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My bitch (Molly) is due to whelp on 7th Dec, although she looks huge and I've a feeling it could be anytime now.

I've never bred a litter before and despite doing lots of reading I'm terriied. Any tips / advice appreciated. Also, one specific thing - Molly generally chooses to sleep on the quarter step, but obviously this is not an ideal place to whelp! Should I risk stressing her by placing her in the room I've prepared for her now, or should I wait until the pups are literallly 'on the way'?

(Molly is a five year old maiden bedlington x lakeland terrier).
 
Sorry I haven't any advice just good luck wishes for the birth :luck: :luck:
 
Good luck :luck: :luck: Hope Molly has an easy birth :luck: :luck:

Julie
 
Hiya. I just bred my first (and the bitches first) litter. I did soooo much worrying. She had 6 in 1 1/2 hours really easily. Have you got someone who will be with you? My OH helped me and thou he was just as inexperienced it was a big help just to have him there. I got the book "The Whelping and rearing of puppies" by Muriel P Lee. It was fantastic. I whelped Daisy in our study, she and I slept in there for the last week ( and I stayed in with her for the first three weeks). Good luck. :luck: :luck:
 
I used the same book as Juley and it was great. I got it from ebay.

The best advice is to make sure you have every thing ready to hand.

pen and paper, record times between pups so you know if things might be going wrong, record birth weights, so you can keep a eye on their growth rates.

towels.

vets phone number

Some people recommend putting the pups in a shoe box (with warm hotwater bottle under it) while she whelps. As she actually whelps she may move around alot and hurt any pups. I did this and just replaced all pups as soon as she settled, then repeated it for the next one.

send me your email address and I will type out the check list and key points and email them to you.

We are expecting our second litter on the 20th dec, so GOOD LUCK
 
Sorry no advice from me - but would like to wish you Very Good Luck with the birth and puppies. :luck: :luck: :thumbsup:
 
probably not a good idea to move her now, as some bitches can hold up their labour if theyre not at ease, which can endanger both mum and pups. we had a room all done out for amber, moved her there before mating. all good, but once she had them she decided to move the whole litter to next to my bed :blink: and all our preparation out the window. we had to construct a makeshift pen around her :D with whatever we could find! we ended up using a wardrobe door for one side until we got the materials to build a more permanent pen in the livingroom and they were old enough to start socialising (about 2 1/2 wks)

much as i loved waking up to the sight of pups scrabbling around my bedside, the smell is something else! we had 4 loads of bedding constantly in the wash, amber cleaning them non stop as well as us washing pups and pen, and it still took weeks for the smell of puppy pee to fade. my little widdle monsters!

just remain calm, let her pick out a place where she's happy. its an amazing experience. i cannot wait until we breed again. nothing to do with the fact we'll be keeping a bitch, of course.....or two.... :- "

:luck: :luck: :luck:
 
Thanks for the good wishes and tips :)

Either my daughter or OH ought to be around - hopefully they'll keep me 'grounded'. I do have books but not the one mentioned - I'll look out for it but I'm not sure it would arrive in time!

I'm really excited but so so nervous. I'll keep you updated and will hopefully have cute puppy pics to post shortly. :D
 
do you have THE BOOK OF THE BITCH by j.m white and kay evans? not specifically for whelping, but it covers all aspects of rearing and maintaining bitches throughout their lives, including breeding. if you have a local PETS AT HOME you should be able to pick a copy up for £10. priceless!
 
lalena said:
do you have THE BOOK OF THE BITCH by j.m white and kay evans? not specifically for whelping, but it covers all aspects of rearing and maintaining bitches throughout their lives, including breeding. if you have a local PETS AT HOME you should be able to pick a copy up for £10. priceless!
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This book is a godsend :)) I used it for my first litter too as a ref and found it really informative,but as Lalena says it covers EVERYTHING to do with the Bitch :thumbsup:

Good luck with the forthcoming litter :luck: I found that even though it was my bitches first litter too,she was great she knew exactly what she was doing and was a fantastic Mum :wub:
 
I have read this book cover to cover even though i dont intend to breed til at least early 2007!!! (w00t) Loads of information and i will still probably panic :- "

Good Luck with the whelping :luck:
 
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what date was she mated?

its rare for them to go more than a day earlier or a day late.
 
Firemansam said:
what date was she mated?its rare for them to go more than a day earlier or a day late.

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dont know about that! amber went at 58 days! mind you, she did have 7! plus she was ready for mating on day 7, mated on day 8. there arent any hard and fast rules. even in the same bitch, seasons and whelping can differ. if only 1 mating took place, its usually easier to narrow it down than if 2 or 3 goes took place. litter size also affects when labour starts, as the larger the litter the more internal pressure, resulting in birthing earlier. as its a maiden litter, labour can last longer (not always the case, but thats what vets and books advise) god knows amber took 16hrs from start to finish. basically, from day 55 be prepared.
 
Hi Tab,

most whelpings go ahead with no problem what so ever.

The best course of action would be to get her in the place you want her to have the pups as soon as possible that way she will be settled there by the time she starts to whelp.

Once she starts just keep a quiet eye on her keeping all well whishers well away and allow her to be settled & relaxed while she has her pups and not have the worry about who might be trying to take her pups.

I wouldnt bother moving the pups away as she's having them as although she may occasionaly step on one while whelping later pups she wont do them any harm if she does, plus having the pups with her will allow her to lick them and bond with them.

Has the area youve choosen got heating? if not you could do with putting some heating in the area depending where it is maybe a pig heat lamp or a holigen heater as it's far to cold at this time of year for pups to be born into a unheated area.

if you realy are worried/concerned give your vet a quick call and let them know her due date so they know you may call if you need any help/advice.

hope this helps if you need anything else you are welcome to PM me.
 
:) Ooooo we havent had a puppy count down on here for ages.

Can you post a pic of her while she is still large :wub:

Sorry no advice as ive not had a litter YET not threw trying thow :blink:

Wishing you lots of :luck: :luck:

Keep us informed :thumbsup:
 
Hi .

I wouldnt move her now , Its amazing but when mine are ready to whelp they seem to know the best place is the whelping box ive made for them :)) Clever or what . they certainly shouldnt be outside without heating , as Mark says , far too cold :( I always leave the pups with mum during whelping too , as she could get stressed with you taking them away from her :( . just make sure you dont leave her alone ,

The first 3 weeks are easy , mum does all the work of cleaning up after the pups :x its when you wean them that the `fun ` starts , Now THATS a busy time . Pups are the best time wasters in the world , Good luck :luck:

What is the father of the pups ?
 
Molly was mated on 4th October, so I think that's a due date of 7th Dec? The vets are on stand by - well, they know the due date anyway. I took her for a scan the other week - we counted three or possibly four pups :)

I haven't got 'The Book of the Bitch' but I shall try to buy it (there is a 'Pets at Home' not far away).

The room I've made ready for her is in the house. It has storage heaters and a door straight out into the garden which I thought might be handy later on. today I placed her regular basket in there - she is still lying on the quarter step though :b

I'll try feeding her in there later too.

The proud father to be is my dog Rupert - a Whippet/Bedlington x Jack Russell. I'll try borrow my Dad's digital camera tomorrow and take some pics of the very round Molly.
 
Tab said:
The proud father to be is my dog Rupert - a Whippet/Bedlington x Jack Russell. I'll try borrow my Dad's digital camera tomorrow and take some pics of the very round Molly.
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oh, photos please! can't wait to see round mum, followed by new pups :huggles:

and as for dad . . . :wub:
 
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