tesslc

Hi all Sorry for the delay - its been a bit crazy here! So the little brindle girl seems to be feeding well. Her belly is full although her grip on the teat isn't as strong as the others (eg if the dam moves around a lot, she tends to fall off where her sibling don't). There isn't any milk coming out of her nose so I think its either a very small fracture in her palate or just a hair lip. We were concerned about finding a home for her even if she did pull through, but that problem has been solved by someone in the family. We should know by tomorrow whether she is putting on weight, but she certainly looks like it. Last night she actually pushed her brother off the teat! Mum is doing well although she was very restless last night. She brought all the pups onto my mattress and slept on there with me. She was happy for them to go back into the whelping box this morning, so I think its more that she just wants to be with us then anything. Other then that, she is doing all her motherly duties; feeding, cleaning and regularly checking on them. I'm hoping these photos will work! Tried yesterday but they were too big and then I got distracted! The all white pup is female (as is the brindle girl - she has the hair lip) and the white one with black spots is the boy - he looks just like his dad.

Hi all puppies arrived this morning. We have two girls and a boy. Photos to come. Unfortunately one of the girls has a cleft lip - the vet couldn't find any evidence of a cleft palate, her breathing is clear and she has a very strong sucking reflex. Neither our vet or our breeder have seen a cleft lip without a cleft palate before. Can anyone shed any light on this?

I've got a bottle of Troy calcium & a syringe on hand - my breeder ran through how much to give her and when. Hopefully that will be enough to ease any anxiety etc she may have.

I was wondering whether that was the case. She gets in the whelping box and sort of snuggles down in there, but only when I call her in. I haven't seen any other signs and she doesn't just take herself off in their either. I grabbed some Di-Vetalect today just in case.

Hi all A quick update - due date today but no signs so far. Her belly has dropped a lot in the last 24 hrs though so I'd say tonight or tomorrow morning. She's not off her food or noticeably nesting but I'd say that will come soon. I'll keep you all posted.

I was going to say the same :laugh: I will definitely post photos when the puppies arrive. I'm feeling a little more confident today; I had a lengthy discussion with my vet yesterday and she suggested letting my girl at least go into labour, rather then having an elective c-section. She is confident all will go well but did tell me if its getting close to AH and nothing is happening, get her up to the surgery so I don't get slugged with extra fees. The whelping box is ready to go and my girl had a nap it in last night. She's still sleeping in our room (I don't think I will be able to change that until the time comes - she whines and barks if she's not in the bedroom with us and our boy). I'm going to go to the op-shop on Saturday and stock up on old sheets - I've got a few, but I would rather be super prepared and most of our rags are old towels with loopy fabric. Thanks again all - photos to come!

I don't understand... Why is it ok to desex these new puppies at 8 weeks, but it wasn't ok to desex your female dog at 8, 9 or 10 months before she had her first season? Our old vet recommended letting her have her first season. My new vet has told me that's an old wives tale.

It was being used as an obstacle but the last few days she's stopped racing around and is more content doing lay-down wrestling where they just chew on each other's feet.

Hi guys Quick update - I have spoken with my breeder and she was very supportive. She has suggested that if it looks like there are only a couple pups I should discuss an elective caesar with my vet as she may have trouble bringing the actual labour on. I will speak with my vet today about this as an option. We walk our dogs on a golf course near home and there are really other animals there so I might take her for a short walk tonight to try and use up some of her energy. I'm a little concerned about her jumping onto the bed but I'm having a hard time discouraging her. I'm not sure how firm I should be on this point - if it's not likely to hurt her or the puppies then all I'm doing is confusing her?

Are you able to seperate them 100% if you need to? Yes - we are using one of our spare bedrooms for the 'whelping' room and although both dogs are 'inside' dogs, our boy can spend most of his time outside and sleep in our room at night. BUT I am thinking it might just be better for him to go elsewhere.

Good point! A walk it is!

Next question - how active should she be now (about a week out from whelping)? I am watching her and my boy play fight/wrestle as I type and she's the main offender! She lays down as soon as she's tired and he leaves her alone, but then she starts it again. I haven't walked her for the last two days (since we found out) - not sure whether I should walk her tomorrow morning or leave her at home?

