I rescued a st bernard HELP ME?

Question

I recently rescued a st bernard aged 2 from the local dog sanctuary. Ive had her for nearly 5weeks, she is a joy to be around but i took her for check up at the vets and he said that she is roughly 7wks pregnant. She obviously hasnt got pregnant while i have had her as i havent had her long enough so i contacted the dog rescue and they said oh she must have fallen pregnant by the OTHER st bernard she was staying with (they claim that they thought he had had the snip)!!! They said they will take her back but i lose all the money i paid for her but now we love her as our family pet. I'd like to know what should i do, what can i do, what do i do with puppies, do they need 24hour care etc so they dont get squashed or can she have they puppies and i seperate them and feed them please help, im a bit gutted by the whole situation, ps she will certainly be visiting the vets after the puppies to get neutured / spayed. thanks x

Answer 1

Wow you really do need help. I cant believe a rescue allowed you to take any dog they didn't have fixed first. I have and raise Saints. Do NOT separate the pups from the mother. She will care for them. Your job is to care for her. Email me I will help in any way I can. You do know she could have a dozen or more don't you? I'll walk you through it.

AWWW Thanks guys, you make me feel so Special.

Answer 2

Of course don't return your dog if you want to keep her. It just means you will have to put up with a few months of taking care of pups. It's really easy when you know how- try typing puppy care into a search engine and see what comes up.
You won't have any trouble selling a St Bernard- they're gorgeous dogs and if the pups are indeed pedigree then you will actually make some money on it.
If I was in your shoes I would get her fixed after the birth because you don't plan to breed her, and seasons are depressing and uncomfortable for a female dog. They can also cause health issues later in life and very often do - these result in higher vet fees. Also she will be trying to escape all the time to reach male dogs.
You should look up things such as puppy worming (many puppies have worms from the start). The mum will do much of the work, you will just have to make sure the pups are fed and weaned properly and equally, in a safe environment. Your vet will be able to guide you and advise you. make sure you have a barred area for the puppies and their mum, or a corner of the house. When they are up and running you will know about it!
If you have any questions about rearing pups feel free to email me, I've raised a litter before.

Good luck.

Answer 3

I strongly advise that you contact the local St Bernard breed club and explain the situation to them. They may well have a waiting list of good families /homes that want St Bernards and will be able to advise you on how to care for this unsual breed.
It will be a problem homing all the puppies yourself because this breed is such a huge commitment. You won't have the time or expertise to check homes and there is a great risk that the pups will end up in rescue centres as they get older and livelier.
If you can get the support and advice from your nearest breed club, they will have the best advice that is specific to this special breed.
God luck and try not to stress too much. In a way you've had a lucky bonus and can enjoy the excitement of a litter - something you probably would never have enjoyed otherwise!!

Answer 4

First and foremost don't panic!! If she is 7weeks in whelp then you have about 2 weeks to get prepared. Firstly speak to your vet again, they will be able to guide and help you through the whole performance.
Secondly you will need to select a quiet place for her to whelp her puppies and a whelping box. Because of her size the box needs to be fairly big about 4ft x 4ft should do it and it needs to have "pig rails" these are actually a wooden rail that runs all around the rim of the box which will stop the ***** from rolling on the puppies and squashing them. A St Bernard ***** weighs about 9 stone (58 kilos) a pup is about one or 2 pounds at birth.

If you know any one who is handy at woodwork they should be able to make you a suitable box in 2 weeks!

Thirdly you will need a heat source for the puppies, a heat lamp the type they use for pigs. They can be bought for about £15 at places like Countrywide stores and good pet shops will probably sell them as well.

Fourthly start collecting newspapers to line the whelping box.

Fifthly log on to the Kennel club website and look up St Bernard breeders in your area and don't be shy to contact the nearest and ask them for help. All the breeders I know will be only too willing to help you and will probably be better placed to help you find homes for the puppies.

Finally go back to the rescue and demand that they provide you with some help and support, because lets face it they have conned you big style. No-one working in the rescue industry can be so stupid as not to realise that a ***** is is season and ceratinly not that a male dog is entire. Male St Bernards aren't exactly small!!

If this is a proper rescue such as Dogs trust, RSPCA etc they might not like a threat of adverse publicity, you could try local press and get them interested in your story, after all this type of irresponsibility is what they are always spouting on about.

Hopefully with a good support network around you the whole experience shouldn't be too stressful. I wish you luck and hope it all goes well.

Answer 5

Don't Panic! First of all, make sure you have a vet on hand just in case things go wrong. You really need a large whelping box with "pig rails" around the sides. These stop the dam lying on the pups by pushing them safely under the bars. You need to stay with the dam the last day or so while she is getting ready to whelp, while she is whelping & a few days after just to make sure everything is all right. Definaitely don't seperate her from them & try not to handle them too much when they are first. A couple of days after she has whelped, take her to the vet who can ensure everything is OK and can give her an injection to make sure she doesn't get an infection.
Finally - get in touch with one of the St bernard Clubs, there may be someone close by who will be willing to help you & to help you find homes for the pups.
http://www.englishsaintbernardclub.org/
I think you are great to take on responsibility for this b1tch & thing the Rescue kennels have acted appallingly
Good Luck
Sorry, that link's not working at the moment, try this one:
http://www.stbernard-south.co.uk/

