Submitted by: Shannon MacBeth,
Shakespeare's Legacy Labradors Facebook
"Empowering puppies to be all they can be with and for their forever families."
“Happiness is a warm puppy.” ~ Unknown
As an ethical breeder, you’ve done everything you need to do. You’ve health checked the adults, have planned a litter based on pairing the right combo for temperament, sizing, compatibility, and genetic based health results. You’ve set up a rendezvous and now your momma dog, also known as a dam, is expecting puppies. As the gestational period comes to a close, you are both getting ready to welcome a litter of adorable little puppies. The whelping(delivery) box is set up, all the supplies needed are placed within easy reach. She is getting used to the possibly newer surroundings where she and the puppies will be safely and quietly away from distractions. Possibly an ultrasound and/or X-ray has been completed, and you know how many puppies are expected or perhaps you’re waiting to find out by letting nature do its thing without the intervention of modern veterinary medicine. As the excited anticipation grows along with her expanding mid section and obvious discomfort due to the pressure of puppies, you offer any sort of comfort you can. Energy levels decrease as she rests, preparing for what’s to come with both the whelping of her puppies and the care they will require. You’ll discover you’ll do anything to help ease her burden and assist her in bringing her puppies into the world.
Some believe that dogs should be left to their own devices, it’s a natural occurrence and humans shouldn’t interfere. While those beliefs aren’t wrong, there are risks. Here are some surprising facts:
Shakespeare's Legacy Labradors Facebook
"Empowering puppies to be all they can be with and for their forever families."
“Happiness is a warm puppy.” ~ Unknown
As an ethical breeder, you’ve done everything you need to do. You’ve health checked the adults, have planned a litter based on pairing the right combo for temperament, sizing, compatibility, and genetic based health results. You’ve set up a rendezvous and now your momma dog, also known as a dam, is expecting puppies. As the gestational period comes to a close, you are both getting ready to welcome a litter of adorable little puppies. The whelping(delivery) box is set up, all the supplies needed are placed within easy reach. She is getting used to the possibly newer surroundings where she and the puppies will be safely and quietly away from distractions. Possibly an ultrasound and/or X-ray has been completed, and you know how many puppies are expected or perhaps you’re waiting to find out by letting nature do its thing without the intervention of modern veterinary medicine. As the excited anticipation grows along with her expanding mid section and obvious discomfort due to the pressure of puppies, you offer any sort of comfort you can. Energy levels decrease as she rests, preparing for what’s to come with both the whelping of her puppies and the care they will require. You’ll discover you’ll do anything to help ease her burden and assist her in bringing her puppies into the world.
Some believe that dogs should be left to their own devices, it’s a natural occurrence and humans shouldn’t interfere. While those beliefs aren’t wrong, there are risks. Here are some surprising facts:
- Deaths during their first week of life can be as high as a staggering 30%. This would also include stillborn.
- Deaths in puppies during the first 2 months is roughly 15%.
- 14.8% of litters will include a stillbirth and 6.6% the entire litter is lost.
- 9.38% of puppies are lost in the first 72 hours.
Why are these numbers so high?
Losses, unfortunately, can’t always be prevented. We had an unexplained stillborn puppy in our first litter. She was not fully formed when delivered, indicating she had passed days prior to delivery, yet her seven siblings were delivered without issue. The dam of this litter was ill at the time of delivery and inadvertently rejected the entire litter. This left us responsible for their every need. We had two little ones begin to fade, something we call “failure to thrive.” Thankfully, due to our knowledge, research, and the support from fellow breeders, we had everything needed to assist both puppies, who are now thriving and active six-month-olds, who are adored by their forever families. We are so grateful that our current litter arrived without any hiccups and all the puppies are continuing to thrive. Our Arya is very attentive to her puppies’ needs, and they are healthy and chunky.
Newborn puppies need only a few basic things to thrive.
We need to take a moment to discuss the requirements of your dam. She will need supportive care during her pregnancy, during the whelping process and during postpartum. Nutritional needs increase drastically as well as the quality of food. Foods containing calcium are never to be given to a pregnant dam. Counterintuitive to humans, calcium actually interrupts the development of the bone structure in the puppies and causes issues during whelping. During whelping, calcium needs to be given to help stimulate contractions, which won’t happen if calcium is given during pregnancy. Calcium also needs to be added to the dam’s meals postpartum. Misuse or a lack of calcium during the whelp or postpartum time period could cause the dam to develop a life-threatening condition, for both her and the puppies, called eclampsia or lactational hypocalcemia. In lay man’s terms this is milk fever, and the cause is a lack of calcium in the blood of the dam. Feeding your dam puppy food that is high in calcium will aid in preventing this. We often add high protein toppers as well, postpartum.
The dam also must be watched closely for uterine (metritis) or mammary (mastitis) infections by doing examinations daily and monitoring temperature increases. While proper nutrition and a clean, dry, and warm area will help prevent these things, there are situations that can arise even when all safety precautions are taken. While mastitis can be reversed without veterinary intervention, metritis can not. If you fear your dam is suffering from this, please contact your veterinary clinic immediately.
