Consider a Cash Crop
(Page 4 of 7)
May/June 1972
By Dorothy Lockard
Your dog will probably have her first heat period when she's about 6-8 months old . . . but she shouldn't be bred until her second heat (or, in the case of extra large dogs—such as the St. Bernard or Irish Wolfhound—her third). Mate her to a healthy, well-formed registered stud of the same breed.
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Most bitches come into heat twice a year. A female dog becomes uneasy and nervous when her heat starts and a pinkish discharge will seep from her vulva. The discharge gradually becomes bright red, changes back to pink and—finally—turns straw or wheat colored. Keep checking the animal's genitals with a tissue. When that straw colored, almost clear discharge appears (usually about nine days after the onset of the period), she's ready to breed.
A bitch usually remains receptive for approximately another five days and the 11th through the 13th days after the heat initially started are generally considered the best time for mating. Be very careful with your dog during this fertile period. She'll be excited, anxious and willing to entertain the advances of just about any male dog that approaches during that time. If she mates with any but the proper stud, the litter that results will be worthless.
Sixty-three days after mating, your dog will present you with puppies. While most medium-sized bitches will whelp without outside help, you should be on the alert for possible trouble after the pups are born. The mother will have a discharge for the next week to ten days and if that discharge is red or dark red, everything's OK. If it's greenish, call a vet immediately. A green emission could well mean that all or part of a placenta has not been expelled, which could result in serious infection and loss of milk.
A canine mother can also suffer from eclampsia, or milk fever. The symptoms of this disease—which is really just a lack of calcium in the dog's body—are very high fever (103°-108°F), excessive panting, nervousness, a stilted walk, collapse and convulsions. The only cure for milk fever is an injection of calcium so, if you suspect that your dog has the ailment, call a vet right away,
A warm corner of the basement is the best place for your new mother to set up housekeeping, although we've raised many a litter of puppies in a nook of our kitchen. An airline packing crate makes an ideal whelping box (airlines also sell the best dog cages for the least money). Put in some old towels, blankets and newspapers for bedding.
As the pups grow and need more room, you can transfer them to a homemade pen of three 1 x 12 boards or old screen door sections hinged together. Give them lots of newspapers, old towels and blankets for bedding and use an electric heating pad to keep them warm during the first week in their new home. Take care to protect the babies from drafts . . . which can so easily cause pneumonia in young dogs. Many breeders use playpens—elevated off the floor—to hold their growing pups.
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