My 1 year old female Weimaraner cross is about to have puppies. What should I do? I am new to this! Help...???

Question

First, my girl, Tammy, is 1 year old and (get ready for it) is a Weimaraner x Collie x Afghan Hound x Ridgeback and she mated (accindetally) with my 4 year old male, Trip, a (get ready for this one, too) Dalmatian x Boxer x Irish Wolfhound x Whippet! I know there are a lot of breeds and I know it was irresponsible to go to work while my female was on heat but I had the male outside in my shed and my female inside. I don't know how they got to each other but when I got home, the male was inside the house! Anyway, they successfully mated and my female is now pregant and has been for 8-9 weeks.

I am not sure what I should do for her. I am pretty sure she has started labour but I don't know what to do. Do I butt in and help (if so, help in what way?) or do I leave her alone to do all the work (but take her to the vet if something goes wrong)? What should I have ready for the puppies? I saved up around $500 and arranged a planed c-section with my vet incase something goes wrong.

What else should I do for mom?

So far all I have is a nesting area, a whelping box (currently 3"4) with play area, litter area, feeding area and sleeping area, a few little toys, puppy formula and a few old towels and blankets. Will this be OK for puppies and mom for 8 to 9 weeks? Just to let you know, she is due to have 8 puppies so please don't give false information.

A few questions:
How old should pups be before first vet check?
When do I swap pups over to soggy chow?
How much do I sell them for? I am thinking $90 ea. to cover the expenses for worming, flea and tick prevention, health checks, etc.

Any other information you can give a new doggy mom would be really good!

Please no rude or offensive comments. I made a mistake and I did consider abortion but I am an animal lover and couldn't go through with it. I do have 3 homes for 3 pups but I will find more homes. If I can't, I will keep them.

lexi m; don't worry. I have had Trip neutered (got neutered 5 weeks ago) and I am planning to spay Tammy once she is finished whelping her puppies. I am considering spaying and neutereing the puppies before they got to new homes but will talk about that with my vet.

Answer 1

Sounds like you are prepared. Let her be, nature will take its course, just keep an eye on her without hovering over her-peek in the door every so often but stay back. Hard labor (straining to push) should last no more than 30 minutes per puppy. but there could be as much as 4 hours' rest between pups. Every puppy will have its own amniotic sac and placenta, you should see water break, a puppy pass, and a placenta in that order for every pup. Try to count the placentas and make sure there's one for every pup, so you know she passed them all. She should lick the membranes off of them, if she doesn't then use a warm slightly damp washcloth to do it for her. They should nurse within the first 1/2 hour. 99% of the time, things go smoothly, just keep an eye on her. Oh, and green is normal! The puppy water will have a grass green tint to it, and mom will have a red/brown/green discharge afterward. The green scares people if they aren't ready for it. It's called lochia and it's perfectly normal. Good luck.

Answer 2

If you think she has started labor I would just keep a close eye on her for now. Depending on how receptive she is you might want to sit on the floor by her and rub her side or stomach and offer a few words of encouragement. In most cases dogs are able to handle the whole process by themselves, except for some breeds like English Bulldogs where they have to be taken with a c-section. If she starts showing signs of a lot of pain and none of the puppies are being born and it lasts over about 1/2 hour I think I would take her to the vet.

Not much else you can do. $90 might be a little steep to ask for the puppies. People don't seem to realize that shots and worming cost just as much for mixed breed puppies as they do for AKC registered. The puppies will probably open their eyes in about 10 or12 days and start getting their teeth in three to four weeks. When they start getting their teeth you might start putting some food in the box for them. After they begin eating on their own a little bit you might want to take them to the vet and get them wormed. I am not sure when he will want to give them their shots. I would leave them with the mother until they are about 8 weeks.

Answer 3

OK first you should calm down, this is pure nature and the dog will take her time, you should keep on with your normal lifestyle so as to not stress her out. make sure you have a comfortable place for her to give birth, if you see her fussing around then you know that it is close. It won't hurt to alert your vet at this time. You don't butt in unless th vet said to.

My poodle had 9 hours between the second and third pup but by then I had the Vet at home to assist. She and the pup survived.

You know the old expression, when in doubt ask the expert.

good luck

Answer 4

Go to amazon.com and buy some books on breeding dogs that will explain all the stages the mother and puppy go through or go to google.com and use the search words breeding dogs, raising litters etc. and read everything you can find. It would take pages and pages of writing for someone to get you "up to snuff" on all you need to know about raising a healthy litter of puppies and how to help during whelping and what to have on hand.

Answer 5

Those sound like awesome pups. You should post some pics somewhere. I would love to see them. All the breeds that are mixed in there are cool dogs. Keep us updated -- pics plz!

Answer 6

She will yelp when she goes to have them just let her do what she has to do she will take a break in between pups if she has trouble help her by pulling it out carefully.

Answer 7

If you keep some of the puppies, please get them neutered.

Puppies can incestuously breed with their parents which is extremely bad for the genetics of the new puppies.