Holly the Golden Retriever - Pregnant!
Discussion
Our Golden Retriever, Holly, is currently pregnant. Initial mating was on the 14th Feb, which puts her due date around the 18th April. I took her for a scan on day 35 which confirmed the pregnancy and the suggestion was that she had around 9 puppies cooking away.
My plan is that if I have a thread to keep updated, then I'm more likely to take photos and remember the experience than just let it all happen. (Things may change when we've got a load of pups to keep an eye on though!)
This is our first experience with breeding so if anyone has any tips they will be gratefully accepted!
First pic from a few weeks ago:
And then a couple of days ago looking a lot more pregnant and pretty fed up with life!
My plan is that if I have a thread to keep updated, then I'm more likely to take photos and remember the experience than just let it all happen. (Things may change when we've got a load of pups to keep an eye on though!)
This is our first experience with breeding so if anyone has any tips they will be gratefully accepted!
First pic from a few weeks ago:
And then a couple of days ago looking a lot more pregnant and pretty fed up with life!
Edited by badgerade on Monday 13th April 16:02
Wow. So you know those threads in General Gassing about stretched tyres and ‘stance’
Whelping box is all built and ready for her and she is having her temperature taken on a daily basis 
On the rescue dog subject. As harsh as it may sound, not everyone wants one. One example, my wife is a childminder. It’s hard enough convincing parents that the 2 retrievers we’ve had since they were pups and are fully socialised are not going to eat their child. If we had rescue dogs I’m pretty sure it would not work. (And before anyone says it – the dogs are kept separate from the childminding kids, and the pups will have carefully monitored contact when they are old enough). As I mentioned somewhere up there ^ in my other waffle, the people who are interested in one of our puppies
Some of the breeders we visited when we bought our first retriever were very casual with the process. No real interest in who we were, what our circumstances were, kids etc. As long as we could hand over some money then it appeared we were fine as owners.
The first breeder we bought from asked us a lot of questions about family, house, garden, local surroundings, experience with dogs etc and made us feel a lot more comfortable.
The second breeder did the same, but then went as far as getting us sat down on her nice comfy sofa with a cup of tea and then unleashed her 4 mental retrievers on us. She said she used that to test people’s suitability – if they recoiled in horror then they clearly weren’t the right people. She also insisted that if we found that the puppy wasn’t right for us, that we contacted her and she would take it back.
Two very different experiences, and although neither will guarantee that puppies enter the rescue centres I’d hope that we will be aiming to reduce this as much as possible.
carreauchompeur said:
Hey, leave it out, you're acting like OP is the father!
Can confirm that this is definitely not the case!bexVN said:
I wish Holly well, hope it goes smoothly. Have you been reading g up about normal signs of labour in a bh. Also make sure you know how your vets our of hours works should you need them.
There is so much I could go through but I just don't have time right now, just make sure you read up and make notes, there really is nothing more frustrating than an ignorant breeder who hasn't at least tried to learn what to expect!! How old is she?
Do I agree with what you are doing? not really I don't get it myself but then I guess I see it when it goes wrong not when it all goes smoothly. It will be an interesting experience for your son but not a necessary one so I don't tend to agree with that but it's what you have chosen so now it is time to think of her welfare and wish her well . (it is a better reason than those who say that they think it'll be good for the bh, believe me it won't!)
Thanks. Yes, my wife and I have done a lot of reading around the subject, and have been talking to the breeder that we got Holly from. I think we’re probably about as prepared as we can be, but obviously nothing is as good as real world experience.There is so much I could go through but I just don't have time right now, just make sure you read up and make notes, there really is nothing more frustrating than an ignorant breeder who hasn't at least tried to learn what to expect!! How old is she?
Do I agree with what you are doing? not really I don't get it myself but then I guess I see it when it goes wrong not when it all goes smoothly. It will be an interesting experience for your son but not a necessary one so I don't tend to agree with that but it's what you have chosen so now it is time to think of her welfare and wish her well . (it is a better reason than those who say that they think it'll be good for the bh, believe me it won't!)
riosyd said:
Good luck with the puppies, golden retrievers are such lovely dogs (I can't offer any advice as all mine have been boys ).
I look forward to seeing photos
Thanks! Will get some pics up when available I look forward to seeing photos
KFC said:
I don't think there is any need at all to breed from pets. We need higher end breeding to ensure the breeds all continue, and we have completely unwanted pregnancies (accidental breeding of pets, stray dogs having litters in the wild). We already have too many dogs being born, I think its pretty selfish to deliberately add to that problem.
