sallywill Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 ( Also posted in puppy section) Hi, It was suggested to me that I join by Ashanali, whom I spoke to last night. She was very helpful, and thought this would also be a great place to start. Backstory... 8 weeks ago we adopted Mollie, a 8 month old Purebred Siberian Husky from a 13y.o girl who was given her as a gift, but after 8 months could no longer keep her due to moving. We were told she had just come off heat, so we wouldn't have to worry about that for a while.. Having had Samoyed' before, we decided to take her on. She is great, aside form the cat chasing, which, yes, we know is a husky trait. Anyway, 8 weeks ago, we picked her up. Gorgeous! Very playful. great with our boys 12, 11 & 4, gentle and very loving. Yesterday afternoon, AFTER my 12 year old took her for a walk, about 20 mins later, we hear an odd squeeking noise? Fist thought...she has caught a cat frown.gif ... After a few mins of searching, here is Mollie, with a tiny newborn PUPPY on her chest!! My first thought was where did she find that, thinking there is no way its hers, but it turns outt hey are only pregnant for 9 weeks, and well, we have only had her for 8. She has put on no weight, not done anything out of character, still going for walks, eating, jumping, playing, chasin cats, all the regular stuff......Eeeek. She only had one. We had her checked, no more in utero, so it was just one. She is doing well, as is pup. My concern is that my 10 month old pup just had a pup! She seems to be doing really well, lookiong after baby well, feeding etc.. But I don't know what to do next. If anyone could offer any useful advice, It would be much appreciated. Sally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Keep puppy and mum in a warm draught free place, somewhere with high sides so puppy cant crawl out, and continue to feel mum well to ensure she gets what she needs to help herself and her baby grow. Lucky she only had the one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ons Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 yikes! reason she came off heat! I'd go post this in breeders section as well but I would explain that you intend to get the dog desexed as soon as possible. Your girl may need extra supplements being so young but they will be able to assist you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sallywill Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 Thanks Guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 (edited) Goodness. Good luck, I hope everything works out and your bitch continues to be a good Mum! The Breeders thread should be able to help you further Edited February 26, 2010 by sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanuilos Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Sallywell, boy I beat you were surprised. There are alot of things you need to do which are different for a singleton litter to if she'd had a large litter. Make sure your girl is on puppy food still as this has the extra nutrients a lactating bitch needs. With a singleton puppy there is no need to feed her too much extra, if any, as she won't be producing a lot of milk for the pups. Also, you will need to be thorough in checking her breasts daily for mastitis as this is more likely to happen as the breasts aren't being drained by 6-9 pups. Keep an eye on the puppy's weight, singletons can often turn into chunky monkeys as they have all the food for themselves, also they have a higher chance of becoming 'swimmer pups', so if you pop them in an enclosure make sure you line it with something rough like rippled foam for the puppy to climb over and develop the strength in its leg muscles. Normally puppies will develop this climbing over their littermates to get to the nipples. Once the pup is a little older, you'll need to socialise it the way littermates normally do. This part is harder but the pup needs to learn bite inhabition and things like that. Mum normally does this to, but given Mum is only 8 months old she is still a puppy herself so might not have those things mastered yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozstar Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 As mentioned above keep her and baby warm with lots of clean bedding, possible a heater near them at night (depending on the weather)and if you can put them in a large box or similar ( blow up ring pools are good, cheap and easy to clean) so baby can not roam to far. As she only had the 1 pup try not to over feed her as she will make to much milk. Also check her teats for any lumps as this is a sign of mastitis (common in small litters). Mum should do all the work for the first few weeks and you will only need to keep an eye on her and that bubs is feeding well, gaining weight and that mum is toileting baby. What a shock it must of been and very lucky that she did not have problems being so young and with only 1 baby. Leanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 You won't need to do much - just one pup will not mean Mum needs extra food- just give her very good quality food! You do not want Mum to produce a lot of milk... and you certainly do not need a fat lazy singleton pup- which is often what happens when there is too much milk and no siblings to fight to get it! Puppy kibble with extra soft bones sounds a good plan A bit extra calcium from