Joan of Arc

Just had to post this...

I remembered someone posting here that they keep all thier other dogs away from thier pups etc.

Our eldest black girl, who is also grandma to this current 15 day old litter disappeared from the family room about an hour ago. OH decided to go and investigate adn finally located her IN the whelping box. So there was 6 kids, with mum all having feed, and at the other end of the pups was Grandma, toileting them. And Mum? Sound asleep

Natz I am so sorry for your loss and hope your little girl is on the mend. Sometimes we are just lost for words

RIP little ones

newfiesrus I am so sorry you had such a rough time and hope your poppy is on the mend. How lucky though that you still have thosefirst few beautiful babies for you both.

Once you have a good rest and dealt with your grief perhaps you would be kind enough to post some photos.

well the 'Juners' are done now but lets keep the photos and info coming.

Most of the time they sleep outside, they are one big family and we have two very large home built kennels that are fully lined and insulated with insulation bats so warm in winter and cool in summer.

We dont have dog runs, they have the full run of the yard as a pack.

However when we have extremely cold weather like this week, or the reverse in summer, we keep them inside. then they are just asked to lay on thier beds in the family room adn they generally stay there all night. But sometimes they sneak in and sleep on the floor of the bedroom.

Personally, if she has a good kennel to escape to that is lined and has lots of warm bedding in it she shouldnt need a coat. having said that, where are you situated? It is only 5 degrees here today and so if I was home the dogs were inside. Not that they were necessarily 'suffering' outside but why should they be out when I'm home.

How old is she now? She should be starting to build a nice winter coat but if she is still a pup it might not be good enough until her adult coat comes in.

Put the coat on her, then keep her distracted by playing with her, treating her for not chewing at it etc. She will soon learn to ignore it.

Havent weighed my babies since last weekend but they are well over the kilo mark now and two weeks today

Sorry I dare not post what I actually think here because I could be in trouble.

Breeding without providing adequate kennel enrichment or exercise.

Providing no veterinary care for pups because it is not cost effective.

Breeding from stock with no knowledge of the dog's pedigree/genetics. Breeding from unregistered stock.

Breeding every season.

Breeding with a bitch up until the time she dies.

I will add more when I think of them.

That's a good start.

Suffice to say that BYB, puppy farmers etc what ever you want to call them are evil, and one way to tell them from us is that they appear to make a profit from their litters. Could that be because they dont do all the tests, worming, use the best foods and supplements etc?

but puppies don't smell...

Now that is a straight out LIE!!!

Puppies have that gorgeous, GORGEOUS puppy breath Nothing beats a Lab puppy breath :D

Go into my laundry which currently has mum and 6 babies, even with the change of bedding every day etc. it has that lived in smell. Of course its very cold here so you cant air the room properly.

As for the idea of being a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs, that wont work because they wont allow the dog to live outside all the time. they want well socialised, walked, trained and exercised pups - and they are quite explicit about the regime.

I likethe idea of the stuffed toy - until the children are a little older and then find a different breed.

Can I suggest that if they visit Labsrule then take the time to ring me or MM or aussielover or even Blackdog we can then give them the prospective puppy buyer quiz - which of course will make them realise what breeders expect.

Certainly worth a try.

But if they do go ahead then make sure they tell the breeder to expect to be asked to rescue the pup at around 9 months.

Used to use newspaper but found they were sliding too much so for inside the box - at about 4 weeks I use half vet bed and half old sheeting or blankets.

then outside the box I bought some cheap carpets squares and just hit them with the pressure washer. If they last 3 or 4 litters you've got your money out of them

My babies are two weeks today - no eyes open yet and they are not very active - I have just posted in Steve's thread about our last litter - I said they arent moving much becuase they are too cosy adn too well fed. they may have started out small but they are big fat slugs now

I've improved my box over time and remade it several times now. The main thing with our location is maintaining the warmth. I've now got a perspex lid so the heat stays in and I can see in. It's awesome

That's a great idea

(on a non serious note - have you worked out how to install a perspex window on either side of the bitch so we can sneak little looks before they arrive)?! dreams are free!

What a great idea

Happy to share and also happy to learn from others.

We have a litter born 15 JUne, so just two weeks old. A maiden bitch so wasnt really sure how things would pan out. But she was great - first contraction at 6 - all over done and dusted with 7 pups at 10:26. We lost one the next day but 6 very helathy babies

So they were whelped in our whelping box (built by OH 3 years ago), surrounded by puppy pen designed so that as pups grow it can be moved to outside of the box, and attached on the edges which gives them a toilet area.

