I came home from work today, opened garage door and inside door, my lab girl meets me, tail a-wagging. But there is an unusual smell. I go into kitchen/family room and find she's given birth to 4 living pups, 1 dead. Then I find a 5th alive on the sofa. Goodness knows how he got there. I put them all in whelping pen and she starts suckling and 1/2 hour later a 6th is born. I think maybe 1 more is due.

She has cut the cords herself, is licking them and feeding them and being a right proper mum. I put her out a couple of times then she was eager to get back to them. She drank a bowl of water in one go. Vet gave reassuring words on phone. Wife is driving over to Cheshire from Leicester.

If there was a way to share photos I would!

The dead one was under a sheet, she picked him up and popped him on the sheet. Dad (12 month old lab) is with me in study right now, being kept well away though he has shown curiosity and she has stopped any warning growls.

So far 2 yellows, 2 white yellows (including one little naughty rascal who is exact same colour as dad!), 2 chocolates. I go down now and see if there are any more.

PS My apologies to those who are used to whelping, this is my first time and I am euphoric.

Can I ask you if anyone was with the dog all day as she was due to whelp? and if there was where were they when she did go into labour and have her babies, I have never ever left my dog when she was coming to the end of her pregnancy, as anything could of happened to mum as well as puppies. One could of been stuck and you could of come home to a dead dog and babies dead inside her. When she have finished giving birth then please take her to the vet for examination for retained placenta's as you would of not known if she had passed one for every puppy being born. Sorry to sound horrible but I am shocked that your dog was on her own.
Congratulations on the surviving puppies and so sorry to hear about the dead ones.

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siggie by Dawn............Smudge'smummy

Glitter Text Maker

Sorry why did you leave your bitch when she is due?

Is this a wind up

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For anyone reading this thread - this is the way NOT to breed a litter Caring breeders do not just leave their bitches to get on with it - and leave another dog with them. The owner (can't bring myself to use the word "breeder" in this case!) has been lucky that only one puppy has died and that the bitch is fine.

Bloody gobsmacked at the total irresponsibilty

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That was one hell of a short pregnancy given that in a previous post you said that conception was around 12th March

I'm thinking that this is a wind up

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ShazaLhasa
My fabulous furry friends

That is exactly what I was thinking! A 37 day pregnancy? And as for leaving your dog to give birth on her own and contemplating still going to work and leaving a friend to keep an eye on her - I sincerely hope this is a wind up - if not I would suggest you neuter both your dogs as soon as possible and not be so irresponsible again

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My family :
Sox 31 year old pony
Zara 15 year old horse
Chloe 12 year old black Lab
Sasha 9 year old black Lab
Francis (allegedly) 14 years Rescue Dog
Tosh 17 year old rescue dog - RSPCA prosecuting owner - sadly pts 28.07.11
Saffron 18 month old tortoiseshell cat
Spike, Prozac, Ginger and Snap, and now Ritz & Ryvita the Guinea Pigs

R.I.P Gabby Guinea Pig - passed away 26.01.11

Aw *breathe*....well spotted you 2 Lets hope its another bored eejit with nothing else to do but to try and wind people up (well succeeded with me for a moment)

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

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Thanks for the kind words.

On the advice, I have to disagree. I have seen a lot of (oft conflicting) advice from armchair experts on the net and ran everything by our two vets and nurse, whom we trust, since it is their job and they come with qualifications.

I agree that while giving birth, there is a risk if the bitch takes more than an hour between pups and our nurse suggested we call her if that happened. However, realistically, this could equally happen at night and we wouldnt be any the wiser. We couldnt be expected not to sleep for a week (our bitch was 3 days premature but could equally have been 3 days late).

We were told to bring the pups in at 2 weeks and will follow that advice also.

We have also been told by one "expert" that "bitches never cut the umbilical cord and I have always had to do it myself so you will need sterilised scissors". Our vets said this was untrue and it proved to be so.

Ultimately, our vets reminded us that dogs know how to give birth and do it on their own in the wild. The less interference from us the better. My wife, a medical consultant with over 20 years experience, was able to understand and explain to me the medical reasoning for all the advice offered.

Vets also killed a bitch belonging to a friend of mine

Vets know sweet nothing about breeding

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SOMETIMES YOUR KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR IS MERELY AN IDIOT WRAPPED IN TINFOIL