. If you do not want to hold them then lock them into a small enough crate or kennel to keep them still.

Females are usually susceptible to fertilization day 9 to day 16. With Ovulation typically being around day 12 to 14. Most well used studs Know when the time is and will not breed until then. Some of the younger males are a little more randy and will breed much sooner. If you female is bouncing around and teasing the male and wanting to play then she is not quite ready yet. Most female will signal the male by flagging them which is raising their tails and putting their hind quarters in their face. This signals that a female is ready and it is time to mate.

Sometimes a desirable male is too far a way to travel to and so a sperm sample is sent and A-I is done. We recommend this be done by your vet unless you are extremely skilled at this procedure.

The gestation period for dogs is around 63 days. If this is your females first time then they usually go over that date. Sometimes the female can also go early. I always make a chart of the days that my female bred so that I have a time line to go by. I count 63 days from the first mating and 63 days form the last mating. This gives you your window of due time. Another way to find the date is to count exactly 9 weeks from the matings (this is exactly 63 days also). You need to make sure that you can either be with your female while she births or that someone experienced can be with her.

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY FEMALE IS PREGNANT

This is a really hard question to answer. As far as knowing for sure unless you have your vet do an ultra sound or an x-ray then it is mostly a guessing game.

The gestation of a dog is around 63 days, and an ultra sound is inconclusive until around 35 days and a x-ray will not show anything till around 45 days when the calcium in the puppies bones solidifies. This leaves very little time to get prepared. If you know your female and her personality really well you may noticed some other signs that could indicate pregnancy.

Most females will have an enormous appetite.

Most females will become ornery with others.

Most females do not want to be picked up and carried as much.

Most females become more cuddly and loving.

Most female if it is their first pregnancy may have a period of morning sickness around their second to third week.

Most females will beg for food where they did not before and they will eat almost anything. In fact you may find that they are really aggressive when it comes to food.

Most females will be tired and will want to sleep more and more.

Most females will have major weight gain usually about 1 lb per puppy although we have been fooled by this. Some females show an enormous amount of weight gain and only have a few puppies.

Most females will also gain size in girth. One way to measure this is to measure around your dogs waist at the last rib on the last day of breeding. Then measure at day 40. If she is bigger she is pregnant. Measure during the last week counting one pup for each inches gained. Remember this is just an estimate.

Most females towards the end of the pregnancy will start what we call nesting behavior. They will look for a dark, quiet place to have their puppies. The will usually busy themselves with digging behaviors and or fluffing their bedding or yours.

Most females will get their milk in around the last week of gestation if it is their first litter it may be a little earlier. Some females that have litters will not get their milk until the day of birth or sometimes even as late as during the whelping process.

WHELPING

You should be prepared with all your equipment ahead of time. Not trying to rush around at the last minute “looking” for things. Here is a general list of things that you will need in your whelping kit.

1- hemostat or small clamp.

2-scissors for cutting sacs or umbilical cords

3-latex gloves

4-wet wipes to keep you clean

5- alcohol or hydrogen peroxide for disinfecting

6-a rectal thermometer

7-petroleum or KY jelly

8-a record book or note pad

9- a scale

10-dental floss for tying the cords off

11- lots and lots of towels

12- watch or clock to record birthing times and time between puppies.

13-a nasal aspirator for cleaning out the nose and mouth of the puppy.

14-a baby bottle and esbilac for emergency feeding of puppies if mom doesn’t have her milk or is too busy birthing to feed the puppies.

15-YOUR VETS NUMBER in case of an emergency. We even recommend calling and telling your vet that you are whelping so that they are aware incase you need to call in an emergency.

16- unflavored pedialite for the mother to drink as a pick me up or to prevent dehydration.

17- Nutristat or something like it like Karo syrup (a high caloric vitamin supplement) to give to a sluggish newborn.

18- Beef broth, Chicken soup, Or plain yogurt for another pick me up for the mother, especially if the labor is long and intense.

Be prepared to wait. It is an exciting time but this process takes a lot of time. Also be prepared to sit up waiting and watching or birthing late at night or in the wee hours of the morning. The general rule of thumb here is that the female will choose to birth at the most inconvenient time for you!

We take the temp of our females up to one week before the birth and keep a record of this. This is your base line. The normal temp of a dog is around 100 - 101 degrees. When your females temp drops to 99 - 98 degrees birth is close usually 12-24 hours away.

