They had a little of ten puppies, although one died.  The other nine are perfectly healthy.

The breeding of cloned dogs “opens the way for cloning sniffer dogs and seeing-eye guide dogs, which usually have to be sterilised for training and lose the ability to reproduce.”

What are your thoughts on cloned dogs?

a

First Cloned Dog Fathers Pups

My personal opinion is that if the mother was wormed shortly before the puppies were born and there doesn’t seem to be any problems, then start worming them at four weeks old.  That’s what I do and it doesn’t seem to have done any harm.

a

When to Worm Puppies

“Shih Tzu Puppies, six boys, brown and white.  KC registered, all pedigree papers, wormed, flea’d, paper trained, mum can be seen.  Ready 20th June.”

They’re currently almost six weeks old and they’ve started running round and playing now, and they love their cuddles.  Let’s hope they find some good homes.

a

Puppies in the Paper

I checked the puppies – we have six boys, which is quite a feat not having a single girl – and have been waiting to get a picture for you.  I didn’t want you to see Bailey looking like something from the RSPCA, as she looked very bedraggled, naturally, after giving birth and I know she wouldn’t want her picture on the site like that.  The puppies looks like small hamsters at the moment and do nothing but squeak for food and sleep.

Anyway, all are doing well.  Bailey had a small infection, which is normal when the immune system is so low, so I got some eye drops from the vet and she’s been on puppy food for their higher nutritional value, along with chicken, lactol milk and biscuits.  I’ll be posting pictures on regularly – promise

a

My Dog Had Puppies

A standard litter size for a shih tzu is 3 to 5 puppies, although they can have more. This is Bailey’s third litter and the last two have been five and seven puppies respectively, so I’m hoping she’ll have six to eight pups this time.

I’ve made the pen 1 metre by 1 and a half metres.  The wood is ten inches high.  I bought a cheap piece of carpet from the local market, which cost £10. That’s to make sure nothing goes through onto my back room carpet.  I haven’t put paper down yet but I’ve been saving newspapers for months and have people at work saving me their daily papers too, because the puppies will go through lots of them.

The most important thing for the litter is to make sure they’re warm enough, so the pen is placed next to the radiator and when they’re born I’ll put a small portable heater at the other end of the pen.

When a bitch gives birth, she’ll want to do it where she’s comfortable so if you don’t want her to give birth where she normally sleeps, then it’s best to introduce her to the new bed/pen/area about a week before so she gets used to sleeping there.  That’s no problem for Bailey because she loves the new soft carpet.  I’ve moved her cage into the pen so she’ll sleep there for the next week.

a

Dog Pen For Puppies

As a general guide, after the season starts, the bitch should be mated between day 10 and 14, usually two days 48 hours apart, for example, on days 11 and 13. Sometimes, breeding can take place every other day as long as she’s ready. It takes 48 – 72 hours for a dog to produce further viable semen so there is no need to breed more often than this.

An experienced stud dog will know when she is in season and he wouldn’t try to mount her if it wasn’t the right time.

Always introduce the dog and bitch a few times before the mating. When the mating takes place, watch for signs of aggression from either. Sometimes the male will try to bully her before she’s ready. If that happens, separate them for a few minutes and then put them back together.

If you want to be more precise, you can use progesterone testing or smears to check that she’s ready.

a

When To Breed Your Dog

A dog is physically capable of ‘performing’ at around the age of eight to nine months. However, many owners prefer to wait until their older. There are several reasons for this.

Firstly, and I’ll be honest, I’m not sure how true this is or if it’s just an old wive’s tale maybe someone can let me know, but some people say that if you let your male dog stud too early then it will stunt his growth.

Secondly, you really should wait until you can get all your health screenings done

Also, you need the dog to mature properly. An overboisterous puppy can put off a maiden bitch and a male actually needs to be taught how to be a good stud dog.

a

How Old Should My Stud Dog Be For His First Time?

I don’t know where that belly suddenly came from. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been checking and checking.  Sometimes she’d stretch out and look like she definitely wasn’t and then other times, she’d look a little podgy – but then I’d wonder if it was just the way she was lying or had I been feeding her too much chicken and giving too many treats?

I bathed her two nights ago because she was absolutely stinking and she looked a bit podgy then, but then she always looks larger when she’s all fluffy after a bath. However, last night I got home and all of a sudden, strangely she looked pregnant. There’s a definite bulge and her tummy feels quite firm. I think we’re having puppies people!

Here’s a picture of her last litter at about six weeks old if I remember correctly. Needless to say, it took a while to get this one right!

There’s plenty to do … just need to break it to the lodger now…

a

My Dog Is Pregnant

However, bitches have their first season at different times – usually between eight and ten months old – but if your bitch is a late developer her first season many happen after she is one year old. That means you could mate her on the first season. As a general guideline many responsible dog breeders say that you should wait until at least the second season before mating. That means your bitch is highly likely to be about eighteen months old before you mate her for the first time.

Be careful not to breed your bitch too early. Even if you bought her for breeding, give her time to grow and develop herself before you rush into breeding her. I know a bitch who was mated at her second season, according to the guidelines, so she was about fourteen months old when mated. She was a good mother and the pups were well and by all accounts it was a successful breeding. However, when she had her second litter almost two years later, the owner realised the difference. Compared to the second breeding, the bitch had taken a long time to recover from the first breeding and she handled the litter much better the second time around.

a

How Old Should My Bitch Be For Breeding?

According to the Kennel Club (KC), a bitch can have up to six litters in her lifetime – up to the maximum age of eight years old. A bitch comes into season every six months or so, so technically, she could have two litters in a year, but that would be a little cruel in my opinion, so she should have at least one season off inbetween two litters.

Note as well that if you do let your bitch have two litters in a year, then although I understand the Kennel Club will let you register the litter, they will send you a letter warning that you are in danger of overbreeding your bitch. Quite right too! So, don’t overbreed your bitch.

a

How Many Litters Can My Dog Have?