[RailRoadRetrievers]

Does anyone know of any whelping service providers in North Texas? What are the standard fees and expenses associated with having this service, what services come with whelping a litter?

 

[Gerry Clinchy]

Does anyone know of any whelping service providers in North Texas? What are the standard fees and expenses associated with having this service, what services come with whelping a litter?

I don't know about North Texas, but I've heard that when someone does offer whelping services, the charge may be "per puppy whelped", but there may certainly be a "base fee" to start with ... staying up all night waiting for a bitch to whelp has got to be worth something

Also, how long would the person providing the whelping service keep the pups at their location? Normally, I don't expect a litter to be weaned until about 5 wks of age.

Truthfully, unless you know the person providing the service very well, the thought of entrusting a bitch to be whelped by someone else is a hard decision.

While giving birth should be a natural process, it really is putting the bitch's life on the line if something should go wrong. I have whelped co-owned bitches, and even that is an added emotional responsibility.

I would imagine that a whelping service would have some kind of "hold harmless" provision in the event that the bitch was lost during the process.

 

[ramblinmaxx]

Does anyone know of any whelping service providers in North Texas? What are the standard fees and expenses associated with having this service, what services come with whelping a litter?

There is a link to Great Expectations Whelping Center on the links page of our website.

We whelp our own pups, but I'm sure you would really like Kelli. Check it out.

Marty

 

[windycanyon]

I'd have to ask why on earth you'd do that-- entrust a stranger w/ your bitch for something that important???? Other than having help from my vet or the ER vet, or a VERY trusted breeder friend, I couldn't imagine putting my bitch in strange surroundings during whelp. Too many things can go wrong even in the best of circumstances. Prewhelp health and conditioning also play a big role.

 

[DRAKEHAVEN]

Windy,

Some people would do it because others may be more qualified than the owner.
Not taking a shot at anyone, or promoting anyone.

John
________
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[tshuntin]

I agree with Drakehaven. What would make the most sense, someone that loves their own bitch to death but has never whelped or raised a itter, or someone that is very savy and knowledgable about breeding/whelping that has vast experience in doing an excellent job????

 

[Rainmaker]

There is www.whelpwise.com that leases monitoring equipment, very helpful in monitoring the bitch contractions, fetal heartrates, always on call 24/7 and quite professional, they read the info transmitted via a phone line, suggest when and how much oxytocin and /or calcium to give if needed, can tell if there's a problem that needs vet intervention, that sort of thing, work in conjunction with your home vet as far as the meds and stuff. Good service for a novice if they don't have anyone to help and aren't comfortable by themselves, or even if they do.

 

[windycanyon]

I agree with Drakehaven. What would make the most sense, someone that loves their own bitch to death but has never whelped or raised a itter, or someone that is very savy and knowledgable about breeding/whelping that has vast experience in doing an excellent job????

I suppose we could argue, but with all due respect, there are many opportunities to learn the ins and outs of whelping (seminars, books, etc). You should take the time to do so if you have made that decision to breed your bitch. It's also a great idea to ask a seasoned breeder to join you in the first litters as well, but I personally feel that you owe it to your bitch to be with her if she's that valuable for you to breed. Sometimes people even realize after studying up on it, that it isn't such a good idea for them at all.

Whatever you do, never forget to have the Visa card ready if things go sideways. I'd much rather be quick to run to the vet than not.

 

[mildot1]

Maybe some people are fortunate enuff not to have to hold down a full time job outside the home but I'm not one of them.
I had never heard of such a service before, but when the time come's I may look into it.
I don't understand why I wouldn't trust a well recommended professional whelping service any less than a trainer, vet , doctor or dentist.

Sounds like to me someone is trying to provide for the dog's best interest and probably doesn't need anyone jumping up on a sopabox telling them that maybe they have no business breeding thier bitch from the start??????

 

[windycanyon]

Maybe some people are fortunate enuff not to have to hold down a full time job outside the home but I'm not one of them.
I had never heard of such a service before, but when the time come's I may look into it.
I don't understand why I wouldn't trust a well recommended professional whelping service any less than a trainer, vet , doctor or dentist.

Sounds like to me someone is trying to provide for the dog's best interest and probably doesn't need anyone jumping up on a sopabox telling them that maybe they have no business breeding thier bitch from the start??????

Because rarely are our pets as comfortable with a stranger than they are with their owner-- that's why. Some won't even go into labor under strange conditions. If you decide to go that route, please... do progesterone timing and have her ovulation pinpointed so you don't end up w/a c-section done too early or too late (resulting in dead puppies or worse, dead mom).

