The following is an interesting series of articles on whelping and raising litters. Although written about Weimaraner's, I have used it as a useful guide in whelping and raising my Labrador puppies. It is used here with permission of the author, Elena Smith Lamberson.

RAISING A WEIMARANER LITTER

By Elena Smith

PRENATAL CARE OF THE BITCH

Your bitch is now over 2 years old, has had her hips certified by OFA; she is perhaps a Champion with a lovely temperament, and you feel that breeding her would produce quality puppies for the future of the breed. You have studied her carefully; you know where her faults lie and you searched for a stud dog (hips clear or OFA certified) that you feel will compliment and correct these faults. Before you breed her think about your financial situation. Do you have some good homes lined up for the pups? Can you afford the expenses associated with a litter of pups? Now, ask yourself "Is she in physical condition for breeding?"

Before a bitch is bred she should be in good physical shape. Exercise is important for all those muscles which will be used in the coming months. A couch potato will not fair as well as an athlete during pregnancy. Jog, swim, or somehow exercise your future mom to get her in shape. She should be on high quality food and not overweight. Her vaccinations should be current and she should be free of worms.

Even though we have the new hormore kits available to pinpoint when to breed a bitch, I have seen these fail. I send my bitches to be bred on the 3rd - 5th day of "color" so that she can get accustomed to the stud dog's owners and home, make friends with him, and calm down before standing estrus occurs. Environmental accommodation can be a real problem because some bitches are quite nervous and upset when away from home -- and THEN to be attacked by an unknown amorous suitor can be even further unsettling. It is not uncommon for an unprepared bitch to reject her suitor entirely and your efforts result in a complete loss (especially if you are paying a large stud fee and/ or have shipped her across the country!). But, let's assume your girl had a successful trip to her stud dog and we are now ready to proceed with her prenatal care.

EXERCISE

After breeding resume her exercise program for at least 5 weeks. This is NOT the time to let her become flabby again! Keep her moving, running, chasing a ball or whatever to keep her body in shape. The first signs of pregnancy usually appear as a loss of tuck up around 4 weeks after breeding. Many experienced veterinarians can palpate the uterine horns at 21-28 days after breeding and diagnose pregnancy. Other veterinarians are quite experienced in performing ultra sound to diagnose pregnancy. I suggest this option because it will make your plans much easier if you know your bitch is pregnant. Continue her exercise program for the first 5 weeks of pregnancy. Drop back to half by the 7th week. On the 8th week, walk or trot the bitch only. At this time, I place my bitches on a leash to go outside to prevent any surprise chases of a cat or squirrel. You do not want them jumping ditches or leaping around in the 8-9th weeks!

NUTRITION

Purchase beef liver; cut it up with scissors into small pieces about the size of a quarter. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze. When the pieces are frozen hard, take them out and put into a zip lock freezer bag. Give a raw "liver popsicle" in the morning and in the evening all during pregnancy. This supplies a good source of B complex vitamins and many breeders (including me) swear it makes very vigorous puppies on the day of whelping. I give no additional vitamins or supplements. My pregnant bitch is given her normal feeding ration (always twice a day) until the 5th week; I then mix in puppy food for its extra calcium and calories, and go entirely to puppy food by the 7th week and continue this food until the pups are weaned. Her normal quantity of ration is increased by a cup a day in the 7th week if she appears to be carrying a good sized litter; 1 1/2 cups by the 8th week and 2 cups by the 9th week.

ENVIRONMENT

At the 5th week find a suitable place (preferably a room) for her to whelp her pups where it is quiet and isolated from other animals and people. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Begin to feed her in this room. Build or borrow a whelping box which has a "pig rail." Place the whelping box in her special room and encourage her to get in it by feeding her in it or giving her treats in the box. By the 7th week, fill the box with layers of clean newspaper about 1/2" thick. The Wallstreet Journal is exceptionally good. You should now make her sleep in the room and in the whelping box. Rip up some of the newspaper so that she gets the idea to start "nesting." You want her to busy herself by ripping up the newspapers to make herself and the pups a "nest." Praise her for her newspaper work. It is most important that this room and the whelping box are made her "den" so she will feel safe and secure here with her pups. Otherwise, she may try to move her pups to your bedroom closet!
(*Note: We use fleece whelping box pads over the newspaper)

GETTING READY

Five days before the first due date, begin taking her temperature in the morning and evening with a rectal thermometer. You can make this a fairly pleasant time by rubbing her belly while waiting for the 3 minutes to elapse. Chart the temperatures on a calendar. The temps usually run 101 for a while and then slowly cycle downward to 100. When the temperature drops to 99.0 -98.8 the pups should arrive within 24 hours. Notify your veterinarian that the temperature has dropped and you may need his assistance. Prepare 12-15 clean, 100% cotton hand towels, rubbing alcohol, strong cotton thread, baby's ear syringe, 10-12 colored ribbons or yarn, hot water bottle, a box big enough to hold a towel wrapped hot water bottle and several puppies; flashlight, iodine, baby scales, blunt scissors, and several large trash bags. You will need paper to record time of each whelping, weight of the pups and color of yard assigned. Assemble some good books to read while you wait, and perhaps a cot or comfortable sleeping bag. It usually seems like endless hours and days worth of constant waiting and watching a sleeping or restless bitch before the pups arrive!

