Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws – Part 10 – Whelping what?

June 8, 2023 By Leave a Comment

The story so far………

Now that we've found out that Tilly's pregnant – the ultrasound scan confirmed this, we're now turning our attention to the equipment that we are going to need for puppy births etc…

I've been reading my book –Book of the Bitch and also having a really good scout around the internet.

Here's a list of things we think we'll need:

1. A whelping box….

If you're only doing this as a once in a lifetime experience (which this could well be….ask me that again when the pups are running around like hooligan's in the house) then a cardboard whelping box would probably be sufficient – although I'm not sure how many wee's that could withstand?

The next stage would be to go for a more sturdier option, and these appear to be plastic ones. They look much the same as the cardboard, but presumably will withstand large volumes of ammonia and other messy subtances! The only problem with these is that you've got to find somewhere to store them, if you want to use them again (and that is a BIG If!)

Now this one doesn't look very big to me, I'm wondering if it's designed for toy dogs, rather than for large labradors. So, I'm going to have to do a bit more research on this one. There doesn't seem to be much help in the description. At just shy of £70 I need to make the right decision. Having done a bit more investigation, here's how you decide which whelping box is big enough….

Firstly, measure your dog from nose to the base of her tail (where the tail meets her body, not the tip). Then add 4 inches on – this is required if you are using puppy rails.

Then select a box that will be big enough to allow your dog to lie flat along one side.

I've measured Tilly, and she needs the 48 inch square box, so that's what I've ordered.

2. Whelping Kit

Wow, this is a minefield! There are several suppliers that offer pretty much the same products, and each offer a basic, an essential and there is often a deluxe and even super deluxe product. Basically the more you pay, the more bits you get.

It seem's quite difficult to decide what you are going to need, so I have plumped for a mid range package which contains, stethoscope, forceps, thermometer, aspirator – just in case the pups have difficulty breathing to start with and loads of other bits and bobs related around hygiene. Here's an example of what I've bought….

3. Vet bed for the whelping box.

I used a lot of this when I first had Tilly as a pup, as it is machine washable and can be cut to fit whatever space you require. I have ordered the vet bed from the same place as the whelping box, in the hope of saving some postage costs.

4. Puppy play pens

Finally, I also need to look at puppy pens, once they are a bit bigger.

The first one I have found is a very heavy duty one, but at £100 it is not cheap. However, I think you get what you pay for, so I am considering this option.

 I have found another one, which is a lot cheaper, but there does seem to be quite a high step into it.

I'm just wondering whether I should wait until the litter is born before deciding on this one, just so that I get one that is big enough.

Anyhow, for the time being, as long as I've got the whelping bed and kit on order, then I'm happy. We still have 3-4 weeks to go before it will be required.

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Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws – Part 9 – Pregnancy Confirmed

July 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The story so far,

Tilly has been mated with a lovely pedigree, field trial champion gun dog called Bosco from the Drakeshead Kennels in Lancashire. He has a wonderful nature and is a beautiful looking dog, so we have high hopes that the pups will be good looking too!  To be honest, as long as they are born fit and healthy, that’s all that really matters.

We have been watching Tilly like a hawk since the day of mating, looking for signs that she may be pregnant. It seems that almost instantly, she started to go off her food and had to be persuaded to eat. This lasted for the first couple of weeks – we tried adding interesting morsels of food like tuna and grated cheese into her meals, but nothing seemed to make a difference. Then she started to be sick, to begin with a small amount of white foamy substance whilst out on a dog dog, but then this developed into full scale throwing up of all her stomach contents. After a couple of days of not being able to keep her food down, we took her to the vets for a check up.

The vet gave her a thorough external examination and confirmed that she was fit and healthy, but that she seemed to have developed a form of “gastritis” (stomach upset to you and me!). Unfortunately, in order to treat her correctly, the vet needed to confirm whether she was pregnant or not.

There are at least two ways of confirming pregnancy with dogs, firstly there is a blood test that you can do, which takes at least a couple of days to get the results, as they need to be sent to a lab. Secondly, the vet can use an ultrasound machine, assuming they have the relevant equipment.

Fortunately our vet had the necessary equipment and duly wheeled in a white box, with a flip down lid, which revealed a keyboard – very space age looking!