I appreciate it has some value for your son to be part of but you could have achieved similar by reserving a puppy of a dog that was already pregnant, and visiting them when they'd had the pups etc, up till the time you took one home. Or he could have read a book about it and then taught why it was a good thing to take a rescue dog
Right now absolute best case scenario is no health scares, 9 new puppies born, all are rehomed, and 9 dogs in rescue homes get killed because of it.
I’m not sure that your best case scenario is really best case? Obviously you have more experience in this area than me, but from the enquiries we’ve had from prospective owners, they are set on getting a Retriever. If they hadn’t approached us, then they would have gone to an alternative breeder rather than a rescue centre.I appreciate it has some value for your son to be part of but you could have achieved similar by reserving a puppy of a dog that was already pregnant, and visiting them when they'd had the pups etc, up till the time you took one home. Or he could have read a book about it and then taught why it was a good thing to take a rescue dog
Right now absolute best case scenario is no health scares, 9 new puppies born, all are rehomed, and 9 dogs in rescue homes get killed because of it.
bexVN said:
Just a thought have you discussed with your vet when to worm her?
What sort of diet is she on? Her need for extra food should only be needed in the last 3 weeks of pregnancy. Was she at her correct weight before getting pregnant?
Look up how to build a whelping pen!
We were so lucky where I work as one of the nurses put together a fantastic handout going through everything you'd ever need to know!! (it was free aswell to our clients with pregnant bhes)
Buy a digital thermometer
She’s in the final week now so is on an increased diet, spread throughout the day. She was weighed at the vets several times in the few weeks leading up to pregnancy when we had her boosters and then a general checkover and all was fine in that area.What sort of diet is she on? Her need for extra food should only be needed in the last 3 weeks of pregnancy. Was she at her correct weight before getting pregnant?
Look up how to build a whelping pen!
We were so lucky where I work as one of the nurses put together a fantastic handout going through everything you'd ever need to know!! (it was free aswell to our clients with pregnant bhes)
Buy a digital thermometer
Whelping box is all built and ready for her and she is having her temperature taken on a daily basis 
el stovey said:
You're not a registered kennel club breeder and you are looking for advice after getting your woofer knocked up? Have you had her hip and eye scored?
Are you planning to sell the puppies?
Erm, we are registered as a breeder with the KC. Yes she has been hip and eye scored – if the results were not as good as they were then we would not have considered breeding from her. And yes, we are selling the puppies. (Would have thought it was unlikely that anyone would keep a full litter of pups?!)Are you planning to sell the puppies?
moorx said:
I don't think anybody has been harsh at all - they have simply expressed (and justified) their opinion.
As for the comment about there being no other GRs at Battersea - oh well, that's okay then, we can all rest easy knowing that it's only staffies and other 'rejects' in rescue centres
(Before anyone says anything - I have owned two staffy crosses, and many other 'rejects')
Agreed, no one has been overly harsh. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and it’s refreshing to actually have opinions that are well presented!As for the comment about there being no other GRs at Battersea - oh well, that's okay then, we can all rest easy knowing that it's only staffies and other 'rejects' in rescue centres
(Before anyone says anything - I have owned two staffy crosses, and many other 'rejects')
On the rescue dog subject. As harsh as it may sound, not everyone wants one. One example, my wife is a childminder. It’s hard enough convincing parents that the 2 retrievers we’ve had since they were pups and are fully socialised are not going to eat their child. If we had rescue dogs I’m pretty sure it would not work. (And before anyone says it – the dogs are kept separate from the childminding kids, and the pups will have carefully monitored contact when they are old enough). As I mentioned somewhere up there ^ in my other waffle, the people who are interested in one of our puppies
Some of the breeders we visited when we bought our first retriever were very casual with the process. No real interest in who we were, what our circumstances were, kids etc. As long as we could hand over some money then it appeared we were fine as owners.
The first breeder we bought from asked us a lot of questions about family, house, garden, local surroundings, experience with dogs etc and made us feel a lot more comfortable.
The second breeder did the same, but then went as far as getting us sat down on her nice comfy sofa with a cup of tea and then unleashed her 4 mental retrievers on us. She said she used that to test people’s suitability – if they recoiled in horror then they clearly weren’t the right people. She also insisted that if we found that the puppy wasn’t right for us, that we contacted her and she would take it back.
