Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

I took my English Pointer, Sugar, to get bred. She began to spot a drop of blood today. Am I too late?

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

I don't think you are to late.
I have always heard they come in for a week , stay in a week , and go out for a week.
I have heard all my life of breeding dogs,if you want more male pups you breed her the last week.I can't prove it but from all the beagles I have breed I try to wait till the last week and there seem to be a majority of males.

anyone else ever heard that?

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

thanks Tree climber!
I have been waiting a long time for it to be the right time for my dog.
I will let ya know if it took.:)

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

Since it's the sperm that determines the sex of the offspring, how could waiting till late in estrus alter gender? Makes no sense to me.

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

don't know Doc ; just what an old dog breeder told me when I was a kid.
just threw it out to see if anyone else has ever heard of it.

maybe so ; matbe not.just something to think about.

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

when they are done bleeding is the time to breed. about the eleventh day of the cycle

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

DocE is correct.....the sperm determines the sex of the pups. Therefore it doesn't matter (at least in regards to the sex of the pups) how long you wait.

I would start breeding NOW. Keep them together if you can. If you don't have the male, try arranging them to be together for a few hours every other day for the next week.

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

thanks to all of you....

My female is with the male at the males kennel. She will be with him constantly for about a week. Or, as long as it takes. The breeder is a friend of mine. He lives close too.
Glad for all of your help!! I'll let you know when or if she has them. Sounds like we just may get some :) I can't wait. I love hunting with her.

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

sunset:
Good luck with your breeding; hope it takes!
Sounds like you haven't done much breeding in the past. In case your breeder doesn't tell you, here are some basic things about caring for the pregnant girl.
1. Feed a top quality food; this is not the time to save a couple bucks on food. About 1/2 way thru the pregnancy, increase her food a bit.
2. One of the first signs you'll see that will indicate she's pregnant is at 3-4 weeks her nipples will start getting larger and change color slightly. Look for changes in her behavior, also. She won't really start getting big til about week 5 or 6.
3. We always have our girl x-rayed about 5 days prior to the due date to find out how many puppies she has. We always help the girl with her delivery and we want to know when we are done. With our last litter, the mom ran out of gas with one puppy left and we had to give a shot of oxytosin after 3 hours of no contractions to re-start labor. Had we not know there was 1 left, we would have assumed we were done and probable would have lost the puppy.
4. About 7 days prior to the due date, start taking the girl's temperature twice a day and write it down. When you see a temperature drop of about 2 degrees below the average, she is within 24 hours of delivering. It is possible to miss the drop, but we've only missed it once over the years.
5. We always weigh each puppy at birth and once a day after that (postal scale or food scale). If you see a puppy that isn't gaining at the same approximate rate as the rest, spend a little extra time with that one. Milk down the nipples to determine which one has the most milk and put puppy on that one; do that several times a day until it starts catching up. Rule of thumb is that the puppies should double their birth weight in the first 7 - 10 days. We usually stop weighing after birth weight has doubled.
6. I would suggest you buy a breed-specific book with a good chapter on welping.

Hope this helps. Maybe others will come along with more tips.

Bruce

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

Great info Bruce H!
You're right I haven't done a lot of breeding. In fact, this is my first time to breed with my bird dogs. I really appreciate the advice. I am going to copy it so I can refer to it.:)Thanks so much!!

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

Glad I could help!

One other thing I forgot to mention that's important. Right after delivery, especially if it's a big litter, we give the mom 1 to 2 pieces of cheese a day while they are nursing to keep the calcium level up. If they get a calcium deficiency (called eclampsia, forgive my spelling), the mom can be dead in 3 hours. While this is rare, we just don't want to take a chance; it happened to a friend's dog and she had to bring the puppies to another breeder to be nursed. The signs are shivering for no apparent reason and looking like she is "out of it"; that's where really knowing your girl comes in handy.

Let us know how everything goes. Let me know if you have any other questions; if I don't know the answer, I know a lot of breeders who will. BTW, I breed Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Web site is <MysticKnightCavaliers.com> Bear with me, my wife and I did our own web site!

Bruce

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

As a breeder myself, I can tell you that the 1st day of her bleeding is not the day to begin breeding. That is the 1st day of her heat. You need to wait until the 10-14th day to breed her. Until she is fertile, the stud won't mount her. He knows this by the chemical changes in her discharges...which usually occurs around the 10-14th timeframe. Also, when she is ready to be bred, she will back up into the studs face and flag her tail at him.

On my bitches, I know if it's taken within days. Their temperaments change almost immediately. You might also notice she gets a case of morning sickness around the 2nd week of breeding.

Around days 26-32 of the 1st time she's been bred, you can feel walnut sized shapes in her abdomen area...these are the pups. The bitch needs to be in a relaxed state and you need to palpate with your hands on both the top and bottom of the area. Be gentle, the fetuses are very vulnerable until the 7th week. After that time, they are fairly resistant to interference with development.

As for the calcium supplements, you need to be careful in what you're administering. Too much calcium can also be deadly, both in utereo and after birth. Check with your vet and let them know the brand of food you're feeding (amount of calcium, if any in it) as well as any supplements your giving her.

You'll also want to be on the look out for any discharges that may occur. Clear discharge is normal around the 4th week of pregnancy, however any time it becomes colored, bloody or foul smelling you'll want to get her to the vet asap.

I hope this helps you out some more.

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

Thanks country side & all!
as of today...4-14, the breeder says she hasn't stood for him yet. But, they are getting along great....ya might just say, she's in love.......ahhhhhhhh!!!
So, I think this is gonna work out. And according to all of your advice..things sound hopeful.
If I don't bore you out of your minds...I will post more later...

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

first comes love, then the puppies :D

RE: Gonna have puppies, I think?
 

Sugar's home, she's bred, and due June 18th ish :)
Thanks for all of your help & advice!!!!!