They are still there - it was only a max of 8 degrees here yesterday so they are still on heating pad but we are slowing turning it down - they are big slugs and not very active. Too well fed and too comfy

I had to return to work today so a second pen is established in the OH's office which has external access to the yard. Pen is covered, top and sides, has heating pad and room heater left on to create positive atmosphere and prevent cool air rushing in to room. External door left open just enough for mum to come and go for water and toilet etc.

I rushed home at lunchtime, checked babies, fed mum and then cancelled after school meeting to come straight home at 4.

this will happen for the remainder of this week - then we are school holidays. Pups will live inside at night and once they are five weeks and we have nice day weather they will go outside for a while and back in at night.

Because we get heavy frosts here in July and August, they will probably not go outside at night - will probably keep the pen in the OH's office and a couple of crates so they can come and go. That's a wait and see about the weather option.

As much as I hate to say this but I would be extremely reluctant to allowl these people to adopt one of my babies. We consider them as precious and special and not just to put out the back door as a trophy and looked at - sometimes.

A bored lab is a destructive lab and when it becomes destructive and they will blame the breed which in turn further damages the image of these beautiful animals in the minds of uneducated dog people.

If they do not like the smell of a dog and just want something to look at through the window I have an antique gnome here they can borrow.

Sorry - vent over.

Has anyone heard from Newfiesrus?

2 days

Hope all is well.

:rolleyes:

I knew those old family recipes would come in handy.

Hessa it had nothing to do with the 4WD threat :D - You have obviously never tasted castor oil

Of ocurse now we expect photos - so no sleep yet - WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS???

rajacadoo and newfiesrus ;) 3 coffees for 3 days

I am fed up ..... poppy is day 63 from first mating and is really well. No sign of any puppies arriving

If any more prospective puppy owners phone me for an update I will scream ;)

Not phoning you :D Just checking in for an update and wondered how you and your girl are

Well done, and sooo very civilised that Jess whelped in the daytime, Ive never yet experienced that :D

Well you have three days to get your girl over the line before she becomes a July threader

If she was a human I would tell you to give her a dose of castor oil, take her for a long walk up and down hills and hope for the best. For dogs? don't know

Lets hope that in the next two days your girl just goes POP!!!! and of course during the day is SOOOOOO civilised. ;)

Well I can report to you that Jess has finished whelping and she has given us 3 black healthy puppies. ;)

Yes we were lucky that she whelped during the day.

BB

:D :p ;)

congratulations and all during the day - what a clever girl. :D

Now the pressure is on for photos

Got one black puppy so far.

Mum is doing well.

BB

Congrats so far, any more news ;)

Congratulations Chocolate - we will wait for further updates

CB I love Cavvies :D , I had them 25 years ago and always had a soft spot for Tri Colours and yet we dont see many of them in the ring down here. One thing they have over Labs, they are better lap dogs our Labs jump up on our laps for cuddles etc but gheez there's a lot of dog to cuddle

Just checking in for an update if available.

Have PMed you

No I am guessing they will be here sometime tonight. ;)

If her temp has been down under 36 for more than 8 hours then that is a definite set pattern of recordings. Put the on we will be checking throughout the night.

You probably already know all this info below but sometimes I go back and reread stuff just to put my mind in the right place. Of course you could read five different pieces of info and get five different points of view but I find this pretty average to my girls.

As for their food, well I have labradors - they have to be dead to knock back food

Good luck we will be watching and waiting

Anticipating Whelping The simplest and most reliable indicator of impending whelping is a drop in body temperature of almost 2 degrees within 24 hours of giving birth. This temperature decrease is only temporary so it is a good idea to check your dog’s temperature at least twice a day from the 58^th day of the pregnancy. You can use a human thermometer from a pharmacy. Apply a small amount of lubrication prior to rectal insertion and leave it in place for one minute if it is a mercury thermometer, or, until it beeps if it is digital. Normal body temperature for dogs is between 37.5C and 39.0C.

Stage I: This usually lasts from 12-24 hours, during which time she may show changes in behaviour. She may become reclusive, restless and start 'nesting' (trying to make a bed for

the puppies). She may refuse to eat and sometimes vomit. Panting and trembling may occur.

In this phase the uterus (womb) is contracting and the cervix is dilating. Although you might see a clear and watery discharge from the vulva (around the back end of the bitch) no visible abdominal contractions are evident.

have calcium on hand but have rarely ever used it. Mid whelping I usually give my girls a drink of warm milk with a little honey in it for energy.

After whelping I feed yoghurt, cheese, Wambaroo Milk, rec, all good sources of calcium

Active Manuka Honey - an all round healer. Certainly worth a try. Sorry that's my only suggestion as I have never seen this before.

Rajacadoo ;)