Tilly had to be shaved on her tummy, so that the vet could get a good picture whilst scanning her. She wasn’t very happy about having her tummy shaved, but stood gritting her teeth, whilst this was done. I think she’s getting a bit fed up of being poked and prodded about by people.

Once the vet had a clear area of skin, she applied some cleansing gel and then applied the ultrasound machine. It was just like being in the maternity hospital again! After a little bit of searching, she found a few black blobs (these were the puppies)! The more unusual shaped one, was her bladder!! The vet then looked for evidence of heart beats – this is done by looking for shimmering movements. She was satisfied that she could see enough movement and confirmed that there were at least four pups. However, you can’t be particularly accurate at this stage, as they are still very small. There could be others “hiding behind the wings”, or the vet could have counted a face and a bottom as two separate pups! Once the pups are further developed, it is easier to count skulls, the vet said. A bit like having a headcount at school!

At the moment, Tilly is only 25 days into her pregnancy, and we were originally told that 28 days+ was a better time for scanning – however, since Tilly had been so sickly, we decided that we needed veterinary confirmation that she was ok – as peace of mind.

Anyhow, our hopes that she was pregnant have been confirmed, so now we can carry on satisfied in the knowledge that we have a pregnant, healthy dog.

To help me, I have bought a fantastic book called “The Book of the Bitch” – it is one of the best books I have read, in terms of telling you what to expect with a pregnant dog. It can be a little graphic in places! Here’s the link, so that you can see for yourself…

 

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Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws – Part 8 – Pre mate blood test take 3!

June 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Story so far…..

For those of you that have been following the blog, you will know that we are in the middle of breeding our lovely black labrador, Tilly. So far, we have done all the necessary health tests and have had good  results. Even with all the best planning, we could not have anticipated Tilly coming into season right in the middle of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Normally, we would have been able to establish the correct day of ovulation by having blood tests done from about Day 9 of the season, but unfortunately at the critical time, the Laboratory has closed for an extended bank holiday, so we have had to second guess the ovulation dates.  We have been advised to have another blood test after the first mating, just to check that Tilly has ovulated.

So, once again, we are back at the vets having yet another blood test taken…..  This time, we need to know if she was ovulating at the time of the mating. If she has not ovulated, then we need to take another trip to the stud dog.

One day later……

The results are back and the vet has confirmed that the best time to have mated Tilly was the day AFTER we actually mated her. The progesterone levels were such that the "day after" would have been perfect. In his words, "we would probably be alright, but to be on the safe side, we should take her back to the stud dog and try again".

So once again, we all pile in the car and head up the motorway to the stud dog………

This time, it goes a lot smoother than the first time, and the stud dog owners are happy that Tilly is not likely to snap at their dog and she remains unmuzzled for the whole process.

We are now in the position that we cannot do anymore and have to let nature take it's course.

The vets have offered to do an ultrasound scan in 28 days time, but to be honest we're not sure if we will do this. All it will prove is that she is pregnant but we won't know how many puppies with any certainty. So now, we just have to take care of our dog, in the hope that she contains a precious cargo of soon-to-be cute cuddly puppies!

From conception to birth is about 63 days, so we anticipate the pitter patter of tiny paws around the first week of August.

Any ideas for puppy names????

Filed Under: Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws (Aug 2012 Litter)

Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws – Part 7 – Visit to the Stud Dog

June 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Story so far…..

For those of you that have been following the blog, you will know that we are in the middle of breeding our lovely black labrador, Tilly. So far, we have done all the necessary health tests and have had good  results. Finally, after keeping us waiting, she has come into season, we are waiting with baited breath for the day to come when she finally ovulates and we can take her to see the stud dog.

Well the big day has dawned. We have sweaty palms and feel like lambs to the slaughter as we take our unsuspecting dog to see her stud dog.

Thankfully we are put at our ease by the experience of the stud owners. It certainly pays to use experienced breeders.

The stud dog owner internally examined Tilly as she attempted to "prepare her" for the stud dog to do his business. Whilst this was unpleasant to witness, as no one wants to see their dog yelp in pain, it was necessary to ensure that Tilly didn't associate pain with the stud dog, otherwise she would have been unlikely to stand for him and we would not have had a successful mating.

