Anyone ever hand reared a puppy?

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Holding

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Any advice or experiences? Have had a long talk from the vet about what to expect, but it's a bit like bringing home a newborn baby for the first time. :eek:
 
I haven't but the breeder or bred my whippet hand reared her n her 5 siblings after their mother died within 12 hrs ,,they've all survived n doing well on the track n field
Hard work n time consuming
No il effects on either of the litter ,,this was 3 yr ago
Good luck
Mayb u could find a foster bitch to help to comfort n keep clean the pup
The orphan litter did hav a foster mummy ( not feeding tho ) n also the breeder had other dogs which I'm sure helped with socialisation once pups moving around
It's gonna b 24 hr clock care
 
Yes handreared a little Staffy cross from 1-3 weeks of age for some people*who rescued him from traveller children. At 3 weeks they were confident enough that they could feed him. Asked for regular updates and got them until he was about a year old, then unfortunately they stopped, I do still think about him and hope that nothing happened him, they were told that there was always a home for him here should they be unable to keep him. But to the point, they are no more difficult to handrear than kittens, you're looking at feeds every 2 hours until about 3 weeks though so they are tiring if you aren't used to handrearing.
 
Good to hear that you have experiences of puppies turning out okay. It would be useful to find a foster bitch, but no idea where I would even start to look. I'm dreading the next few weeks - I could probably cope with one or two but I have ten.
 
I would find it very very difficult to do 10 alone, by the time you finish feeding all it will be time to start at the beginning again. Pups should turn out fine as long as they have plenty of socialization with adults, if not they may develop weird habits and be too fearless!
 
I'd definitely look into finding a foster, ten is a lot to cope with and they need to learn how to be dogs, they won't be able to do that with one human in charge, or you risk behavioural problems later IMO x
 
Mayb u could ask friends if they hav a mumsy bitch ( doesn't matter wot breed ) hopefully they do the cleaning bit lol or ask the vet
10 pups wow ,my breeder had the six n had help from friends with feeding n cleaning
Do u hav any other dogs which is showing a interest in helping
Agree with cavecanem
Do u hav homes lined up for the pups
I know this bit may sound harsh but maybe allow some to survive
Good luck
 
I have a few homes lined up, but not ten - really shocked at the number tbh. They will stay with us if necessary though. Mum is recovering from her c-section and completely disinterested, and we are keeping the other dog away for the moment. Does anybody know where to advertise for a foster bitch? I can't think of anyone I know with a suitable bitch. Really wasn't supposed to happen like this. :(
 
How old r pups
What has the vet advised ,
Poor girl having a c section that what happen to my bitches mum then soon died luckily the bitch had fed pups a few times n got the colostrum which helped in their survival
Is the bitch producing milk ? Cud u express
Ask friends n word of mouth/dog forums for a foster ,,
What's the breed hope not too big !!
 
Born today, vet advised to hand feed and hope that the bitch starts to take notice. Even if she wanted to feed though, she is barely producing any milk, definitely not enough for ten.

They are whippets.
 
Bitch should produce more milk once suckling starts.
Easier to supplement than to hand rear and I've done both. Tube feeding is easier than a bottle if you are fully feeding. Get the vet to show you how.
 
Supplement with Whelpi puppy milk,but put a smear of honey on the bitches teats to encourage them to suck.It sometimes takes up to three days for the milk to come in,another good way is to give some oxytoxin injection to stimulate milk let down.Even just a drop off mum will contain essential colostrum.Keeping puppies very warm indeed is the most important thing,trying to feed takes a lot of energy and warmth does help to conserve that.Even handrearing is not that hard,just the routine of feed/clean/keep warm two hourly.
 
We hand reared a litter of 7 whose mum died when they were just under a week old, so luckily they got colostrum from her. There were 3 sometimes 4 of us and it was blooming hard work. Its not just the feeding every 2 hours, each pup has to be encouraged to pass urine and faeces by stimulating with warm cotton wool. The whole litter did survive but we were exhausted by the time they were weaned.
If the bitch only had her c section today there is a good chance she will come round to feeding the pups. Someone had a similar situation recently with their GSD bitch, she totally rejected the pups at first and the breeder had to feed them, but by day 3 the bitch had totally taken over feeding them. Good luck.
 
That's a big litter for whippets
Where ru based ,I could give u details if my whippet breeder who hand reared a litter of 6 ,,mayb she cud help or advise
I cud ask the whippet folk for a foster for u if I knew wot area if this helps
 
I had what sounds like the same situation with a collie. She was probably too old but accidently got pregnant and had to have a section. Brought her home, with the 5 pups in a shoe box and the vet said to let 2 die and try her with the rest as she had little or no milk. She had no interest in the pups at all but would lie with them if I told her to and although she eventually had enough milk she never paid any attention to the pups.
I had to supplement the pups for a week or so but only a few times a day as she did have some milk....
I tried leaving the 2 smallest pups but couldn't and between us we raised all 5 puppies.....she never did accept them, how much that had to do with having a c section I don't know.
 
We hand reared a pup several years ago. We fed him every two hours, twenty four hours a day. It was bloody hard work, and I was lucky enough that my then bosses let me take him into work with me. He lived in a shoe box with a hot water bottle on my desk :D

He grew into the most fantastic dog, he was a bit on the small side for several months, but did end up reaching the breed standard height.
 
I'm based in Essex. Have now had every puppy in with the mother for ten minutes or so - she didn't pay much attention but wasn't nasty with them. I don't know if they got any milk, but I'm going to keep hand feeding them and also trying to put them with her.

The vet did suggest that if a few died, it wouldn't be the end of the world, but I can't help but fight to keep them all alive. I already hate them though - bloody things are finally quiet and I know that in about an hour they will need feeding again. :rolleyes: I'm exhausted already!
 
Aw my breeder is up north
She had 3 wks of hand rearing until on solids ,
Keep trying with ya bitch n mayb if u cud express some milk or try n stimulate some
Yes expect to loose some ( yes I no it's sad )
Hav u got any help from friends etc
Wud u like me to post on forums for a foster for u
 
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