cocker spaniel prenanacy

Question
QUESTION: I suspect that my cocker spaniel is pregnant, how long is the duration of the pregnancy and also upto how many puppies can they have at one time, also is there information on all this like the birthing proceedure if so where can i obtain this information. Many Thanks

ANSWER: Hi Vicky the duration of pregnancy is 63 days from the day of conception, this will be almost spot on give or take a day either way.
As for the size of the litter no-one knows the average is about five but she could have one or even seven! (or more) I will need some more information from you to give any more advice, like where will she have the pups, indoors or outside if she is pedigree you will nneed the stud dog information for their pedigrees, if they are k.c. registered you will need to register the puppies when they are born, she will need a whelping box in a quiet corner big enough for her and the pups, there are some excellent web sites one is the Cocker Spaniel website they will give you all the information on birthing or you can go to the library and order a book on pregnancy and whelping,
Was this a planned pregnancy or accident if it was planned the stud dog owner can also give advice, if it was an accident and you dont know who the father is, i would suggest a trip to the vet to make sure she is okay.
Dont hesitate to message back if you would like to give me a bit more information and i can give you more feed back
Kathy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Kathy
Thankyou for getting back to me, the farther of the pups s our dog patch who is also a cocker spaniel, i was an accident as molly was due to have the operation however she then came in season which the operation needed to be cancelled ands low and be-hold we have to seperate them with cold water on a few occasions, the likely hood is that she is pregnant in your opinoion how soon will i know if ashe is pregnant? also if she is pregnant then they are both pedigree however they are not kc registered, she will also be giving birth inside our house if she is pregnant my vets for advice is not the worlds best really just need to know what to look out for also as much advice where to obtain the birthing information as possible.

Many Thanks

Answer
Hi Vicky, sorry it worked out that way, but the first signs to look out for are swollen and pink teats, she may become very loving and want to be cuddled a lot, you probably will not see any weight gain until the last three weeks, the last two weeks the weight will go on very quickly and she will barrell out at the sides, in this two weeks you will need to increase her food, best to put her on the puppy food of whatever she is having at the moment this is because the nutrition in puppy food is much higher and she will need it to help give her healthy puppies and help her through the birth. Can i ask you are you in england if you are i would be willing to telephone you and talk to you by phone as it so hard to explain things on the computer, if you are then message me back with your number and i will call you.
Also in the last fortnight is the time to provide her with a whelping box this should be high enough so she feels enclosed with a opening for her to get in and out but that you can lock the puppies in to keep them safe. 24 hours before she gives birth she will become slightly agitated and pace up and down possibly panting more than usual she may keep trying to make a bed anywhere try to encourage her into the whelping box and let her understand its hers, but keep the other dog out of it, it must only be hers, just before the birth she will likely be very sick and have the runs, this means the first puppy should be born very shortly, she will probably lie down and you will notice her start to pant very quickly, she will push as a human does and as the puppy appears she may howl, dont be alarmed it frightened me but its quite normal, however she may make no noise, talk calmly to her rub her tummy gently and offer her a drink of water you will need to hold the bowl for her so she dosent have to get out of her box, as soon as the first pup is born she will clean it usually quite roughly, (if she dosent break the sack straight away you will have to step in just squeeze the skin between your fingers until it pops and pull it away from pups face, if you dont do this quickly the pup will suffocate, hopefully mum will do it she will also break the cord, again dont be alarmed she will eat it and also the afterbirth (dont discourage her its normal) try not to handle the pup too much but if its not breathing wrap in a warm towel and rub, i had to blow into one of my pups mouths because it wasent breathing but he soon started and was fine, its very nerve racking but so rewarding, now is the time to offer her a sweet cup of tea, this will give her energy to cope with however many more there are, there can be anything up to an hour in between each pup, you will know when the last pup has been born because mum will normally just want to lie down with them when this has happened take her outside to let her stretch her legs (pups will be fine) and let her use her bowels and have a wee, offer another cup of tea or glucose drink, she may even be hungry let her eat how much she needs she is going to need all the energy she can get. Forgot to say when you increase her food in the last two weeks of pregnancy she should be having about four times more than her normal amount it sounds a lot but she will need it.
When birthing is over she will lie in with the pups and they will find their way to her to feed, if they dont because to start off with they are blind just help them towards mums teats but try not too handle them too much, sometimes if they get too much different scent on them the mum can abandon it or kill it. The rest as they say is up to mum the first couple of weeks will consist of pups mewing and mum feeding them, eating herself going out for a wee then back into to feed them,you should monitor them 24/7 if you can to make sure mum dosent lie on pups they can be a bit stupid like that, we took it in turns to sleep downstairs with our girl any any crying noises we were there to assist, mums can be a bit silly sometimes and will stand on a pup but they are usually great mums. Message me back with a number or if you want more info Good Luck and let me know how it all goes
Kathy
Also forgot to say if you go on the internet and type in birthing in cocker spaniels it will give you a complete guide all the way through
Good luck