Once Tilly was ready, a muzzle was placed round her nose, to ensure that she didn't whirl round, snap and take a chunk out of the stud dogs ear!  Tilly is the most sweet natured dog imaginable, but according to the stud dog owners, in their experience, even the most mild mannered dogs can turn into a crocodile with snapping teeth if they take exception to the boy dog!

Thankfully after a bit of dancing around and frantic pawing to try and get the horrible muzzle off her nose, Tilly eventually stood still for the stud dog.

After the boy dog had "performed" the stud dog owners gently manouvered both dogs hind legs into a more comfortable position and they stood there for a few more minutes letting nature take its course.

The dogs essentially lock together for a number of minutes and they cannot be separated. They are almost back to back at this stage, and it looks terribly uncomfortable for the male dog as he appeared to be bent round a bit like a banana.

Whilst the dogs are locked together, the breeder took a seat (whilst holding the dogs on a lead) and patiently waited for nature to takes it's course. Eventually, after what seemed quite a few minutes, the dogs finally separated. Tilly was led away to our car, where she quietly recovered from her ordeal!

We went and had a cup of tea with the stud dog owners and also settled up with them. They gave us the Pedigree certificate for the stud dog, and also gave us a copy of Form 1 from the Kennel club, which is an Application for Litter Registration. This is where we have to choose names for the puppies and register them with the Kennel Club. Apparently we can do this online, but we have been asked by the breeder to send the copy to her first, so that she can add the sire's details and she will also provide a pedigree certificate with the puppies names on.

The only problem we have at the moment, is that we are not sure if Tilly has ovulated yet. Normally, we would be sure from the blood tests that are taken, but in this case, we have had to second guess, as the Jubilee Bank holiday weekend has fallen in the wrong place and the Laboratory which analyses the blood test results is going to be closed for an extended period of time. The vet at the lab, has suggested that we mated Tilly on the bank holiday Tuesday and then have another blood test taken the following day , to check when ovulation has taken place.

Watch this space for the results………

 

 

 

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Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws – Part 6 – Pre mate blood test take 2!

June 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Well we're still rolling on! A second bloodtest was taken on Friday (Day 11), the results were sent to me on Saturday. We are now slap bang in the middle of the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend, if we don't get the right result on Saturday, then the lab won't be open until the following Wednesday and that might be too late!

Saturday's results

Well just to keep us on the edge of our seats for a bit longer, the results have come back negative. Tilly has still not ovulated.  The vet has advised us to go ahead and try and mate Tilly on Tuesday (the Jubilee bank holiday!)

The stud dog has been booked, but the stud owner has said we will still need to do an additional blood test on Wednesday to confirm whether ovulation has taken place, otherwise we will be having another trip to the stud dog!

Follow the next post to see how we get on with the stud dog, and will Tilly have ovulated???

 

 

 

Filed Under: Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws (Aug 2012 Litter)

Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws – Part 5 – Pre Mate Blood tests (progesterone)

May 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Talk about a roller coaster! I thought this week was going to be quite straight forward. I was told to get a blood sample taken on Day 8 and then send this to the Lab for testing. The plan was, I would get the test results on Day 9 and would then know when to take Tilly to the stud dog. As a result, all plans for the Jubilee celebrations and half term are currently in limbo, as we don't know when Tilly will be ready for the stud dog.

The results were phoned through to me on Day 9, and I was told that Tilly's Progesterone levels were at 1.4 which means that Tilly has not yet ovulated. I now need to wait another couple of days until Friday (Day 11) to get another blood sample taken. Rather worryingly,the results won't be known until Day 12 which happens to be the Saturday of the big Jubilee bank holiday. The lab won't be open again until the following Wednesday which is Day 16.  I am really hoping that Tilly will have higher progesterone levels on Friday so that we can make plans for the mating date.

Because I didn't understand what a progesterone level of 1.4 meant, I thought I would do a bit of research of my own. Here's what I found:

Prior to coming into season, the progesterone levels are quite low (less than 1ng (ng=nanograms). As the cycle continues the progesterone levels start to slowly climb. At 5ng, ovulation occurs. In order to time the breeding correctly, it is necessary to identify when the progesterone levels reach 2.5ng/ml, that way the mating schedule can be set up. Natural breeding should take place 3 days after the 2.5ng/ml mark. There are other ways of breeding such as artificial insemination with either fresh chilled and or frozen semen, but we won't be concerned with those methods!