The birthing process takes quite a while. The first stages of labor are long and slow. During this time the female is moving the puppies into position. Once active labor starts then things will really start to move (excuse the pun). You will notice the female starting to push hard. You may also notice that the tail pumps up and down. This is normal. All females differ in the birthing process. Some are quiet and reserved and go through it like a champ. Others are hyper and noisy and will scream when those puppies come out. How ever your female is this is normal. However if you go through more than 2 hours of heavy pushing with no puppies coming out and your female keeps getting more and more agitated or if labor just seems to stop, then immediately call your vet. Also if you see that there is more than 2-3 hours between puppies and your female is straining this is cause for concern and call your vet. A puppy could be lodged wrong in the female.

On most smaller breed dogs it is very typical to have breech or hind quarters first puppies. Just make sure to watch your female and help her ease the puppy out if there is a little difficulty pulling it out. If you are going to pull try not to break the sack. If you have to break the sack We recommend pulling by the tail other than the hips or legs. This causes less damage to the puppy. If you absolutely can not get the puppy out call your vet and soon! That puppy may have been in the canal too long and is dead by there might be other puppies still inside the mother that are alive and need the puppy removed from the canal to get out.

We are very hands on people when it comes to the birthing process and we are always there to help our mothers and assist in the process. How you birth is up to you. But you should always be present when you female is in labor just incase something happens that they do need assistance.

We birth each individual puppy and help the mother. If you are going to help the puppies out of the mother please do so gently and only when the mother is having a contraction and pushing otherwise you may hurt the mother and puppy. Once the puppy is out be sure to take the sack off the puppy ASAP! Sometimes there is more than one sack. You must get them off so that the puppy can breath. Remember they are slippery and gooey and you may have to use the scissors to cut the sack just watch out and don’t cut the puppy. Once the sack is off use the nasal aspirator and suck the fluid out of the puppies nose and mouth. Quickly tie off the umbilical cord and cut the cord. Be sure not to cut it too short or it will cause the puppy to bleed to death. If you do cut it too short once again tie the cord above where you cut it this should stop the bleeding. Now you want to make sure that the puppy gets some good screams out. This will help to clear the lungs of the amniotic fluid. If the puppy is sluggish to cry or move then we recommend “shaking the puppy down”. To do this wrap the puppy in a towel and with the belly toward the floor. Be sure to support the puppies head so it doesn’t flop around. Then swing the puppy down and then back up. This also helps to get the fluid out of the lungs. You can also rub the puppy vigorously with the towel to get them to cry. Once the puppy is crying and moving give the puppy back to mommy and get them sucking on a nipple. This will also help to stimulate more contractions. More often than not while you are working on the puppy mommy is trying to eat the sack off the puppy. I let my females have the sacks as long as they are not choking or gagging on them. This will give the mother some nutrients back. Please don’t let the mother tug on the umbilical cord. This can cause a hernia on the puppy. The cord will dry up in a day or two and the rest will fall off. If the mother happens to tug on the cord and causes a hernia, then rub this area gently a couple of times every day. Eventually the hernia will rectify itself.

Proceed with the rest of the births the same until mommy is done. If mommy goes 3-4 hours with no pushing and seems to calm down then the birthing is probably over. However, we have had female that we thought were all done and we cleaned up and put away only to find an “extra little surprise” a few hours latter. So keep a good eye on your female.

If anything unusual happens that you are unprepared for or don’t know how to handle please call your vet. We also recommend talking to someone very experienced with the whelping process before the event occurs so you have some idea what to do or expect.

SOME GREAT BOOKS TO CHECK OUT

SMALL ANIMAL REPRODUCTION AND PEDIATRICS.

Cain, J; Lawler, D.

Pro-Visions Pet specialty Enterprises   St. Louis, MO 1991

BOOK OF THE BITCH

Evans, JM; White, K.

Howell Book House    New York, NY

1997

BREEDING A LITTER: THE COMPLETE BOOK OF PRENATAL AND POSTNATAL CARE

Finder Harris, B.

Howell Book House    New York, NY

1993

CANINE REPRODUCTION: A BREEDER'S GUIDE

Holst, P.

Alpine Publications    Loveland, CO

1985

WHELPING AND REARING PUPPIES

Lee, M.

T.F.H Publications, Inc. Neptune City, NJ