THE GRAND ARRIVAL

Let us assume this is your bitch's first litter. A maiden bitch may often be a bit different than an experienced brood bitch. The first time mom may be mystified by some of the happenings and in particular, she may be startled by the birth of the first puppy. We shall start with the drop in her rectal temperature.

I take the temperatures twice a day for the 5-3rd days before the first due date( 63 days from the first breeding): around 6:00 am, and 8:00 pm. On the day before and the due date I begin to take it also at noon and in the late evening around 10-11 pm. I write all the temps and times on my "WCA Calendar" (I keep them forever and follow all my dogs heats, shows, breedings, whelp dates, etc - they are a valuable and easy way to keep a diary on all your dogs). A temperature that drops considerably and then rises appreciably may be a signal of something going wrong. You need to be able to tell your veterinarian about the charted temperatures.

After the temperature drops to 99.0-98.6o the pups should arrive within 24-36 hrs. The bitch may begin taking long naps, snoring away in the whelping box while you are getting aches, pains and backaches waiting for something to happen. After a long nap she will usually begin to nest by ripping up and digging away at the newspapers in the whelping box. Let her make as big a mess as she wants. After the pups are all whelped and everything has settled down, all the newspapers will be thrown away and clean cotton (in summer) or wool (in winter) blankets will be placed in the whelping box for mom and pups.

Soon she will begin panting and the first sign of labor is usually a weird grunting sound accompanied by rippling contractions down her back. When she has a contraction, praise her. After some minutes (or hours) the water sac may break and shortly (minutes or hours) thereafter she will begin to push out a puppy. Here is where the clean cotton hand towels come in. If she has any trouble pushing the pup out, you may help her by gently grasping the pup with the towel and, timing with the contractions, carefully pull the pup toward her belly. Although, when the pup plops out, she may break the sac and clean up the pup, I ALWAYS do this job so that no ears or toes are inadvertently nipped off. So, grasp the sac by the pups face and break it so that the pup can get oxygen. Mom, at this point, may be shocked out of her wits about the appearance of this slimy, wet thing and may have jumped out of the box.

To clean the pup, use at least two towels and if the pup is choking use the ear syringe to suction out his mouth and nose. Use the towels to dry him in a rather rough manner, especially up and down his back with and against the growth of his fur - this stimulates the pup to cry and fill those lungs with air! It is quite a thrill to dry off Weimaraner puppies! As you dry them with the towels they are transformed from a wet, greenish-gray drowned rat to a shiny, sparkling, squirming, shrieking bar of silver! Cut the umbilical cord from the placenta (use blunt scissors to prevent bleeding) and then tie it off about 1/2" from the pup's belly. Trim the cord to about 1" from the thread and dip it in iodine. It will dry up and drop off in a day or so. Tie a colored yarn collar around the pup's neck, and record pup's weight, sex and time of birth. Also, note if the placenta arrived with or shortly after the pup. Don't be alarmed if the bitch eats the placentas. They contain lots of nourishment. If mom is still freaked out about the puppy, you must now attend to her. Place the silver striped pup in the box with the towel wrapped hot water bottle -(our "incubator") and cover the box so as to keep the puppy very warm (around 90o).

Maiden bitches sometimes think the pup's arrival means they have had a bowel movement. Naturally, a housebroken bitch is horrified that she has made such a mistake! You must sooth her feelings, coax her back in the whelping box, talk to her and then gently introduce her to her baby by presenting the puppy to her tail first so that she can get acquainted. Once she begins to lick the pup, Mother Nature takes over. You can place the pup on one of her nipples (this can be rather frustrating as she will try to lick the fire out of that puppy!). Let Mom rest and pup nurse until the next contractions begin. When the contractions get stronger and another pup is about to arrive, snatch the nursing puppy up and place him in the "incubator" to keep warm and out of Mom's way! Usually there are no further problems. If Mom is in heavy labor for more than 1 1/2 hours you must call your veterinarian at once. This could mean a pup is stuck in the birth canal and cannot get oxygen. Sometimes a bitch will not want to push a pup out in the whelping box. One remedy is to snap a collar and leash on the bitch, take a flashlight (this always seems to happen at 2 am), a towel, and the ear syringe outside. Watch her carefully because she may appear to try to defecate but, instead, she will push a puppy out! If she won't push, place a couple of matchsticks (sulphur side) half way into her rectum. She will push to try and get it out and may produce a puppy for you! We have whelped many a puppy in the yard in the middle of the night!