Just as I am writing this, the phone rang, and it was the vet asking if I had checked whether the lab will be open to analyse the results, (due to it being the bank holiday), they were conscious that it might be closed. It's good to know that the vet is forward thinking!

Anyhow, I am anxiously hoping that Tilly's progesterone levels will have risen sufficiently so that we can plan our trip to the stud dog – here's hoping………

 

 

Filed Under: Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws (Aug 2012 Litter)

Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws – part 4 – How can you tell when a dog is coming into season?

May 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Having found the stud dog, it is now just a waiting game.  We can't proceed with anything until the dog has come into season.

Since Tilly has aways come into season in regular six monthly intervals, I was pretty confident that this would happen around the middle of May.

I asked around and read lots of websites to find out a bit more, but I also watched Tilly like a hawk for two weeks prior to the expected start time. I was advised to start swabbing her with a tissue around the vulva, this is because we need to absolutely sure of the first day of the season.  We have been advised by two separate breeders that we should mark Day 1 (the first signs of blood) on the calendar and then 7 days after this, take Tilly to the vets to have a blood sample taken, which is then sent off to the Lab and tested to see when she is likely to ovulate. Apparently, they can tell you the correct couple of days to introduce Tilly to the Stud dog and for mating to take place.

It's absolutely critical to get day 1 right, since if you miss this, you can potentially miss the right opportunity to breed, and then you've got to wait another 6 months before you can try again!

Here are the signs I noticed prior to Tilly coming into season:

  • Lots of interest around the female dog by boy dogs!
  • Lots of "scenting" i.e weeing a lot on walks!
  • Constant licking of the vulva
  • Perhaps the dog feels a little lethargic?
  • Off her food
  • Slight clear discharge in the week running up to day 1
  • The day prior to bleeding the discharge was slightly coloured.
  • Swelling of the vulva (I noticed a slight swelling the day before, but it swells much more later in the season).

Thankfully we didn't have to wait too long for Tilly to start, she kept us waiting for a while, and I think she got fed up of the constant swabbing of her rear end, but eventually Day 1 has dawned and we are now counting down the days to the blood test. Watch this space to see how we get on!

 

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Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws – Part 3 – Finding a Stud Dog

May 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This is becoming the "trickiest" part of the whole process. Where do you find a suitable stud dog?

Well, there are loads of websites out there and it's just a case of trawling through them to find what's available. Sorry, but there doesn't seem to be any quick answer to this one.

It helps when searching, if you can narrow down the breed type, even to the colour. For example, I was able to search for all male labradors in Derbyshire which were either black, chocolate or yellow. Once I'd done this, I then looked at the ages of the dogs and how much experience they'd had at being a stud dog. The prices reflected their experience. For example I could have had an inexperienced male only 18 months old where the stud fee was only £100. At the other end of the scale, I could see an extremely experienced dog, with very good pedigree and field trial championships under his belt for £575. To say it is a minefield is an understatement!

It is then necessary to look at the health checks that they have had. You can weigh up the commitment of the breeder, by the tests that they have had done. My view is, the more health tests the animal has had, the more reputable the breeder. The tests that most of the "serious" stud dogs had were hip and elbow scores, eye tests and quite often a DNA test. Without these tests, how does the breeder know that they aren't bring more animals into the world with a hereditary condition such as hip dysplasia?  The less reputable breeders perhaps didn't want to know the results of the health tests, because if they were poor, then that would seriously undermine the quality of the dog and impact their chances of making any money from their dog. I chose to ignore all dogs that had not had at least elbows, hips and eyes tested.

In the end, we visited a couple of kennels, one of which was very small and not commerial, the other being a highly regarded commercial kennel and breeder. It was interesting to compare the two kennels, and I would actually recommend this, as you can weigh up the pros and cons of both.  Each breeder was very knowledgeable about the dogs and also about training. They both scrutinised Tilly and her pedigree, and I am pleased to say, she was accepted by both breeders.

