Norfolk Terrier Breeder's Corner Page 10

Breeders Corner

Kafka said, "All knowledge, the totality of all questions and answers, is contained in the dog."

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The Bluebonnet Norfolk Terrier Club does not recommend, guarantee, endorse, nor rate these recommendations or contributors, their kennel or their stock. The purpose of this section is to share the knowledge and experience of breeders who have vast experience in whelping and raising puppies. The tips and tricks below are intended to augment qualified veterinarian care, not as a substitute for qualified veterinarian care of the dam and puppies.

Whelping Safety Tip: For a minimum of 10 days prior to whelping (preferably two weeks) isolate the pregnant bitch to give her the opportunity to feel she is in a "safe" whelping environment, away from any perceived danger or competition to her or her puppies. Stress can cause early whelping, cessation of labor and other detrimental issues for the pregnant bitch. For at least three weeks following whelping, keep the dam and puppies isolated from other pets. In addition to protecting dam and puppies from serious diseases, this allows the dam to concentrate on taking care of the puppies without any fear of harm or compeition for her puppies. I have known dams to accidentally kill their newborn puppies when their "den" is invaded by other pets, though they may get along fine with other pets outside the new puppy environment.

From Helene Gisin I feed a pregnant bitch the same food as she ever has until the 5th or 6th week of pregnancy and than I switch to puppy food from the same branch (Royal Canin mini at the moment). But I would like to ad that all my bitches (and the dogs) are slim and packed with muzzles from our daily walks. The pregnant bitch also gets her daily walk until she does not want to come with us anymore this is most likely one or two days before delivery.

Traditionally, semen collection is evaluated at the point of collection, and "extender" is added before it is packaged and shipped to the breeder. More and more often, semen is viable at the point of collection, and since it was viable at the collection point, it is not evaluated at the receiving vet. We now evaluate the semen again at the receiving vet to make sure the semen has survived the shipping process - Shipping and Handling can impact the motility and/or the live sperm count. We now keep some of the collection back with the collection vet to warm and test again at the same time the receiving vet inseminates the bitch. We then know exactly what the motility and sperm count should be if the shipping and handling process has not had a negative impact on the semen.

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