Wyntervale Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I'm curious to hear from other people who work full time and have litters. How do you do it? How much time do you take off for them and when? I'm trying to plan out exactly what I need to do for my girls' litter and I'm starting to get a bit paranoid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wags Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I'm curious to hear from other people who work full time and have litters.How do you do it? How much time do you take off for them and when? I'm trying to plan out exactly what I need to do for my girls' litter and I'm starting to get a bit paranoid Having someone at home who can keep an eye on things is probably the only way you can do it. You also have to have a very understanding employer as well. One who can cope with you not being at work if one of your girls starts to whelp, or if the whelping is during the night, or the day after or few days after or if there's a problem with a puppy. I've done it and received many ugent phone calls from my other half during the day, sometimes just to check on something, sometimes describing a panic and taking instructions on how to handle it etc etc. It was a 4.30am start to the day to clean up the night's mess, look after all the adult dogs and ensure the mum and puppies were comfy and set up for the day, and then the minute I hit home ground from work in the evenings, it was another few hours that end. Flop into bed no later than 10.30pm leaving the other half, who was a night owl, to keep a check on things and up again before the roosters to repeat it all over again. To be honest, I'm just as worn out sometimes even though I'm not working now, and I've no idea how I managed it. I think it was pure adrenalin. Routine, routine, routine - it's so important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyntervale Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 Wags when you say having someone at home to keep an eye on things are you talking about from day dot until the puppies are gone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashka1 Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Organisation and people who you trust to help are the big ones I have a litter due in 8 days, I have aranged for my best friend, also an experienced breeder, to come up from NSW for 3 weeks. I am paying for her 2 dogs to be in boarding kennels and fuel,small wage etc We get on really well and can deal with each others tired moodyness and have done this before. I have 100% trust in her so it makes it easy. She will arrive 3 days before due date and I have also taken 2 weeks off myself. We do a full 24/7 watch for 2 weeks so very tiring. I have the whelping box set up and a single bed made and ready beside it. We also have a third friend coming in over the first few days to help out as expecting a large litter. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyntervale Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 Thanks Ashka.. it sounds like you are really well set up. We are only expecting a couple of pups... waiting for X-Ray to confirm numbers.... I am planning on taking two weeks off for the event and then trying to work from home for a week or two when the puppies are weaning and getting people to pop over and check in on them during the day when I do have to work. I'm hoping that's going to work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paptacular! Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I was able to take the puppies first week off work, and luckily for their 2nd week, my dad had the week off work recovering from surgery so there was someone to keep an eye on them. For the third week I would pop home on my lunch break (work is 5 mins from home) and after that they've been fine on their own. I was lucky as I had a very easy litter by standards, but if there were problems with feeding etc, I definitely couldn't have gotten away with this set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lappiemum Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 saved up my leave - and I have a good employer was also able to share it with the OH in terms of who was being at home so we covered the whole 8+ weeks ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I used to take a week off for the few days before and after they arrive, then get someone to let the mum out and feed her at lunch time. Then full time at home for the last 3-4 weeks until they go. If there are no problems with the puppies, from about day 4 until about 3-4 weeks there is very little to do except feed the mum several times a day and clean the whelping box out twice a day. From 4 weeks I start house training, get them onto 4 meals a day, practice stacking and grooming and from 5 weeks start lead and obedience training and take them for car outings as well as organising vaccinations, microchipping, registration, puppy notes, etc. Then the most time consuming part is having the buyers visit and talking to them. With more delicate or clumsy breeds they need the attention in the first few weeks but with our BCs the mums usually do most of the mothering in those first few weeks with very little help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowenhart Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Wow you guys have great employers! Depending on the circumstance, I try to have someone home for the first week (I work one day, they work the next etc). After that, I'm back at work 9-5. At weaning I feed Breakfast, Dinner, Late Dinner. I get up around 4-5am, put pups outside to toilet and make up their food and clean their pen. They eat while I get sorted for work, another quick trip out and then I leave. Get home, pups out again, another clean while their food soaks. They eat, the adults eat and then they are handled, played with etc. Then late night toilet stop while make their late dinner up, feed around 10:30-11pm and I go to bed. The first full day away from the pups is hard, however I do short trips out beforehand. If the mum is settled then it's not a problem. For "high maintenance" type