Annie's thread- Five puppies! LOTS of PICS on page 10!

[bossynbella]

the vet said the collar is a better choice then a topical, he said it shouldn't hurt anything to have it on her. My mom (who raised coonhounds and basenji's many many years ago) said she always used flea collars on the coonhounds they didn't have a choice about it with them living outside, she said they never had any deformed puppies so it must be okay. Somehow mom saying that makes me feel better then the vet saying it. Seems like Iowa is full of Large animal vets, who don't deal with a whole lot of dog breeding. So though I trust my vet, he has never bred or raised a litter of puppies, while mom has many, many, many times.

I wish blue beagle could get his pics to load, I want to see those beagle puppies!

Oh How much food is too much? Most of you know of the problems I have had getting her to eat, well I can't go by her size anymore, I want to be sure she is getting enough without over doing it. I have been mixing one cup of the kibbles n bits with a half cup of the premium Earthborn Holistic puppy food, adding a fourth cup of Purina pro-plan to that and then she gets a package of the moist and meaty on top of that. Sometimes she won't eat the dry only the moist, if thats the case she gets the second pouch of it at around 8pm. Yesterday she ate the entire bowl of food! Plus I found out DH had given her a cup of the kibbles n bits with a bit of hamburger greese over it while I was at work. I just don't want her to be to heavy and have difficulty with labor because of it. Activity wise, we have a fenced yard that is a L shape 20' by 40' by 30' at the end of the L. She doesn't do a bunch of running anymore though, mainly just sits and watches the big dogs or lays in the sun. I have been taking her for walks twice a week (I work the rest of the time and admit am to tired when I get home to walk anywhere) on the days we go we usually walk about a half mile to a mile. Does this seem like enough?Also I have read that raspberry leaves are suppose to make contractions easier? Its in three of my four books. Has anyone tried this? How did you get your dog to eat/drink them if you did? and can I just go grab leaves off my raspberry bushes or is it like special leaves?

Thanks for your patience with all my questions! I don't know what I would do without you guys~!

 

[SourRoses]

I don't know enough for most of your questions... hopefully someone else will come along soon!

Rasberry leaves sound interesting... I'm curious.


My only thoughts on the food department are... I think we let Rosie eat as much as she liked for the time that she would eat it... because all too soon, she would get to the point where having puppies pressing on her tummy kept her from eating. Either she didn't feel hungry, or she didnt have room for it.
We would give her frequent small snacks throughout the day (I was home as a teen to do this) usually an egg or two lightly cooked sunnyside up, then the yolk broken over the whites in her dog bowl, so it was suitably tempting for her. Towards the end, she would barely touch regular food... and when she had the pups she was often skinnier than made us happy.

I think with your girl, and her history, it's safe enough to fill her up while shes wanting it. The little ones take alot out of them it seems.


It's good to hear that the collars are a good choice!

I'll have to remember that!

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

I would, as Squishy said, allow her to eat as much as she can a couple times a day. She'll need her fat reserves for nursing her puppies. Since she's had a history of picky eating this might also counter-condition her to be more interested in food even after the pups are gone.

 

[bossynbella]

We are letting her eat what she wants then, the last few days have been very rainy so its been short times outside to quickly pee and pooh. I noticed the other day her eating poop! She got scolded for that. She has never eaten dog poop before, she has always had a thing for kitty crunchies (what we call kitty poop covered in cat litter) but we have finally found a spot she can't get to the litter box at but the cats still can. I don't like to scold her, she is so emotional lately, but I don't want her eating poop. ECHK! Any suggestions on that?
Also she keeps peeing on the floor, every night, last night three times, this is why we are keeping her locked in kitchen, but her whelping pool is in living room (no room in kitchen) perhaps i need to start setting my alarm for every two hours to take her out? Problem is if i have to wake her up to go out she usually just crawls into the dog house and goes right back to sleep ignoring my "go potty annie" command. I hope when I get the excersize pen it will help, just so much easier to clean pee off of linoleum then carpet and if she hast he choice she will pee on the carpet instead of in the kitchen.

also some new pictures of her from this week.
6weeks 3days

she will lay like that for a few minutes before flopping to her side, her belly is so big she often almost goes all the way over when she tries to turn!