After all pups are whelped and she seems quiet and content, you should make arrangements to take her into your vet as soon as possible (within 6-12 hours) so that she can be checked for retained placentas or any additional pups. He will probably give the bitch a shot of anterior pituitary hormone (a "pit" shot) to push out any remaining placental tissue or puppy. We once had a whelping box full of 11 puppies born on one day and the bitch whelped a 12th the next day after the pit shot! Keep the pups in a very warm room (85-90o) or on a heating pad (ON LOW) for at least 3 days and watch Mom and pups carefully during that time. (If you use a heating pad, place it in a corner of the whelping box so that if it is too hot the pups can crawl away from it. A too hot heating pad can burn pups).

If you have 7 or more pups, it is easier to place half the pups on Mom to nurse and the other half in the incubator and switch groups every 3-4 hours for the first 2 days. This way, the pups get a chance to nurse without crowding and the others can rest in warm surroundings.

REGISTRATION
YOU MUST NOW APPLY TO REGISTER YOUR LITTER WITH AKC. YOU WILL NEED A "LITTER REGISTRATION APPLICATION" WHICH, OFTEN IS SUPPLIED BY THE STUD DOG OWNER. IF YOU NEED ONE CALL THE AKC REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT AT 919-233-9767 AND ASK THEM TO MAIL YOU ONE. IT IS QUICKER TO ASK AROUND AND BORROW ONE! THE SOONER YOU GET THIS ACCOMPLISHED, THE SOONER YOUR LITTER PAPERS WILL ARRIVE. IT TAKES SEVERAL WEEKS. PLEASE DON'T BE ONE OF THOSE BREEDERS WHO DOES NOT HAVE THE PUPS' PAPERS BY THE TIME THEY GO TO THEIR NEW HOMES.



CARE OF THE DAM AND HER PUPPIES

A clumsy bitch who steps or lies on her pups is a major cause of puppy death. Therefore, I do not leave a first time mother alone with her puppies for at least 2-3 days (Yes, I work for a living; I take a week's vacation time when pups are due to arrive). We have a roll-away bed and my husband and I take turns sleeping in the whelping room to observe mom before and after she whelps her pups. Although I have read that some breeders "let nature take it course" and never help or interfere with a bitch whelping a litter, I feel strongly that many little lives are needlessly lost because of this attitude. I know of breeders whose experiences include distressed mothers who have inadvertently gnawed legs or ears off, killed pups by lying on them, and found pups choked to death caught in holes in the bedding; there are a variety of other sad stories. Many of these accidents can be avoided if you help the bitch with her whelping and her first few days of motherhood. Once I notice the first time mom is being extra careful and gentle when attending to her puppies then I know her natural instincts have emerged and she can be trusted alone with her new babies.

After the bitch has whelped the litter, I clean her up by giving her a sponge bath, and begin to accelerate her appetite so puppies will have plenty of milk. If her appetite is lagging, I make special treats for her. I boil a chicken and serve the meat with some rice and a little of her dry food. I also try cottage cheese, plain yogurt and canned dog food with liver chunks. Mom will need lots of nourishment to produce a good supply of milk, especially if she has a large litter. Once she gets her appetite back, I feed her 3-4 times a day, increasing the amount of food according to her milk supply needs. It is important to clip and file the pups' nails weekly to prevent them from injuring mom's belly while nursing. A nasty infection on Mom's nipples or belly can be a disaster with nursing pups! Milk production will peak when the pups are about 3 weeks of age this is also, unfortunately, about the time the weaning process begins.

DAILY SCHEDULE AND WEANING

Our daily schedule is to take mom out for a brisk walk at 6:00 am followed by breakfast. We carefully check over each puppy, change the bedding and the pups' (identifying) colored collars if necessary. This routine is repeated at noon and 6 pm. At 8 pm the pups' weights are charted and notes are made on their progress. Puppies gain weight (one or more ounces) either every day or every other day. If I notice a pup is not gaining weight or losing weight for 2 days in a row, this puppy needs to be either bottle fed or tube fed. I keep Esbilac on hand for these occasions.

