We then gather items needed for whelping day, including:
 

Producing healthy puppies begins with making certain the potential mother is in perfect health. A superior diet, daily exercise, and a stress-free environment are all part of the regimen designed to ensure a perfectly healthy mother.

Our next concern is objective medical testing. The mother undergoes BAER (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) testing to determine hearing ability. At Kingdom Dalmatians, we breed only bilateral hearing parents. OFA x-ray testing and certification ensures suitable hip and elbow alignment. Any signs of dysplasia eliminate a potential breeding prospect. CERF eye examinations and thyroid tests complete the battery of tests performed.

Once the candidate has successfully passed all of the aforementioned diagnostic tests, the search begins for a suitable mate. Of course, the perspective male must be in great health, must pass all of our stringent testing requirements, and must be of outstanding temperament. We look for males whose attributes enhance or strengthen those of our female.

While conducting the search for the perfect breeding mate, we focus on making certain our female receives supplements and nutrition to help make her as healthy and fertile as possible. We monitor progesterone levels to determine proper timing of the heat cycle. We prefer natural breeding, as opposed to a laboratory setting. Once the breeding has taken, our focus is to make certain the mother is exercised daily, receives appropriate nutritional supplements, and enjoys a stress-free environment.

Meanwhile, whelping preparations begin. We designate one room of our home as a “whelping area.” In one corner of the room, we cover the floor with vinyl flooring, large enough to accommodate a child’s plastic wading pool with ample room for paper training. The entire area is bordered with a plastic play yard. Once set-up is complete, we introduce the mother to the “pen” where she spends as much time as possible, to ensure familiarity and comfort with her new environment.

Once the mother begins showing signs of impending labor, we keep a close watch--day and night. The whelping room is kept warm with extra heaters; extra warmth continues until the puppies are six weeks of age.

We believe in allowing the mother to follow her instincts throughout the birthing process, including removing the sac and gnawing the umbilical cord. We permit the mother to consume the afterbirth for its outstanding nutritional properties. We intervene with the mother’s job only if she is unable to fulfill her duties.

Our job involves drying, weighing, and identifying the puppies. After our job is complete, we return each puppy to the mother for nursing, while we continue our record-keeping responsibilities: Charting time of birth, weight, sex, color, expulsion of afterbirth and identifier ribbon).

As another puppy approaches, we remove the other puppies from the mother and place them in the prepared warming box. Between each birth, we change the mother’s padding, making certain that she remains as dry and comfortable as possible.

Once all puppies are born, we change bedding and clean the mother, taking great care not to disturb her. We place all puppies with their mother and watch to make certain each puppy is nursing. To ensure an adequate milk supply, we give supplements to the mother. During the first few days of delivery, we sleep close to the whelping area and maintain a stress-free environment, complete with soothing music. We limit visitors until the puppies are three weeks of age Once the puppies are weaned, we introduce a RAW diet.

Whelping: The Journey Begins...