my springer spaniel

Question
hey i was just wondering how many pups should i expect? my dog is just turning 1 and shes due in 3weeks and if she needs help cutting the cord what length should we cut it at?

Answer
Hi Lisa

A female is born with all the eggs she is going to produce.  She is repsonsible for the number and the male the sexes.  So depending on the size of litter her dam produced and so on, will give you an idea.

1 is young for a breeding female, she may rejected the litter so cutting the cord will be the least of your worries.  That being said, there is no need to cut it, she should chew it off herself.  You need a nice pair of surgical scissors some dental floss and some Betadine solution.

Strip the blood in the cord down towards the puppy.  Cord blood contains stem cells that are beneficial to a pup.  Tie the cord with dental floss (pretty close to the body) and cut with the cleaned scissors.  Leave a stump of about a inch or so, and dab the end with the Betadine solution.  The remainder of the stump will dry up and die within a day or two.

Good luck