Here is where some breeding practices begin to differ. While it isn’t wrong to believe once all these boxes are checked the puppies are going to remain healthy and grow into amazing dogs, because it does happen, we just go the extra mile, or miles, if you will. We take their first eight weeks very seriously and add an empowered puppy curriculum. This curriculum is currently being used to start service, therapy, and facility dogs all over the world. It helps puppies develop self confidence and to learn the world is safe, people are kind and dogs are friendly. For more information on our puppy program please follow us on facebook and instagram or stay tuned for June’s article.
Delivering a litter of puppies is a humbling experience; it’s watching the miracle of life happen in your very hands as each puppy takes their first breath. It’s awe inspiring to watch the natural instincts of your dam take over as she meets every need of each of her puppies. I, for one, take the role of dog midwife very seriously and I’m so grateful I’m able to bring these amazing puppies into the world and eventually into the arms of their forever families.
Over the next couple of months we will discuss the empowered puppy program, how we pick their forever homes and share how our past litter is doing with their new families. So, stay tuned for these exciting updates.
- A puppy's survival can be determined by the welfare, financial limitations, as well as the knowledge and experience of the breeder.
- The condition of the facility into which they are born.
- Medical conditions passed to the puppies through non-health tested parents
- Lack of prenatal care for the mother.
- Inexperience of first-time mothers.
- Lack of human assistance.
- Some are also unexplained.
Losses, unfortunately, can’t always be prevented. We had an unexplained stillborn puppy in our first litter. She was not fully formed when delivered, indicating she had passed days prior to delivery, yet her seven siblings were delivered without issue. The dam of this litter was ill at the time of delivery and inadvertently rejected the entire litter. This left us responsible for their every need. We had two little ones begin to fade, something we call “failure to thrive.” Thankfully, due to our knowledge, research, and the support from fellow breeders, we had everything needed to assist both puppies, who are now thriving and active six-month-olds, who are adored by their forever families. We are so grateful that our current litter arrived without any hiccups and all the puppies are continuing to thrive. Our Arya is very attentive to her puppies’ needs, and they are healthy and chunky.
Newborn puppies need only a few basic things to thrive.
- A reliable food source. While mom is ALWAYS the first choice, there are products on the market that can be used if mom is not available.
- Warmth. Puppies need to be in a very warm and stable environment. A cold puppy is using too much energy to stay warm. If they can’t stay warm and their energy is depleting, they aren’t able to get to mom, therefore not able to eat. If they aren’t able to keep their calories up, their energy depletes even more, causing the puppy to fade. The room they are in should always be roughly 78-80 degrees. The use of heating pads and heat lamps can help with this.
- A clean environment to grow. Puppies are not born walking, they pull themselves across the floor on their tummies, similar to a crawl. We need to ensure their bedding is cleaned frequently. At this age they defecate in their environment so frequently cleaning and replacing bedding is extremely important.
We need to take a moment to discuss the requirements of your dam. She will need supportive care during her pregnancy, during the whelping process and during postpartum. Nutritional needs increase drastically as well as the quality of food. Foods containing calcium are never to be given to a pregnant dam. Counterintuitive to humans, calcium actually interrupts the development of the bone structure in the puppies and causes issues during whelping. During whelping, calcium needs to be given to help stimulate contractions, which won’t happen if calcium is given during pregnancy. Calcium also needs to be added to the dam’s meals postpartum. Misuse or a lack of calcium during the whelp or postpartum time period could cause the dam to develop a life-threatening condition, for both her and the puppies, called eclampsia or lactational hypocalcemia. In lay man’s terms this is milk fever, and the cause is a lack of calcium in the blood of the dam. Feeding your dam puppy food that is high in calcium will aid in preventing this. We often add high protein toppers as well, postpartum.
The dam also must be watched closely for uterine (metritis) or mammary (mastitis) infections by doing examinations daily and monitoring temperature increases. While proper nutrition and a clean, dry, and warm area will help prevent these things, there are situations that can arise even when all safety precautions are taken. While mastitis can be reversed without veterinary intervention, metritis can not. If you fear your dam is suffering from this, please contact your veterinary clinic immediately.
Here is where some breeding practices begin to differ. While it isn’t wrong to believe once all these boxes are checked the puppies are going to remain healthy and grow into amazing dogs, because it does happen, we just go the extra mile, or miles, if you will. We take their first eight weeks very seriously and add an empowered puppy curriculum. This curriculum is currently being used to start service, therapy, and facility dogs all over the world. It helps puppies develop self confidence and to learn the world is safe, people are kind and dogs are friendly. For more information on our puppy program please follow us on facebook and instagram or stay tuned for June’s article.
Delivering a litter of puppies is a humbling experience; it’s watching the miracle of life happen in your very hands as each puppy takes their first breath. It’s awe inspiring to watch the natural instincts of your dam take over as she meets every need of each of her puppies. I, for one, take the role of dog midwife very seriously and I’m so grateful I’m able to bring these amazing puppies into the world and eventually into the arms of their forever families.
Over the next couple of months we will discuss the empowered puppy program, how we pick their forever homes and share how our past litter is doing with their new families. So, stay tuned for these exciting updates.
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