the pup food and bones will be helpful . Unless you are in a very cold area- please don't use extra heating :D your bitch has plenty of fur, and will curl up around the pup perfectly Extra heat will only make Mum uncomfortable and restless, and will encourage pup to move away from her body. Your girl has had a great start- she is fit and happy and had a no fuss whelping- all as it should be, albeit a bit early ;) Hope all goes well - and keep putting up pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sallywill Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 Thanks Guys, She is 10 months now, 8 when we got her, and she is doing really well. Being a very good mum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Pretty puppy :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pip1981 Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Don't have anything useful to add, just wanted to say good luck, both your new puppy, and her puppy, are beautiful. Thank-goodness this girl went to a responsible home :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sallywill Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 (edited) Heres another closer one of the pup. Any ideas on when they start using their legs? And when thier eyes open. I know about cats, but not pups, though I am learning REAL fast!! Edited February 26, 2010 by sallywill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 eyes will open around the 2 week mark although it can vary a bit, sometimes as early as 9 days. If you have kitchen scales you might want to start weighing puppy to make sure he/she? is putting on weight. Keep your handling of puppy to a minimum if mum seems anxious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Our pups are opening eyes around 10 days.. and trundling around on their stubby legs about two weeks. make sure whatever bedding there is has plenty of traction for this pup- so it can get a footing as it crawls around. :D keep a phot like the ones here as a guide to what it should look like no hollows in flank , etc- just like kittens, really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 I'd be giving her some quiet spot to look after her pup and keep the kids away from her for a week or so, so she can get on with her job without wondering what the kids are doing. Is she outside? Looks like it from the photos, inside settup would be better. Litters are often whelped in a breeders bedroom or spare room/office room and then when pup has opened eyes and started to walk around, moved to a more family orientated part of the house, so pup can get used to household happenings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumnut Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Wow what a surprise for you and as always what fantastic advice you have recieved :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all that glitters Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 WOW what a story!! And beautiful mum and baby too, all the best :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sallywill Posted February 27, 2010 Author Share Posted February 27, 2010 She is outside, in a well protected undercover pergola area, between a fish tank and a lounge, no wind, rain sun etc. I can't bring her inside as we have a cat, and well.... she likes to chase and try to eat cats :D And what about mess if I have her inside? Will she leave the pup to poo and wee?? Sally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ons Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 my friend's mums go in a very large crate to have their pups and she leaves the gate open for mum. She puts sheets on the bottom of the crate for comfort and which she can wash daily easily. When the pups are a bit bigger she puts a puppy pen around it so mum can get out but pup can't. As pups get bigger puppy pen gets bigger but mum can still get out. Just make sure that the spot is very quiet and that no other dogs can go near her nor can she be disturbed by kids. And another friend who had a singleton litter had huge toys in the puppy pen so that the pup had to climb over them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanuilos Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 She is outside, in a well protected undercover pergola area, between a fish tank and a lounge, no wind, rain sun etc. I can't bring her inside as we have a cat, and well.... she likes to chase and try to eat cats :D And what about mess if I have her inside? Will she leave the pup to poo and wee?? Sally We have two cats and our girl likes to chase the cats. Normally they are inside/outside cats but when we have a litter they are mainly outside and we lock them in the bathroom at nights to keep them safe. We have our whelping box set up in the family room with lots of newspaper and old towels on hand as we use them to line the box. The newspaper and old towels are replaced twice a day, more now that they are on solids but we have 9 pups. We also have a large sheet of lino we purchased from Bunnings under and around the whelping box and a puppy pen set up around the lino. The lino makes cleaning easier. When we had a singleton litter we found we only needed to change the towels and papers once or twice a day as Mum cleans up most of the poos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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