I check the pups for worms and start the weaning process when they are 3 weeks old. The day I start the pups on their cereal I do not feed mom at all for 24 hours. Then I cut her back to her "pre-pregnancy" ration. This helps start her milk to dry up and she will "tuck up" faster. A tasty weaning formula is: 1 cup Puppy Eukanuba (or other premium, high quality puppy food--Note: we use Pro Plan Adult food for our puppies and keep them on that. We don't advise using puppy food for Labradors), 2 cups warm water - soak this for 30 min; add a can of evaporated milk (Note: We recommend Half & Half instead of evaporated milk), 1 tablespoon natural applesauce, a jar of baby meat and mix in blender. (In a day or so, or whenever they begin eating well, just blend puppy food and water). Feed pups before mom nurses them so that they will take less milk from her. Work on each pup individually. Introduce the warmed cereal on your finger and try to get the puppy to lap it from a small container (like a small custard cup) Many pups just dive right in and never have any problem at all while others insist on drowning in the cereal or resisting eating. It generally takes a few days to teach all the puppies to eat standing up without stepping in the bowl. Later on, I use larger shallow bowls and place 2-3 pups at each bowl. Also, I love the new stainless steel, round puppy troughs; you can buy them at RC Steele, etc. The dry puppy food is increased, blending and milk is decreased and after a week or so the dry puppy food is just served with water.


At 5 weeks, we begin taking puppies outside for walks. Even in winter, as long as the weather is dry, we take them out and get them to follow us around the yard. I believe these outings are important for developing confidence. By the time they are 6 weeks old we walk them 3 times a day after their meals and they love it! This is a wonderful way to observe puppies and helps the breeder identify the pups for show and field work. It also gives an excellent head start on housebreaking for the new owners since the pups are accustomed to going outside for their walk (and eliminations) after each meal. I also start show stacking puppies at 5 weeks of age on a grooming table and in front of a mirror. The command is "Stand" and they are taught to be held under the chin for the stack. I find that this keeps pups from jerking their heads later on when trying to get them to show stack.

When the pups are 6 weeks old they get another worm check and their first shot of DHLP (without parvo and without lepto). At 7 or 8 weeks they get a Parvo shot. I use this routine because I am more worried about distemper than parvo and I do not believe a puppy needs antibiodies to leptospirosis at this age (and, there seem to be quite a number of reactions to the lepto). I want the pups' immune systems to be boosted first for distemper and later for parvo. I send a medical record with each pup which repeats the DHLP & Parvo boosters at 9 weeks, 12 weeks and 16 weeks. Rabies is given at 12 weeks.

At this point, I might mention to you about the continued use of premium, high quality, puppy food. There is some concern among breeders and veterinarians, that keeping puppies on such high quality, high protein food can contribute to "growing diseases" such as hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD), hip dysplasia, etc. Therefore, if I have large boned pups in a litter, I put them on PREMIUM HIGH QUALITY ADULT food at about 8 -10 weeks of age. This lowers the protein and there are less nutrients to push growth. It keeps puppy growing at a slower, more even pace.

ADVERTISING PUPPIES

As a general rule, local advertising will not find homes for all your puppies. Prepare to spend about $400 and place advertising in about 10 newspapers and request a fenced in yard. This filters out a lot of weirdos who want "huntin' dawgs" or "yard dawgs." An answering machine is also a big help because if the callers cannot pronounce the name or say "I'm calling about your dogs" then you may as well not waste your time as they will expect a $50 puppy. The best calls are those from folks who have researched the breed, can pronounce the name, had a Weimaraner before or grew up with one and want a WELL BRED PUP FROM A RESPONSIBLE BREEDER.

EVALUATING YOUR PUPPIES

If you have a show breeding, and plan to place show puppies, you need to arrange for some experienced show breeders to look at your pups. They will help you select the most promising show prospects. The rest of the pups should go only to homes who love the breed, have fenced in yards and will not breed. Make certain that you sell each puppy with a contract which covers your guarantees on health and hip dysplasia, etc. Also, PLEASE use AKC Limited Registration (LR) on the pups which are sold as "pets" and will not be shown. In fact, use LIMITED REGISTRATION on all pups and then lift the limit when they get ready to show the pup. These dogs do NOT need full registration and this is another guard against their being bred without your knowledge. If the LR pup turns out to be a super show prospect and showing is planned, simply write to AKC and lift the Limited Registration and apply for full registration.

LEAVING HOME:

Pups are ready for new homes between 7-8 weeks of age. Before shipping or when the new owner comes to pick up the pup, clean each pup with a warm wash cloth, clean out ears and add a few drops of something like "Oti clens", express anal glands, file or grind the nails, check for fleas, etc.

BREEDER'S RESPONSIBILITY

When you bring Weimaraner puppies into the world, YOU and YOU alone are responsible for these puppies for their lifetime. If one of your puppies ends up in a bad home, the pound, a local Weimaraner Rescue program, or for any of a number of reasons loses his home - YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO TAKE THIS PUPPY BACK IMMEDIATELY and do what you can to either keep him or place him in another loving home. If you are not prepared or cannot afford to do this then do not breed again! IRRESPONSIBLE BREEDERS who breed without helping their own puppies in trouble, are forcing others who love Weimaraners to clean up their mess. This is becoming an appalling and embarrassing problem in WCA rescue programs.