Wow! Each time I check back there's a whole new page of posts! Again, thanks for all the advice and support. I think we will move our boy away and if our girl appears to be fretting (may be difficult to tell as she's probably going to be very stressed anyway) we might think about bringing him back. I think its going to be a 'play-it-by-ear' situation. How long would you suggest he be away? Until the puppies are a few weeks old? Until they're weaned? The whole time? I should note that I have fostered kittens (bottle-fed kittens) and my boy was fine with them, played with them, slept with them etc. Although I never, ever left him unattended with them, I was comfortable that he wouldn't hurt them on purpose. I know puppies are different, but just an indication that he is very gentle natured.

Thanks for everyone's advice regarding the whelping etc. I haven't been able to get hold of my breeder today but will keep trying. Thankfully we have a couple of family members/good family friends who have indicated they would be happy to have one of the pups. If she has a small litter, we may be able to re-home all the pups to people we know well, which would be wonderful! I have spoken to my vet and they have indicated they would be happy to de-sex the pups at about 8 weeks, prior to re-homing, which is great news!

The vet could only feel two - but, as indicated in my initial post, the surgery's x-ray machine is down at the moment, so we won't have a clear number until later this week. The DNA testing was conducted by our breeder prior to us getting both our dogs. They were both show dogs initially and we got them when they were both 5 months old.

To clarify (and maybe this wasn't clear in my initial post) I have already decided to go through with the pregnancy. Given the risks of terminating this late, I don't want to take that option. I am looking for advice in relation to the birth itself (and thank you to everyone who has provided it). I haven't contacted my breeder as I feel terrible that this has happened. My breeder had originally indicated that she would be happy at a later stage to discuss us becoming registered breeders (both dogs are from the same breeder) as she was happy with the paring, but that wasn't what I wanted. I just wanted them as pets and thought I was doing the right thing by letting my girl have her first heat. Now I feel embarrassed and like a bad mum for not realising how much they would try to get to each other. As said, we had a box and the only reason she was inside was for a bit of a cuddle before going to work.

thankfully my vet has an 'on-call' line 24/7. I've been reading up (I'm a bit of a researcher) and am contemplating contacting our girl's breeder. I just feel as though I have let them down - couldn't even keep them apart for one heat!

I'll be putting my leave from in tomorrow. We have a spare room where our girl will go. The boy will stay outside most of the time and if he's any trouble, he will be going to the MIL's for a holiday.

Wow - replies coming thick and fast. Yep she's pretty well too late for anything. My vet did give me the option to spay/terminate now, but I could tell she wasn't keen and, as I said, I don't want to take the risk. I will definitely be having the pups spayed before re-homing - that's non-negotiable. Knowing what I now know, its not worth running the risk for them to have a first season, when it may not be beneficial at all. Thanks for the tip re RSPCA; I haven't spoken with my vet about that yet, but it's on my list of things to ask tomorrow (my poor vet, she's going to be bombarded).

Hi Mfch - thanks for the advice. I will consider it, but I really am concerned about the health of my girl. Even if they could do it Friday, its within a week of her 'due' date, and the vet explained that, not only does the risk related to the anaesthetic increase, and the risk of excessive bleeding, but also the hormonal changes/imbalances which our girl may experience after the surgery. I understand that the pups would need to be euthanized, and as sad as that is (it breaks my hear to think about it), if it was in my girl's best interest, I would take them up on that option. I don't want to be a BYB; I hate the thought of re-homing puppies to people who may not care for them properly, or give them up for adoption. I really am genuinely concerned for my dog's health. I simply can't bear the thought of putting her at that risk; yes, there is a risk of her having a caesarean, but my understanding is that risk is quite a bit lower compared to the risk of her being spayed now. Please correct me if this isn't correct/your understanding.

We were rotating the boy and girl through a box, but in the mornings (while we were getting ready for work) one was inside and the other outside, to give them some time outside of the box before we went to work. The girl busted through the front door (not an easy task, given it's a security door). I contacted my vet (ie the first vet) straight away but was told it was too early, wait and see, etc. Then that the injection was risky. Kelpiecuddles - you said what I am now thinking. My current vet is really, really annoyed with the initial advice we got (as am I).