She was streaching in this picture, but it shows her nipples, her back nipple is like a double nipple, there is like a tiny one next to the normal one, will both get milk? Why would this be? I read there is no certain number of nipples for a dog to have that some even have an odd number, but nothing about this. she has 10 not counting the little one at the back by the normal one.

I couldn't seem to get a good side picture of her, she sees the camera and either lays down or comes over to see it. So I got her while she was drinking out in the yard, she seems to like that water better, will sometimes ask to be let out just to get a drink, though she has a ice cream tub of water inside that is rinsed out and refilled every day.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

Looks like she's got a huge litter in there

She still has a couple weeks to go too, WOW!

Re: Peeing on the floor. Take her water up at night, maybe about 8 PM, then make sure she gets out and pees a couple times before you hit the sack. That should cut down on her urge to urinate. Give her water back as soon as you get up and make sure she pees several times during the day. Some dogs get lazy about peeing, and just go out, sniff around and come back. And before anyone tells me peeing more when you're pregnant is normal -- yeah I know it is, I've been there myself, but for a dog to ignore her housetraining isn't normal.

 

[bossynbella]

Thank you Jamie, We took the water away at 8 last night and we had no accidents. I have to say though I felt like the meanest mommy ever! I got home at 10. She would come to me and whine, then walk to where the bowl of water usually is and just stand there staring at it and then at me, "Like umm you forgot my water" This morning I let her out at 8:30 and put some water outside with her before going back to bed for an hour. I think we might try waiting till 9 tonight just because we dont go to bed till around 1, DH sometimes till 3. So she gets out at 1 and 3. She just ate almost the whole bowl of dog food (1 cup kibbles n bits, 1/2cup Earthborn holistic puppy food, and 1 pouch moist and meaty) and is now laying in her whelping pool for a nap. Wish I could have a nap, stayed up to late last night and have to work 11-8 today.

 

[bossynbella]

So today is the beginning of week 7. Day 49. I awoke this morning to let her out, and found she had peed on the floor again (thats with taking the water at 8:30, she had also pooped though just a bit, We took the food at the same time as the water.

I have a question though. The pee was very yellow, and had a bit of a mucusy thing in it. At first I thought she had puked right where she had peed, but I don't think that is the case. Could she be loosing a bit of her mucus plug already? I have heard it can happen up to a week before whelping. But that would have her whelping on day 59, instead of 63. Is this a sign it may be early? This is day 49 of the first tie. There where 3 ties that day, 5 the next day and one the following Wednesday.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

LOL holy cow, with that many ties no wonder she's huge.

Really though, it only takes one good tie to have a large litter, I was just kidding.

Mucus in pee? To me sounds like a UTI, especially if her pee is really yellow-- do you notice a stronger odor than normal? I know that humans can lose their mucus plug several times because it can come out and grow back. This happened to me for over a week before my water broke. Sorry I don't have any more advice for you, but this: if you are worried take her to the Vet, they'll likely get a clean catch urine sample to test for bacterial infection.

 

[lemkoboxer]

Many pregnant dogs (ha ha tried to use the correct term for female dog, and the forum won't let me!) can have a clear mucus discharge from the 4th week of pregnancy on. Very normal and nothing to worry about so long as it is clear. Most people just don't notice it on coated breeds or because they usually keep themselves clean.

Sounds like her urine was more concentrated probably due to you taking her water up last night. She needs lots of water right now, but doesn't have the space to hold her bladder very much since she looks so full of puppies. Same with the bowel issue. Maybe you can give her an extra late out, and an early morning one so she can make it without having an accident.

Her mammary glands don't look too full yet, so I think you still have time. I'd go off the 63 days from the first tie as her first possible due date. Sure sign of impending whelping (aside from really full mammary glands, and nesting and panting) is a temp drop that occurs approx. 24 hrs before whelping. Are you taking her temp?

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

I never knew about the mucus in the urine to be normal for a pregnant dog. Thanks for the new information, Lemkoboxer.