I just had my first litter of pups. I own both the male and female, so I guess you could say that I am lucky. But even though she got pregnant, it was an accident! This was her first heat and unfortunately he got a hold of her. Trust me...very disappointing. But so far, so good. The mother is nursing the pups and everything seems to be going fine.

Somethings have came to my attention though.

My bitch has been bleeding off and on since giving birth, since she just gave birth, I figured that this was more than likely common. But im not 100% sure. I have not had a chance to get her to the vet as of yet, but she will be going.

Also, we tend to notice that sometimes the puppies really are going to town on her teets. Almost like they are not getting her milk. Not all of them, not even a few. Sometimes there may just be one or so. It kind of reminds yourself of getting a really thick milkshake and you just keep trying to work it out through the straw! LOL! I know its probably not funny.

So im just curious if these things are common? If possible, could somebody let me know. Thanks!

Hi,
Sorry you haven't had a response until now, it seems a shame, but I am not on the site much.

My best advice is buy books! There are lots of great books out there on rearing pups, total pre and postnatal care and what to do when something goes wrong. Amazon is where I bought mine, just did a search on dog breeding.

I have 7 books in my library to read when something goes wrong! I am just now dealing with orphaned pups and have referred to these books day and night. They have the answers to all your questions, but yes it is quite normal for the matron to bleed a few days after giving birth, just make sure it doesn't smell! As for the pups being ravanious this is good, you should be able to see full tummies on all of the them and it would be a GREAT idea to have some royal canin puppy milk and bottles on hand just in case she needs some help. If she starts to struggle you can feed all the puppies at night so at least you know they are nice and full and mom will get a little rest.

Any other questions feel free to ask I will try and check every few days.

Hope all is going good!

Amy

It is very normal for the mother to have a brownish colored discharge for up to a month after delivery. As long as it doesnt have a oful smell or green color to it, its moer than likely very normal. I have a couple girls who will have a discharge for a week or two and 1 who will for 3-4 weeks.

As for the hungry puppy, It could be just that. Some puppies are just overly hungry. As long as they arent crying and there bellies feel full, they are doing fine.
Some of my puppies will suckle like they havent ate in days and some of them act like they arent very hungry. They will each vary.

Good luck on yoru new puppies.

Patti
LD Legacies Shelties

sorry but anyone who knows nothing about breeding or whelping should not be doing it. I certainly hope you are getting them both neutered so there will be no more accidents.

this is not OJT - there are lives at stake here & you risked your dogs. you do the years of research first, learn from a mentor, assist with other breedings & whelpings to learn. show your dog to make sure it meets the breed standard & is even worthy of breeding?

of course you couldn't have done any genetic health testing because she isn't old enough. either of these dogs could have STD's.

you haven't had a chance to vet her????? when your dog whelps she is the most important thing on earth. you sleep on the floor with her. you are there for every nursing. you didn't say how old the puppies are but they all should have been to the vet with in the first couple day.

your poor dog is still a puppy herself.