After the first visit to the smaller kennels, we applied for Tillys Pedigree certificate via the Kennel Club. This can be done online, for the sum of £8, and you have the choice of either a 3 generation or a 5 generation pedigree. We got the five generation pedigree, and it was fascinating to read this, as it showed all the field trial champions in Tilly's family tree.

The pedigree certificate was further investigated by the second kennels (the more commercial one) and  the breeder appeared to know a lot of the dogs and also named some of the owners. It's a very small world!

After a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of each kennel we have made a decisision to go with the more commercial breeder. Now it's just a case of waiting for Tilly to come into season!

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Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws Part 2 – Health Checks

April 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Having made the decision to breed from Tilly, we want to make sure that we are doing this properly. We are well aware that Labradors can experience hip problems in later life, but until we started talking to people and also researching stud dogs, we didn't know much about the health tests that are recommended.

We had already had a quote for a hip test, some time ago, and quite honestly, it was frightening how expensive it seemed. After a lot more research and talking to experienced people, we discovered that the first quote was indeed very expensive and it had certainly paid to do the research, as we have since discovered that we have probably saved a couple of hundred pounds!

Time however, is of the essence, as Tilly is due to come into season, mid May. So it is really important to get these health tests done as quickly as possible.

Having spoken to a potential stud dog owner, we have found that the sensible order of health checks is as follows.

First get the eyes tested- as this is the cheapest test to do (Cost £48). However, only specialist vets do this. We travelled to Huddersfield with Tilly (a four hour round trip) – so if we added the fuel costs as well, it would probably be another £20.  If the dog's eyes are not clear, then it is probably not worth continuing with the breeding process. Thankfully, Tilly's eyes were classified as "clinically unaffected", so this meant that we could breath a sigh of relief and move on to the next test.

The next test, being the hips scored. You can, at the same time, get the elbows done (which apparently is trickier than the hips, as x rays need to be taken of both straight leg and bent legs).  Some vets will anaesthetise the dogs, in order to carry out this procedure. However, in our case the vet we have chosen is so experienced,  that she is going to sedate the dog, which is a method that we prefer.  She is also able to give an approximation of the hip score on the day, which is what we want, since we are so close to the start of Tilly's season. We need to know if she has any hip problems prior to breeding with her. If the hip score turns out to be bad – we will not be breeding.  This is an expensive business as the hip score and elbows test is approx £250. (Actually a good price, as we were previously quoted £400!)

We are now awaiting the  official results of Tilly's hip score, as the vet now has to send the results of the x rays that have been taken, to the BVA (British Vetinary Association). Apparently there is a panel of 12 vets who assess the results and two of them will make a judgement on Tilly's x rays. Once they have made an assessment, this score will be sent back to the vets, who in turn will inform us! As you can see, this process can take some time, anywhere between 3 and 8 weeks, we have been told!!!

Since we do not have 8 weeks, as Tilly is due in season any time soon, we have had a preliminary score given to us. The score is 5,4 which is a very respectable score for hips. The vet told us that the breed average is 14. Basically, you add the two scores together, in Tilly's case this is 9, and compare this to the breed average.  The vet is expecting the official score to be a little lower than she has told us, so we are waiting with baited breath!!!

She also scored the elbows, which were 0,0 a perfect score!!!!

The vet has told us, that based on what she has seen, she is more than happy for us to continue the process of breeding, with Tilly.  It helps that she also knows  the stud dog that we are thinking of using, so we have been given the "green light" to continue!

Follow our next post as we decide on a stud dog for Tilly, and also hopefully we will have the official hip score!!

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Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws? – Part 1

April 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We have a beautiful, lively, black labrador called Tilly, who is now two and a half years old. She has a lovely temperament and is in top condition, so we feel that now is the right time to breed from her. This could just be a "one off" experience, but we wanted to document the occasion, as Tilly is part of our family, and this is a very exciting time for us. Tilly on the top

We feel that we are going on a journey, and we're certainly experiencing things and learning about the breed, as never before. We have met, lots of interesting and highly devoted people, who love their dogs and want the best outcome for them, whether, breeding, competing or simply just wanting the best for their dogs.

We will be sharing our experience via this blog, so if you would liketo join us in the most exciting event for our family this Summer, then keep an eye out for the next post on this blog!

Filed Under: Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws (Aug 2012 Litter)
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