So, my daughters other half has a sister who's springer bitch has just given birth to 14 pups, 12 of whom have survived. Not knowing much about breeding dogs, is this an extraordinarily large amount? First time mother too.
No
Really?
Google tells me average litter size is 5 or 6, and 15 is considered very large, according to PDSA.
Puppy record?
How much is that doggy in the window
IGMC!
Seriously though, we have been looking for a dog for a long time and Springers are on the list. If they are looking to sell to a good home...?
12 pups !
That's a new Range Rover. !
They only came out yesterday, I have some photos but no idea on how to post them on here.
I dont know anything about breeding dogs, but I will definitely pass on the interest to the dogs owner, jamj1974.
We had a collie bitch when I were a lad who regularly had 12 healthy pups. I wouldn't say it was common, but not unusual either. Might be certain breeds are more predisposed to larger litter. If you count the nipples on a dog then they are "designed" for large litters. Sheep only have 2 teats and I have had 2 sets of healthy quins. Now that IS unusual.
EDIT: just checked, my bitch only has 8 teats!
12 pups is indeed a new Range Rover.. so be very careful about broadcasting the location as puppy theft if rife at the moment. My sister only advertised hers when they were ready for sale. A breeder down the road from her had both breeding bitches and all the puppies stolen one night.
@nparker,
Thats very useful, thanks for that info, I will definitely pass it on! Can't believe people would stoop so low, but I did talk to a farmer recently who had a bull stolen. He reckons it was cut up and sold black market. How do you steal a bull who doesnt want to be stolen?
@johnnymarone. Thank you! I imagine with the current canine demand that a lot if not all of them will be spoken for already, but I will keep my fingers crossed.
As @nparker said, be cautious about revealing the location as it is rampant at the moment.
How do you steal a bull who doesnt want to be stolen?
I know of a farmer who had a hill roaming flock of sheep stolen one night. All he knows is that a lorry was involved. Some &*(£s will steal anything.
How do you steal a bull who doesnt want to be stolen
How does anyone get a bull that doesn’t want to be made into Big Macs into the back of a lorry?
Good point!
A big litter is more common in smaller breeds than large breeds. Ziva was one of 13 and she's 40kgs, poor mummy! (obviously she wasn't 40kgs when she came out)
I know of a farmer who had a hill roaming flock of sheep stolen one night.
Rife
Most ends up in Midlands back lane butchers.
Not all are stolen either, insurance doubles the worth of some sheep.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-54372778
As noted above, be very careful about broadcasting the location. My sister is a vet (she owns springer as well actually!) and she's seen a few dogs that have been injured in attempted thefts - loads more than normal in the last few months.
I think the litter that my sister's dog came from was about 10 puppies.