A general forum for the discussion of hunting with beagles, guns, clothing and other equipment and just talking dawgs! (Tall tales on hunting allowed, but remember, first liar doesn't stand a chance)
I am curious as to how much running and roughhousing, wrestling, ya'all allow your pregnant bitches?
My girl might be three weeks pregnant today and she was on leash exercise due to a suture reaction (surgical insemination) but now that she is healed from that she wants to PLAY. We have 2.5 acres that she usually runs with her buddy Kandy (9 mos. old beagle bitch). She may or may not be pregnant but for now I am treating her like she is.........any input?
Cindy
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I normally run my bred females up until about 2 weeks before they are due to whelp. I don't over do it, but I do run them a couple of hours at a time and have seen no problems with it. Seems to keep them from getting too fat. If it were hot then I probably wouldn't run them much but if it is cool then I see no problem.
Big Dog
Black and Tans, Blue Ticks, and a few others bringing smoke
It would seem to me that a fit mama would be a good thing. I feel I should know better but when my girls wrestle I am afraid the young bitch is going to hurt the developing pups (if there are any) when she steps on my "pregnant" bitches belly.
Cindy
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Cindy
We let ours run all they want right up to the day they have the pups. We believe running rabbits while the pups are developing imprints what you want them to run and that running is what they are supposed to do.
The last week or two, they only waddle, but still open and keep the rabbit moving.
What a mother eats and drinks and sniffs or smells in to their lungs goes right into the developing pups. Take heroine by sniffing it up your nose and your baby will be born addicted to heroine. Momma beagle sniffs rabbit tracks up her nose all during the development and the pups will be born addicted also.
Regular exercise is as good for your hound as it is for a pregnant woman. I have run a bitch for as long as 8 hours on the day she delivered. This was done out of ignorance and I would not advise it. However, running a pg bitch is not a bad thing. A couple of hours 2 or 3 times a week would be good for her.
I am 72 years old come from A hound family. My grandfather was the 1st. to tell me running your beagle while carrying pups was good for the pups. I have practiced this all my adult life and find from experance that pups from A female that has been ran on rabbit while carrying seem to start earlier and become better adult dogs in the field. Now I am sure there will be disagreement by some. But this works for me.
I had a vet tell me to make sure that the Bitch gets plenty of exercise, if she is in good physical shape it will aid in delivery. She will have an easier time whelping the pups. As for the young dog hurting her, she will let that pup know when to quit with a snap at her. Make sure her stitches are healed properly and she should have no problems. Just my 2 cents, hope she has 8 healthy pups for ya. Tom C.
i agree with all the more exercise the better, i would at least run the hound up to 2wks then let her out daily for exercise. if you don't they lay around eat and get fat and this is not healthy for them and i believe it causes more risk for labor of the pups.
I also agree with the part about them scenting rabitts help the pups to come on sooner than normal.
Just from my experiance it is worse to let them just lay around and do nothing, so keep them moving at least 2 hrs aday 3 days a week.
something i do i give them calcium tabs during this time along with vitamines from my vet. and feed them puppy chow instead of regular dog food.
I read on a european breeder forum (yup, I am an infomaniac) one breeder wrote that the reason so many backyard breeders never have problems breeding/whelping is that their bitches run around in the backyards so much. Okay......well, makes sense to me...and aren't most of us here "backyard breeders" in the sense that we breed from our homes and our dogs do get a lot more turnout/run time then say a kennel dog in a run 24/7 ????
I would be curious to see what the statistics would be on the healthy, natural whelpings of field beagles vs. strictly show beagles. I know there are quite a few of us strictly show people who do have our dogs in huge running pens...but some basically do live a "crate to kennel run" life. We have a lot of C-sections in the show world too...although a lot of that I tend to attribute to the desire for a Labrador head on a tight little body (wrong, just plain wrong). This is the single biggest problem I have with the AKC conformation judging. Too much emphesis on a blocky head on a briar patch type hunting dog.
Some exhibitors nag me occasionally about my bitches head...which I admit could use a little more muzzle BUT I love the old fashioned HOUND look.
Cindy
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We let our pregnant females run until about 2 weeks before the pups are do. At 3 weeks before delivery, we stay away from tight fences and brushpiles.
Alabama John, you and I are too old and experianced to believe that old wive's tale about running the female while pregnant inprints on the pups. But, I still run my females while pregnant in hopes that it is true.
I do believe the fact that the pregnant female can run a rabbit right does help though.
I normally let my pregnant bitches run until about two weeks before whelping. I think that it is good for them. They will just naturally take care of themselves and they are far more tough than some folks give them credit for. They know their limitations and when to quit running. They have been taking care of themselves for thousands of years.
If I take a pregnant dog out hunting and she doesn't want to hunt, I just let her hang around me and take a nap or whatever. She still gets a little exercise and benefits from it.
With my upbringing came a lot of what some call old wives tales, medicines, remedies, plants, animal traits, instincts, behavior, origins, etc.
As I get older, more and more of these I have accepted as truths.
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Wish I had listened and paid attention more than I did.
John, no offence intended. There is often some truth in some of the old wive's tales. Like I said, the fact that she is good enough to run rabbits sure helps the pup's chances and the exercise is very good for her.