Answer 6

First of all - congrats to you adopting a big dog, I love their easy going natures. PLEASE DONT GIVE HER BACK, YOU'LL TEACH YOUR KIDS THAT OBSTACLES CAN OVERCOME BY PASSING THEM ON TO SOMEONE ELSE THAT WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH TO GIVE UP. This is a valuable time to teach them about commitment and compassion and responsibility. Dont panic about the puppies, your vet can get you thru it, but I think you'll find that the dog's instincts will kick in for the most part and she'll do most of the of the work. Unless she has complications with whelping, there is no reason for you to intervene too much with the puppy rearing, monitor the puppies make sure everyone is eating and she's keeping them clean. You once again will and should be able to rely on your vet and staff for help if there is illness or an exceptional large litter.
What I would suggest is BEFORE the pups arrive, start advertising at the vet's office about them. When they are born, make a new flier that tells about the sexes and colors and when they will be available for adoption. You'll be surprised at how many will be placed that way. Play up how wonderful and easy going and smart the mother is. PLEASE get a book and read up on whelping and puppy raising so you'll be more prepared and therefore less stressed. If you're stressed, the mother may pick up on it and it can complicate things. So chill - the puppies are a joy especially once they start walking around and becoming dogs, its wonderful. Make sure that you handle them from the time they're born , PLEASE dont invite the neighborhood to see them, dont disturb the mother while she bonding with them and you wont have problems with her rejecting them or stressing her out. Remember in the wild, animals tend to isolate themselves during the first few weeks after the babies are born, so keep it quiet and dont let the kids mess with them too much, after the pups are moving around on their own, then let the kids socialize and handle the puppies more it'll make them better pets.
So get prepared, read up in whelping boxes, puppy gates and such - oh and start feeding the mom PUPPY FOOD with her regular food now so she'll have extra nutrition and stay healthy since she's so young and still growing herself. The better nutrition will help insure that she has enough milk to feed them so you wont have to, Its an old breeder's trick and it works. PLEASE take on my suggestion about the book any good pet store should have something about this.
Good Luck and enjoy!

Answer 7

Hopefully St. Lady will see this and give you some advice.

You may want to consider talking to the vet about spaying her now - aborting the litter of pups. Obviously since noone knew she was pregnant, she has not been being fed as a pregnant ***** should... which can have an impact on her health as well as that of the puppies.

Whelping and raising a litter of pups is a lot of work. I'm in the Seattle area please feel free to email me if you like.

One of the issues with large breed dogs and pups is that often the mother will inadvertantly squash them. When I have pups (Bernese or Samoyed) I stay with them nearly constantly for 2 weeks. I make sure to rotate them onto nipples (important for large litters especially). I weigh them daily, keep the whelping box clean etc etc. There are a few things I do encourage them to be emotionally sturdy dogs too... again, email me if you want more info.

Edit: LOL St. Lady saw it before I got done typing.... now everyone knows how slowly I type!!!

Answer 8

It's fab news to hear that you have rescued and bonded with this beautiful dog - ok so she's gonna have pups no problem really. Don't worry she will know exactly what to do when the time comes - but please be around her when she gives birth just in case she needs you. She may have quite a few pups don't - worry these can be sold - St Bernards are extremely popular and very expensive. Get your self some good advice in the mean-time regarding how to look after the pups as you wil have to play a part from birth until you find new homes for them. Stay positive and show love the the beautiful girl at all times!!!!! Good Luck. x

Answer 9

You don't need to separate her from the puppies because they need the mom to survive- they can't maintan their own body temperature so they rely on the mom and they need to be fed every 2 to 3 hours. If she does have them, it's best you let her take care of them. With my dogs, I let the mom do all the work then when they were 3 weeks old, I got a large pin and put it in the living room so they didn't wander throughout the house and every 2 hours, I'd let the mom in to feed them. However, if you separate them you must have a heating pad for the pups to lay on as they lose temperature very easily and quickly. You need to consider things like if you are at work all day, you will need someone to come by and check on them once a day or if you get a break, go by to check on them. For the most part, the mom does all the work so you have to let her around them while you are gone. Also, they are a full-time commitment for 6 to 8 weeks so when you aren't working, you need to be home. Anyways, if you need any advice I've been there and helped my dog during delivery. [e-mail]
Also what did the rescue group say about if you gave her to them? Would they terminate the birth or what? Could you get her back once the puppies were old enough to be given to homes?

Good luck :)

Answer 10

She doesn't need constant supervision, but she should have a whelping box with a "pig rail" which is a board that goes around the length of the box so the pups can escape if they're in danger of being crushed.

Here are some plans for whelping boxes:
http://devinefarm.net/rp/rpwhelpb.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/biz4/MastiffBreeder/whelpbox.html

I suggest that you post on your local Craig's List or some other local paper. Say what you said above and ask to borrow someone's supplies: whelping box, towels, etc. I think a lot of breeders would be willing to help you out.

If you don't want to go to the trouble of finding homes, I'd contact Saint Bernard rescue. I bet there's a lot of people who'd like Saint puppies. But they should be screened. As I'm sure you know, they're not for everyone and you don't want someone falling for a cute pup who will be unable to take care of it when it grows to a giant.

St. Lady has the best advice! Contact her. She's got the breed and experience.

Answer 11

Well since you love her keep her. She probably would love to stay with you. Let her have the puppies and since you got her from a rescue, if you can't get rid of the pups, give the pups to them. They will find homes for them. As for the care. If she is a good mom, you won't have to worry too much about the pups, her natural instinct will show through. Most St. Bernard's are great with children and baby animals. She won't squash them if she's a good mom. Just be there for her if she needs help. Take them all to the vet after she gives birth. and 8 to 10 weeks later you can find home for the pups.