Hi all Thanks for your replies. I agree; I am going to need all the help I can get. Please don't think I am taking this lightly! Any advice is really, really appreciated! I am wishing I went for the injection now. As I mentioned, the vet wasn't in favour of it as an option (like not getting our girl spayed prior to the first heat). Again, the risks were explained to me, and, on the balance of things, the vet wasn't in favour. Having spoken to my current vet, I am thinking I probably should've gotten a second opinion. I don't want to get her spayed now, simply because of the risks. I am prepared to do what it takes to have the puppies, care for them, pay the bills and re-home them to GOOD homes. As I said, I know its not ideal, but the vet explained, in a lot of detail, the risks of having her spayed now versus having the puppies, and the risks of spaying outweigh the risks (plus time, responsibility and cost) of having the puppies. Like I said, this is my baby girl, and I don't want to run that risk.

Thank you for your response. I am going to speak my vet about de-sexing them before re-homing them. I agree, I think its a good idea. I wish we had our girl de-sexed earlier and gotten a second opinion. I will also be making it a condition that any new owners will return their dog to us if they have any problems etc for us to re-home or keep. We have a strict two dog policy in our council area but I will be contacting them tomorrow to find out about getting extra licences for the puppies and any dogs we can't re-home or have to take back. I also want to know what the usual process is for interviewing and doing home visits of potential owners for our puppies. I want to be sure they are going to good homes, but don't want be overbearing etc. Thanks

Hi all I am a newbie to this forum (although I have used DOL frequently in the past; both the forums and puppy listings). I am the proud owner of two Staffordshire Bull Terriers; a three year old entire male and an 11 mth old entire female. We made the decision to keep our boy entire (he doesn't wander) and spay our girl. Our vet advised to let her have her first heat to ensure everything was ok. Unfortunately, she busted out our front door while I was in the shower and when I came out, I found them tied together. I contacted our vet and they advised there was a needle they could give her, but there were some not-so-good side effects and it was only about 50% effective (so if she was pregnant and it didn't work, we wouldn't know). The vet nurse also advised it was too early to tell and basically 'wait and see'. Our girl started showing signs of pregnancy, so we took her back. The vet couldn't feel anything, despite her having very pronounced teats, and suggested it may be a phantom pregnancy. The x-ray equipment wasn't working so they asked us to come back in a week. We took our girl back today, and it turns out she is pregnant. The x-ray still isn't working, but the vet could feel at least two puppies. Our vet was also concerned at the possible risks to spay her this late in the pregnancy (a different vet to the one who advised to wait before we had her spayed; this vet suggested we should have had her spayed after six months). My girl is just that, my baby girl. Given the discussion I had with the vet today, I'm not comfortable with spaying her (and her having an abortion) this late in the pregnancy. By the same token, I am very concerned about having puppies; this is not something we had planned and have little experience with. I know these questions are going to be asked, so I will answer them now: We are not registered breeders. I have looked at our Canine Council's website tonight and it indicates we won't be able to do so in time (two months to register the prefix). Given we plan to spay our girl before her next heat, I'm not sure whether we should start the registration process anyway, but will be calling the Council tomorrow to discuss. Both our Staffords meet the breed standard - prior to falling pregnant, our girl was 15kg and our boy 17kg (obviously this is only the tip of the iceberg but I have read and re-read the standard and am confident our dogs meet it). Both have tested clear for L-2HGA and hereditary cataracts. I know this situation is not ideal; it is far from it. Even after reading A LOT of information online, both Stafford specific and otherwise, and a lengthy discussion with my vet, I am feeling unsure about how to approach this situation. I want my girl to come through this safely (and obviously the puppies as well, but my main concern is for my girl). We are going to organise the whelping box tomorrow and stock up on all the necessary bits and pieces. Based on the vet's calculations, it appears she should be due Thursday next week. Any helpful hints would be great (and I will accept the lectures that I know are going tome come).