Gun Dog Forum

Hi All,

I'm a hppy guy today as my girl Jasmine just had her first puppy last night. It was a big litter of one!! She is doing well and her little girl is doing very well also! It is my first litter so I'm pretty excited. I bred her to DC Wild Mtn's Shake Ya Tailfeather (Brian & Helen Riggle) who had a stellar spring trial season with a couple of AA wins, a big Gun Dog win and other placements. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this little star! Just thought I'd shout it out as I'm a happy guy!!

Congrats on your first litter!

That will be one chunky puppy since he won't have to fight for the portable chuck wagon..congratulations

Congrats - cute pup.

Is it common for dogs to whelp just a single pup? I have never bred dogs, just assumed there were always multiple dogs in a litter. Do you still call it a litter when it is just one?

Just curious -- trying to learn what I can -- Thanks.

Congrats, I am sure he will be a stud!

kylemac wrote:Congrats - cute pup.

Is it common for dogs to whelp just a single pup? I have never bred dogs, just assumed there were always multiple dogs in a litter. Do you still call it a litter when it is just one?

Just curious -- trying to learn what I can -- Thanks.

It was her first litter, and sometimes the first litters are small/smaller. As well, I was told that she was in excellent shape, and that, combined with her first litter could drop the numbers. However, who knows? I'm not sure. I know the guy I bought Jasmine from had a good sized litter with her, but his girls first litter only had one pup I believe as well. Perhaps some of the breeders out there will be able to shed more light on the issue...

A litter of one happens. Ardoise's 2nd litter was just one. She has had 2 litters of 7 and one litter of 4 also.

oh how adorable..are you keeping the pup? also you should name her STAR ...ruth

kylemac wrote:Congrats - cute pup.

Is it common for dogs to whelp just a single pup? I have never bred dogs, just assumed there were always multiple dogs in a litter. Do you still call it a litter when it is just one?

Just curious -- trying to learn what I can -- Thanks.

In the parlance of dog breeding, a pup from a litter of one is called a "singleton" and the litter is referred to as a "singleton litter." It is more common with mothers who are young or older (5+ years) at the first whelp, and small breeds. Some breeders will put rolled towels or stuffed toys with the puppy when its mother leaves it, so it doesn't feel isolated. I don't know if that has any effect or not, but if you use stuffed animals, it makes a very cute puppy picture at about four weeks.

Beautiful puppy...was she born bobbed or is that the angle of the picture?

Chukar12 wrote:Beautiful puppy...was she born bobbed or is that the angle of the picture?

No, she has a tail, just the angle of the picture!

GUNDOGS wrote:oh how adorable..are you keeping the pup? also you should name her STAR ...ruth

I'm not keeping the puppy. I had a few buyers for this proposed litter, and since this is the only one, there will only be one lucky owner!! It'll be fun raising her for 8 weeks.

You might want to look into what Susan Garrett has done with her singleton pup she recently had. She is a big time agility person, but socialization concepts are the same regardless of what the pup ends up doing in life. She has a blog and a facebook page. This link is for her blog and there is alot more info on the FB page. She had some EXCELLENT ideas for raising singleton pups. http://susangarrettdogagility.com/2011/ ... dventures/

OMG...what an adorable pup!! Congrats on your litter. Please post new pictures as the pups grow.

YEs the biggest thing you do want to do with your pup is stimulate often things like just move your hands bumping the pup like its siblings would this starts a chain reaction of awakening the pup which stimulates their system

I raise with a bit modified version of the New Skete method where I pinch the toes and the ears rub the back and lightly roll the pup in my hands ...this stimulation also helps to stimulate the endorphins which increases the immune system and also helps the balance of the pups.

If I may can I ask a question? How pregnant did your female look before the birth? I have a young GSP that I don't think is bred but if she is its a small litter (possible single). She doesn't look "pregnant" but has chubbed up a little. I know the easy way to find out would be to x-ray her but I'm cheap. Dont' want to spend $50 bucks for nothing.
Thanks for the info
Ross

I have sad news. Ryley, the pup, passed away this morning at two weeks of age. We aren't sure what happened, but she just started fading, and then quit eating. She then stabilized, but started to decline again. The vet tried everything, IV drips, oxygen etc, but the poor soul couldn't hang on. I'm sure she's in a better place. Rest in Peace Ryley...

hunterw/newhobby wrote:If I may can I ask a question? How pregnant did your female look before the birth? I have a young GSP that I don't think is bred but if she is its a small litter (possible single). She doesn't look "pregnant" but has chubbed up a little. I know the easy way to find out would be to x-ray her but I'm cheap. Dont' want to spend $50 bucks for nothing.
Thanks for the info
Ross

She didn't look 'pregnant' until the last couple of weeks, and then she only beefed up a bit. I figured she was as she acted a bit different (probably the hormones) and there was mammary development.

I'm so sorry for your loss

Ditto on the Sorry for your loss

MTO4Life wrote:I have sad news. Ryley, the pup, passed away this morning at two weeks of age. We aren't sure what happened, but she just started fading, and then quit eating. She then stabilized, but started to decline again. The vet tried everything, IV drips, oxygen etc, but the poor soul couldn't hang on. I'm sure she's in a better place. Rest in Peace Ryley...

I'm very sorry. That is what is know as fading puppy syndrome and it seems to follow certain developmental milestones in the puppy's first few weeks. Think of it as Ryley's body as not having the instructions to make the next step in development, after her eyes opened. I have documented quite a few litters of different breeds from my own and friends' experiences over the years and the results are fairly consistent.