[Bbear87]

Hi there! I'm a new member with lots of questions that I'm hoping someone can help me with!

We adopted an 11 month old golden retriever about a month ago. A week later, we found out she was pregnant! So fast forward to now, we have 10 new 9 day old puppies, and everyone is healthy and thriving.

I've never bred dogs before, and everything I've learned has been through exhaustive research on every corner of the internet. Even through all of that I still have a few questions I'm hoping someone with more knowledge than me can help me answer!

• Even though Mama has been feeding them really well and everyone is gaining weight, the puppies have begun a new habit of sucking on each other's privates. From what I can gather, as annoying and icky as it is, it does happen. However, now everyone and everything smells like pee am I able to bathe the puppies this young so long as I dry them well and keep them warm? We are in AZ so temp isn't too much of a concern
• I've been sleeping on an air mattress next to the whelping box (diy whelping pool in our case) since the puppies were born, and someone has been home 24/7. When do you stop sleeping by them and supervising all day and night?
• After the puppies outgrow the whelping box and can climb out, I have a baby playyard gate thing that I was going to put them in. How is Mama supposed to get to the puppies? Do I just watch and let her in and out? Is there a better solution than what I have? I'm not looking to ever do this again, so I dont really want to invest a lot of money if I have something that might work.

Thanks for reading! If you have any insights for me I would so appreciate them, any vets I've seen have basically been like good luck! And many sites contradict each other so I'm doing the best I can! I've included a picture of our mama Indy and her new babies

 

[JoanneF]

I'm not a breeder but from what I've read -

Mum should be keeping them clean, but I don't think it would do any harm to wipe them down with a wet towel.

I've no idea when you should stop sleeping next to them.

I think for keeping them with their mum, if you can, set up a space where she can get in and out herself. There will be a time in a few weeks when she wants a bit of peace from them, ideally let her choose.

There is a book that is considered the breeding bible, The Book of the Bitch, which would be worth getting.

And look for The Puppy Plan, it's a step by step guide to the milestones and what you should aim to do with them in the first 8 weeks.

 

[Buzzu2]

I'm not a breeder but from what I've read -

Mum should be keeping them clean, but I don't think it would do any harm to wipe them down with a wet towel.

I've no idea when you should stop sleeping next to them.

I think for keeping them with their mum, if you can, set up a space where she can get in and out herself. There will be a time in a few weeks when she wants a bit of peace from them, ideally let her choose.

There is a book that is considered the breeding bible, The Book of the Bitch, which would be worth getting.

And look for The Puppy Plan, it's a step by step guide to the milestones and what you should aim to do with them in the first 8 weeks.

Baby wipes also are safe and a good idea for keeping them clean.