Two very different experiences, and although neither will guarantee that puppies enter the rescue centres I’d hope that we will be aiming to reduce this as much as possible.
moorx said:
It's good that you are open to hearing other people's opinions and it sounds as though you will do your best by these pups. Hopefully you will interrogate potential owners as well as your dogs' breeders did.
That's certainly our aim. The interrogations have already started It's quite an eye opening experience - some people are sending emails with their full background included etc. Others are taking more of a "I want one of your dogs" approach and then appear to be quite offended when we are asking for more information.moorx said:
Despite that, you're not going to change my mind re breeding and I doubt that I will change yours, so we'll have to agree to differ
I wouldn't even begin to try, and I don't completely disagree with you. I was more hoping to get the point across that although this is the first time we're doing this, we're not completely blind to what we're getting into. My first post was perhaps a little "wow my dog is up the duff what do we do now?!"moorx said:
I accept that not everyone wants a rescue dog, and providing they have made that decision rationally, with all the facts, that is fine. What I do object to is the misconceptions about rescue dogs - 'you don't get pups in rescue', 'you don't get pedigrees in rescue (except staffies)', 'all rescue dogs have issues'. I understand your circumstances/restrictions re children, although I have to say that one of my rescue dogs (a greyhound, dearly missed ) was previously owned by a childminder. They only gave her up because the husband's work changed and he was unable to look after her. Lily was absolutely fantastic with children - all people actually, I used to take her to street collections for the rescue she came from.
Agree on the misconceptions. The fact that there are so many dogs in rescue suggests that there is an issue with how easy it is to get a dog in the first place?Far too many people go into dog ownership without fully understanding what they're getting involved with, and it seems there is very little in place to stop this happening. We have a local garden centre near us that sells puppies as if they are hamsters.. People walk in, see them, buy them. I'd hazard a guess that a large percentage of them end up in a rescue centre (And I would doubt that the mother/pups are treated brilliantly either).
bexVN said:
Make sure potential new owners will return the dogs to you if they run into problems. That way you'll know the pups will be safe if things go awry with the owners. It is quite common practice amongst the good breeders.
Yep - that's the agreement we had with the breeders we got our current retrievers from and is definitely something we plan to do Just to keep this updated.. 9 puppies born on Saturday between around 6pm and er sometime later.. since the first pup was delivered I have pretty much lost track of what time/day it is. Holly is doing well, lots of feeding and the pups are growing rapidly. Quick pic from yesterday:
I've had the first 4 days of the week off to help but will be back in the office tomorrow for a rest!!
I've had the first 4 days of the week off to help but will be back in the office tomorrow for a rest!!
Thanks all
@KFC - no worries, it didn't come across that way. TBH I'm so tired that you could be as rude as you like and I'd not even notice
We've got a camping matress setup on the other side of the room to the whelping box so it's not too far to walk when we have to get up.
We're on day 6 now and it is starting to feel a bit easier.. Not sure if thats because I'm now used to the sleep deprivation or if it is actually getting easier!
More pics will be on the way
@KFC - no worries, it didn't come across that way. TBH I'm so tired that you could be as rude as you like and I'd not even notice
We've got a camping matress setup on the other side of the room to the whelping box so it's not too far to walk when we have to get up.
We're on day 6 now and it is starting to feel a bit easier.. Not sure if thats because I'm now used to the sleep deprivation or if it is actually getting easier!
More pics will be on the way
Never you mind said:
OP - Is it really hard work? I will be breeding of my cocker soon and would like to hear about your experiences.
Yes, it's hard work. Not sure if you have kids or not, but I'd say that I am more tired now than when my son was first born Quick pic that I took for a colleague at work earlier:
Edited by badgerade on Tuesday 28th April 19:01
Never you mind said:
OP - Is it really hard work? I will be breeding of my cocker soon and would like to hear about your experiences.
I'd suggest reading up as much as possible So you know what you're getting involved in. It's very time consuming, and despite my colleagues all saying to me "think of the money" it's not really about that. Even if it was, I'm not sure the amount of time and effort that we've put into these pups would even begin to be covered ! Worth realising that costs can easily spiral - an ooh consultation at our vets is around £140, if we had needed a c-section it would have started at about £2.5k. Your normal insurance won't cover this.evoivboy said:
more pics please
Ah yes, good idea. Will try and remember to take some tonight and add them.The pups are now 3 weeks old and doing well. First bit of proper food yesterday which they got stuck into with no issues. The whole development process is really interesting - everything is so instinctive for them and the level of change from one day to the next is amazing.
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