breeds (that squash babies etc) it's different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 With my last litter (August 2010) I took ten days off work when the puppies were born. I’m very fortunate to live only five minutes from work so was able to pop home every lunch time to give mum a run and check on the puppies plus feed them once they were weaned. I had another week off work before they went to their new homes. OH does shift work so he was often at home with them while I was at work. It was full on, but very rewarding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bisart Dobes Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Save up holidays or take unpaid leave if necessary (boss is ok with this ). I take the first 4 weeks definately - just my preference but if pushed I would have the first two as a priority - my ever wonderful OH does the 2nd shift when I need him to and has taken off 3 weeks when I could only get 1 off work due to boss being in hosp - he's an . The last litter we had our girl went 2 days prior to my holidays starting - my boss was fine, all he said was text us photos :p. I generally do the 24/7 1st week by myself - nap when she sleeps and we are lucky I guess as we have fantastic mothers - I could have done nothing at all with our last litter, Lexi would have done it all (including the washing ). Best of luck with your babies - may all go according to plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Wow you guys have great employers!Depending on the circumstance, I try to have someone home for the first week (I work one day, they work the next etc). After that, I'm back at work 9-5. At weaning I feed Breakfast, Dinner, Late Dinner. I get up around 4-5am, put pups outside to toilet and make up their food and clean their pen. They eat while I get sorted for work, another quick trip out and then I leave. Get home, pups out again, another clean while their food soaks. They eat, the adults eat and then they are handled, played with etc. Then late night toilet stop while make their late dinner up, feed around 10:30-11pm and I go to bed. The first full day away from the pups is hard, however I do short trips out beforehand. If the mum is settled then it's not a problem. For "high maintenance" type breeds (that squash babies etc) it's different. I am glad to hear this. And glad LOTG started the topic. I just mated my girl for the first time and was thinking no way can I get the amount of time off that others say they get. I work in a school and have worked out that school holidays will fall somewhere around the 5 or 6 weeks of age mark so I will get time home then and I am pleased about that as it is an important time for interaction and socialisation. Other than that it will be a few days around the time of birth and then popping home at lunch time each day. I only work a 6 hour day, 5 mins from home so will just use my lunch breaks to check on things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkyTansy Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I started a topic like this a couple of years ago - here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulldust Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 (edited) I am on a dairy, so when i have pups, all i do is milk twice a day and dont do any extra work in between, only gone for a couple of hours each time, in that time i put bitch in crate or outside. Edited March 21, 2011 by Bulldust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyntervale Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 Thank you very much for all of your replies. I'm feeling a bit more comfortable in my plan now, I've booked in my leave and I have a mate who can pop in during the day for me... OH will probably end up at home periodically too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laneka Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Have taken 6 weeks off work without pay. Then had some lovely friends call in and feed them lunch plus play with them. My last litter is 16 mths old and now planning another later on in the year. So will have to see if they will let me have that time off again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyntervale Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 Have taken 6 weeks off work without pay. Then had some lovely friends call in and feed them lunch plus play with them. My last litter is 16 mths old and now planning another later on in the year. So will have to see if they will let me have that time off again. How do you even afford that?! lol! Unfortunately taking that much time off work, particularly unpaid is not an option for my finance or my career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 The last litter I had in June 2010, I took 2 weeks leave. First week I was home with babies 24/7 and then the remaining week of leave, I took as half days. By that time, the babies were three weeks and doing well. Mum had plenty of room to leave the whelping box if she wished. As pups grew, the pen had a small gate in it so that the bitch could jump out to relax away from babies but could jump back in to feed them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wags Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Wags when you say having someone at home to keep an eye on things are you talking about from day dot until the puppies are gone? Yes, I am. I wouldn't have bred while I was working if this hadn't been available to me. He would phone if he had any situations or worries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bokezu Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I had a week off for the whelping and settling in, then went back to work, luckily I work different shifts, so was home through the day some days and my oh was home each night. I also took 4 weeks off when puppies reached 4 weeks, as that is when the hard work begins!! right through until they leave at 8 weeks, especially having a litter of 11!!! I don't think I could have worked and looked after a large litter of gundogs of that age succesfully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts