My bitch has had a litter of 10 but we have sadly lost two. My vets are of the oppinion that there was something wrong that prevented two of the pups from growing at the rate they should,
I ended up having a puppy put to sleep at four in the morning under the vets reccomendation, it was in distress hypoglycemic and the vet said it was the kindest thing to do.
They are 7 days old now and topping the pups up with whelpie is fairly difficult as they are reluctant to feed from the bottle, the mother is doing such a good job on her own they may have had their fill? The vet thinks I should intervene but if they are well fed and the pups are reluctant to feed am I just causing the bitch extra stress? I am giving her extra calcium and vitamin D. I have purchased a booster syrum for the pups just in case for later. I'm in a dilemma should I leave well alone if the pups aren't crying and make sure mum gets enough to eat and drink? when they are bigger and more demanding i will certainly try bottle feeding again as 8 large pups will certainly cause to much strain on the bitch. I've hand reared many pets before successfully but i don't want to jump in unnecessarily. I tried bottle feeding the one that had to be put to sleep every two hours and my bitch becomes distracted by this wanting affection from me, if i took the pup away from her sight she would become distressed by this, I don't want to cause more harm than good.
I have many breeder friends that are very supportive and I ring the vets constantly but i value everyones oppinion. I guess I want to know if she will be able to rear her 8 remaining puppies without my interferance? has anyone got any experiance with large litters?
I sleep downstairs with her so if a puppy is crying i will get a bottle made up straight away no messing but right now they are snug, warm and contented.
ps i own mum and dad, both dogs checked by vet and bitch is fed on vet reccommended puppy food throughout the day, plus she is als having whelpy to keep up her liquid intake.