Questions about a new litter
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| I believe they get their tails docked at 3 days. I'm not 100% sure of the other questions. |
| I have just had my first litter of puppies. When do they normally get their tails bobbed? Is this an expensive procedure? Do most vets do it? Also, how long after my sheepdog has had her puppies can I bathe her? How long after she has had her puppies can I get her groomed? As you can see I know very little, so hope your expertise can assist me. Thanks.
First of all, congratulations! They usually get their tails bobbed in the first week - day 3 is usually when. The cost depends on your vet. Ours does it for $10/puppy while their infants, and if you wait, the cost goes up. I had to redo the tail on one of my schnuazers (the breeder cropped it too long), and it cost about $150 for a 5 mo old schnazuer... I think just about any small animal vet will dock tails for ya. My cat just had kittens yesterday. She was dirty too. I just used a baby wipe to sorta clean her until her kitten gets a couple of weeks old. Then, I'll give her a real bath. I did the same with my dogs. I'd wait until the puppies are 4-5 weeks old...moving around well, starting to eat puppy food, etc... Just use a puppy shampoo, dry them quickly, etc... I used to breed chocolate toy poodles (and creams but 95% of them were chocolates), and this was the general time frame of how I did things. Enjoy your puppies.  |
| Why did the dog have puppies if you didn't know the answers to these questions?
First of all, tails should be docked as early as possible, after 24 hours, but before 3 days in my opinion, before the nerve endings become sensitive. I would suggest the morning of the second day. Do you not have a breeder working with you on this? Was this breeding planned? I would take a cloth and warm water to clean up the mom as much as possible for now but not bath her for a week or two. Don't get the pups wet, and keep them warm. They have no ability to control their body temp at this point and should have heating pads or lamps to keep the temp consistent. They don't learn to shiver (to raise body temp) til about 6 days, and if they get cold, they won't eat because they cannot digest the milk until they are warm. Good luck. Read up. Please contact your breeder as well, they should be helping you through this. If you need help though, feel free to contact me. Either here or privately if you wish. |
| Hi well done, hope mum and babies are all fine. I have always had litters done by a vet at 3 days.Its not a job to tackle on your own. Pups will make a lot of noise but thats all it is, they are not being hurt and the dew claws are done at the same time. The best thing is to make sure mum is out of earshot or she will be really upset and think someone is hurting the pups, I make sure my daughter takes the mum out for a short walk and its all over by the time they get back. |
| Tanglehar - HOw do you know that they are not being hurt? I know that nerve endings are not completely developed at that age but it doesn't mean that there is not any pain sensation. |
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