 

[Luker]

Im choosing to make use of a whelping service with my upcoming litter. My reason - my wife and I just had twins (they get to come home from the hospital tomorrow) and we have just moved into a new home where Im not setup for pups quite yet. Ive talked to several different folks that provide whelping service and have visited with a couple of them to take a look at their facilities and asked LOTS of questions. I believe Ive chosen who I will have take care of the pups, but still have to schedule some time to go up to see the place and introduce them to my bitch. Im going to let her stay with them for a little while before she has the pups to get a little comfortable with her surroundings, then Ill pick her up and have a c-section at my vet, then Ill take her back (We've ended up doing an emergency c-section for the first two litter and have lost a pup each time - so we're not taking any chances this time).

BTW - the service Im pretty sure Im going with is actually a pro trainers wife that whelps several litters a year in her home. She spends lots of time with the pups each day and has been recommended by everyone that I know that has delt with them.

 

[Rainmaker]

As far as a bitch needing her owner present for whelping, though mine are housedogs, sleep in or next to my bed, etc., when it comes time to have their pups, they'd far prefer to be by themselves in a hole under the deck than in the nice clean whelping room with me hovering. Before whelping, each and every one spends weeks trying to excavate a burrow somewhere, under the deck, a canoe, in a snowbank if there's nowhere else to dig, in the master bedroom closet, anywhere away by themselves, and once they start contractions, they still want to go to the door, go outside, have them there. It's more natural for a bitch to want to be by herself to have her pups in a dark little cave than in a whelping box in a lighted room and sometimes I wonder if they wouldn't have an easier, more relaxed time if I let them. Not that I'm going to since I project my worries, fears and emotions on my dogs and because I realize it is much safer for a bitch to be supervised. Someone using a whelping service isn't being unfair to their bitch, they are trying to provide the best service for her in their particular circumstances. Not everyone can take several weeks off work to be home 24/7 during the expected whelping, not everyone is comfortable doing something that can be downright "icky", but whatever the reason, saying they shouldn't then have a dog or breed a dog isn't helpful, trying to make them feel guilty or like they are treating their dog badly is strictly someone's own personal agenda, not answering a legitimate question.

Part of the goal of the humane society of which I am a member is to offer spay/neuter assistance to people for their dogs/cats and also ER care for one that is sick/injured and the owners can't afford treatment. The number one comment heard is that "those people" should not be allowed to have pets at all. Our response is that that is beside the point, they have pets, they will continue to have pets, nothing is going to stop that, what is to the point is helping the pets themselves and not making their owners feel so guilty about it that they don't ask for help.

 

[Gerry Clinchy]

It is possible to have a litter and a full-time job ... not easy, but possible. It's easier if you work close enough to home to use your lunch break to dash home; and/or if you have a second person in the household who can help out.

Aside from the whelping time itself, which can require using a few days of vacation time, the first few weeks, are relatively easy as momma dog does most of the work. A friend recently used Whelpwise, and it worked out very well ... both for knowing when the whelping would begin and during the whelping process itself.

The time intensive portion of caring for the pups begins from about 3-1/2 wks, I think, till they leave at 7 or 8 wks. But one can work that around a full-time job as well with some planning. Healthy pups are really pretty hardy creatures after the first week.

Luker seems to have done his homework and surely has a unique situation for using a whelping service. I do have some reservation about consistently using c-sections as the norm for producing puppies.

Over 24 litters between 1971 and 2008 (18 of my own & 6 of a friends who have dogs from me), there have been two c-sections. One was definitely needed (for a litter of 14), and the more recent one I may have "jumped the gun" out of anxiety waiting for the whelp to begin. I do believe that we need to be a bit cautious about routine use of c-sections lest we conceal whether the bitches are, or are not, capable of normal whelping. In both cases of the c-sections mentioned above, the bitches had whelped naturally previously and done very well. There are surely times when c-sections are appropriate, but we should also be aware of preserving the ability to whelp naturally.

I'd definitely have the bitch move in with the whelping service person prior to whelping, so they can adjust to that "home". When I have whelped co-owned bitches, I try to get them to my home (they lived with the co-owners) about a week ahead of time. I want them to get comfortable in my house and adjust to the other dogs who live here.

 

[windycanyon]

Gerry put my emotions and concerns better than I did earlier. I am especially impressed w/ Luker's forethought (congratulations on the twins btw!) and his obvious concern for his bitch's comfort and well being. That's a really good plan to have her settled in well in advance of the whelp, as it's not unlike the first couple weeks at a new trainer's place (only with hormones involved this time too!). I have to think that a 2nd or 3rd litter is far less scary for a bitch than the first, too.

Good luck to all. I had a bad whelp recently, and though in retrospect I wish I had done just one thing differently (we had dopplered and it gave me a false sense of security so I didn't go w/ my gut instinct to do an xray-- person counted more heartbeats than we had, unfortunately). But, my bitch was calm and happy as she was with me the whole time-- until we had to finally go to ER, where she was in good hands. She's fine now, but we lost the lone pup. Anne