[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by BamaFan121s

"PLEASE NO DRAMA" Ha, that's funny...and an indicator that you already know your comments will not be popular ones. (And with good reason.)

First off, these are things that you should have researched way IN ADVANCE of breeding and things that your mentor should be guiding you through. If you don't have one, then I suggest you find one before this litter comes. Watching YouTube videos and reading 2 books is not adequate preparation for 'how to breed.'

People shouldn't breed if they lack so much knowledge on the process. Sorry, but that's how I feel and I won't just sit back and bite my tounge without saying it first. Now that that's been said, to answer your questions:

1) Yes, tails and dewclaws are done when the pups are around 3-5 days old. Yes, many breeders do them themselves, but it is only something you should do if you have been adequately trained on it, in person, by an experienced breeder or vet....not something to try after merely watching it online.

2) Some people choose to give the vaccinations themselves, some take them to a vet. I prefer to have a vet do them because I'm going to have them all vet checked anyway and as a prospective owner, I would value the vet's records more than the breeders. But that's just me.

3) Some let mom take care of the umbilicals, some do it themselves. Matter of preference. I prefer to do it myself. To many times I've heard horror stories of mom getting to aggressive, chewing the cord to short, ripping it, causing hernias or injury. I prefer to take care of it myself and eliminate those possibilities. I have never heard however of using quick-stop to stop the bleeding, just clamps or floss...

4) No, if you are using scissors, they NEED to be DULL scissors. Like kids' scissors. DULL scissors more closely replicate a mom chewing--in other words, sharp scissors make a clean cut that is more prone to bleeding whereas dull scissors work to 'close off' the end of the cord. (I'm sure there's a better term and way to explain that...)

I never plan on breeding and all I learned through reading and youtube made me not want to breed even MORE! PS all I learned from online reasearch I already know all the OPs questions, so I guess there is still much to be learned by her.