assistance in whelping
 

Share your whelping practices, just curious!

what do you want to know? :confused:

I try to have an extra pair of hands available when whelping (my daughter, friends) who my dogs are familiar and comfortable with. I have whelped alone and also have learned from another breeder/mentor. Vet on call for emergencies only. Midwife? nope, never. I know some people don't have the stomach for whelping and use them, but I couldn't bypass the responsibility to my girls.

I would have LOVED to have a helping hand in Gracie's 2 whelpings. Both times, hubby was at works. Couldn't call for help because people have their own lives/jobs. SO, it can be tricky but it CAN be done.

I'm RIGHT there sitting in the pen with Gracie. She pushes and I guide. It's a fascinating thing to watch.

I'll tell ya anything you want to know about all 1 time I did it! :p

Trixie was assisted in whelping by my father for all of it and me for most. (Of course, he ain't no more experienced than me when it came to doing it ourself rather that being there for a mentor's whelping, unless you count God knows how much livestock he helped deliver :rolleyes: ) We are co-breeders, I guess you could say. He owns Daddy Cody and I own Mommy Trixie. The plan all along was for both of us to be there. We we're "on-call" I guess you could say. About a week before delivery, we (me, Dad, husband) took turns so that someone was always there with her. When she went into active labor, Edward, who was NEVER going to do anything but help watch for pending delivery was there when she actually went into active labor. (Remember Prissy from Gone With the Wind? "Edward don't know nothing bout birthin no babies!") He called my dad who'd taken the day off and planned to be there around 9:00 anyway, but it was 8:15. He was there in 5 minutes, called me, and before I could make the 25-35 min drive home from work, she'd just had the 2nd one. :(
Then we were both there until about 7:30 the next morning when I went to work for 1/2 day and came home and then he went home to sleep!

[QUOTE=BamaFan12 (Remember Prissy from Gone With the Wind? "Edward don't know nothing bout birthin no babies!")[/QUOTE]


LOLOLOLOL!

I got the same call from my daughter who was on whelp watch while I ran out to the bank...she called my cell and said Lyta just started nesting and HURRY UP HOME...'cause she wasn't doing it herself. I told her to be calm that Lyta would wait for me and she did.

Ha! At least she knew what was going on! I believe Edward's exact words were, "You need to come home now...right now, yeah you just need to come now. Cause she's doing stuff and there's some stuff coming out and yeah, just right now, yeah now, just come.......and hurry too." (Of course, my much calmer father had already called me...but it was funny nevertheless.

I Made A Boo Boo!
 

I am sooooooooooooo embarrassed!! :eek: I was reading this thread and I accidentally clicked on "preplanned whelping - vet deliveries only" but I am NOT a breeder! I'm so sorry! I made your poll inaccurate! I feel so bad. I tried to go back and undo it but the computer wouldn't allow it. I'm such a spaz.

As punishment for my mistake, I will not dance around the boom boom tree tonight. :(

GIRL!!!!! ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!! but I think that Kimberly will forgive you this one time! :p

I swear I don't know how I did that in the first place! I will never be a breeder because I can't handle seeing blood and placentas and all that is involved in breeding -- I have a weak stomach LOL :D But I really do have a lot of respect for good breeds. I'm always interested in reading up on breeding and what's involved -- but it's not for me. Besides, I'd end up divorced because I'd want to keep all the babies and my hubby would kill me! :D :D

So can I still dance around the boom boom tree tonight? :p

I would LOVE to watch a birth. It's so magical. If anyone needs help..lol...i can help with one eye (the other will be squinting). If there was sound on here I would applaud all of you good breeders out there that take good care of these babies and mommys. I couldn't do it, not because I'm squimish (sp?) but because I would be the lady who owned a million dogs THEN WHO WOULD MARRY ME???

CODIE!! :D

I can't marry codie because Tee tee mouse is munching on his weiner which means he is HER property now..lol..sorry to hijac your thread kim, it's all JEN's fault.

whelping
 

I would like for my vet to deliver all my puppies, but since he refuses to live with me, I have to do it.
I, perfer to be alone..with hubby within ear shot if I need something. If it is a day time whelping, I try to keep busy and go about my day, checking on mom every 5 mins..which means I get nothing done...at night I had a bed in the whelping room and could lay down and wait.

Most of you know my story. But I chose help with experienced breeder/mentor because my mom comes over when my bitch is in labor and she's bred Rotties for years. I also selected employ mid-wife because I do work full time and if I'm not home around the time period I do have Barb take my mom's home to her house for a day or two. She is the professional whelper at my clinic..in 2005 she whelped over 500 puppies of all breeds. Talk about experience eh?

I do commend those of you that whelp alone. :good job: I couldn't imagine only using 2 hands to do all that's involved. I guess it all comes with experience

Have you been donig that every night. I bet you do. I bet you do it when no one's watching. :cool:

I prefer to whelp alone. I like a nice, quiet, peaceful atmosphere. Since I'm not afraid of anything that may come my way...I enjoy the one on one with my girl. They trust me and love me so they are comfortable with me doing anything I may need to do. My daughter does help me at times...she'll hand me things I may need, or she will just be there to say "oh my God mom here comes another one!"...now that's a great little helper there!

If I were a breeder especially a yorkie breeder I would ahve to go Irene's route most likely, especially for the first 100 or so litters, lol....

What is the last option? Preplanned, vet assisted? Do they induce labor? I thought that wasn't a good thing to do? Are there vets who will come out and whelp for you or with you?

Bell had no problems, Thank God.. But if I needed help my mother (who lives with us) was right in the next room (and sometimes watching)!!!

While I could sure use an extra pair of hands, I enjoy the quiet...that way, mom stays calm and isn't worried about the outside disturbances.

Once the temp stays down,my wife or I stay with the moms constantly;even lying beside them all night if need be;so together we help as needed;its quite at our house so our moms aren't nervous . we gate off the rest of the pack; as you know, when you get a tired uterus or a stuck pup then the fun begins.

Home Alone.......
 

Only time I ever had a real problem, (and it wasn't really a problem) was when my number 2 female had her first litter. She's Miss Clean!! Especially in that area. Well, she went into labor. She didn't quite know what to do, so she started cleaning herself up. A puppy started coming out. She looked at it, then at me, then back at the little blob of she didn't know what, so she tried to push it back in!!! Pretty soon, before I could do ANYTHING, the pup was back inside. I waited a few minutes, thinking it would come back out. After a few (maybe 2) minutes, I called the vet. I said "Do you think this is something I should worry about???", he said, "Well, yea, maybe". By the time I got off the phone, (about 45 seconds later) the pup was back out and another one was being born. Sounds much more dramatic than it actually was. It's funny now, but at the time, I was a bit worried. She ended up having three, all healthy, fine, little kids.
Suz