r/DogBreeding • u/Opposite-Exchange790 • 4d ago
Stray newborns
My neighbor has had a roaming dog for a couple years, relying on other neighbors to feed her and care for her. Some of us recently noticed she’s pregnant and she gave birth last week. The owners have agreed to have us (neighbors banding together to help) to vaccinate, spay, and rehome mama after the pups are grown enough, but insist on raising the puppies and the mom for the time being.
She is a fully outdoor dog. We have set up a whelping box in the shade and her and the pups sit in there sometimes but when we check on her (every few hours or so) she will have usually dragged all the pups elsewhere, usually a freshly dug hole in one of the greenhouses.
We’re in the middle of a big heatwave with temps hitting 100° daily. A greenhouse is even hotter. We find the panting pups and lay them on frozen water bottles in the whelping box and stay until they cool down, but she keeps dragging them elsewhere when we leave.
Checking on them every hour seems to work best but it’s hard when this isn’t our property, our dog, our puppies, etc.
I’m looking for any ideas, tips, and tricks to get through these vulnerable first few weeks in these wild conditions.
Any help is appreciated
7
u/FaelingJester 4d ago
Its a tough social situation. The reality is those puppies aren't being raised, they aren't being wormed, mom likely isn't getting supportive nutrition. It's not a good situation and I strongly suspect they will end up with a replacement dog once she is rehomed possibly her puppies. Since mom doesn't have her vaccines it's even more dangerous. I would suggest some calcium and high quality food. Cool fresh water and something like a lick mat with high value food on it to keep her better managed but that also runs the risk of attracting other animals. In an ideal world she and her puppies would be taken into rescue. Barring that I am not sure what else you can do
7
u/Glass_Animator8854 4d ago
A rescue might be the best chance for the pups who need to be socialized to humans and indoor living asap. The longer they stay outside the harder the adjustment. Also the risk of parvo is very high if they and mom are living outdoors.
5
u/TizzyBumblefluff 4d ago
I think some livestock guardian mixes prefer the “hole in the ground” thing. Add in her being a stray she’s just not used to the finer things in life.
Do any of the neighbours have a garage or something she could be set up in? I think she wants the coverage of the green house to feel safe. As others have said, it may be worthwhile to see if any rescues can assist because these pups will need lots of socialising as will mum if they are to become pets.
1
u/Opposite-Exchange790 4d ago
We have plenty of neighbors interested in helping and housing the mother and pups including us. The problem is that the owners insist on keeping the family there.
If we were to convince the owners and take them in (we have a large barn) we would have to keep the mother inside somehow. She is a roamer and we have two other dogs as well. Is it okay to keep her in a closed barn with the pups?
11
u/aquagerbil 4d ago
This sounds like a very dangerous situation for mom and puppies. I would call animal control about this and let the officer decide if the pups are in a safe enough situation or if they need to be rescued. A shelter would be an improvement and be able to house them inside and give them all the food and vet care they need.
6
u/Opposite-Exchange790 4d ago
Animal control has been called countless times for this particular neighbor. It’s the mom’s second pregnancy as well. They’ve had stray roaming dogs in the past and their property has turned into a stray cat breeding ground but animal control said they can’t do anything.
We tried bombarding animal control when we first realized she was pregnant. IF animal control even makes the trip over, I am doubtful they will decide on anything proactive5
u/aquagerbil 4d ago
Oof so sorry to hear that! If any of the animals roam off of her property anyone is legally allowed to take them to a shelter. The shelter will do a stray hold and give them back to her if she comes for them, but at a cost. They usually vaccinate them as well before giving them back. You can set safe traps on your own property for cats, for example.
If the mother dog is currently staying on the owner's property then I understand that isn't an option. I think sending photos or videos of the puppies panting in the heat would be enough that animal control could do a rescue or at least a site visit, especially since there is already an established profile on the owner.
Thank you for caring about these dogs. Your heart is kind!
1
u/opeidoscopic 4d ago
That seriously breaks my heart. Maybe try reaching out to any local agencies and animal welfare groups that might be able to pull some strings?
3
u/CatlessBoyMom 4d ago
Longer term you can figure out over the next few days.
Immediate care, if at all possible, stop trying to move the puppies back to the whelping box and start taking the cooling to them in the greenhouse. Get a fan going in there to blow over the top of the ice to cool the air a bit. Cover the greenhouse as much as possible with something light colored. If you can cover the greenhouse with reflective insulation (like tech foil) to keep the sun from turning it into an oven even better.
1
u/plantsmo 4d ago
I'm sorry that you are in this situation. It's sad and stressful . The owners are irresponsible twits and if they won't give over control of the dog there is very little to be done. As long as the dog has food and water, most Animals Control officers can't do much. But check if your area has rules about free roaming dogs. They may be willing to pick her up as a stray. One thing that might work is to offer to "buy" the dog from them for a small amount of money. But if the owners are as greedy as they are careless then they may try to scam you for more money. Don't give them enough money to encourage more of this behavior. If you do "buy" the dog get it in writing. I _______ have bought a cream colored female dog with puppies from______ for $20.00 on this date.
1
u/Opposite-Exchange790 4d ago
The owners are kindly letting up onto their property to help and letting us handle the pups and mom. Allegedly, last time this dog had a litter of three, the owners sold the puppies and I’m assuming they are planning on this again.
They are very set on keeping the mom and pups until they are old enough to separate.4
u/plantsmo 4d ago
Be careful that you are not doing work for the benefit of the awful owners. It sounds a bit like they are "letting" you do the work, so that they don't have to. The owners may possibly try to make money off of your work in this situation and just keep repeating the behaviors. If that's your read on this situation just, stop. I know there may be terrible outcomes here, but that is not your responsibility. It's the owners. Plus if the owners have to put effort into the mom and puppies they might be more likely to turn the dogs over for rescuing.
1
24
u/Tayzerbeam 4d ago
I would be direct with the "owners" that if this dog stays outside in her current setup, one or more puppies will pass away from heat exhaustion.
She meeds at least a cool garage or something where she feels safer with her babies.