Thinking of fostering a pregnant dog from a/c but i am clueless about breeding!

i know im NO vet or anything, but the way i see, id rather her have her puppies in my home, safe and warm and clean and quiet, then at that horrible place. its dirty and scary and i cant imagine a dog having puppies there.
im going to pick up the chosen 2 on sunday, and the plan was to get 2 puppies, foster them, and find them homes through my high school (im the president of the animal rights club) so i rehome pets all the time.
but i figured, if they had a pregnant female, i would love to help any way i can. im a quick learner, i love dogs, and i dont know, i just thought it might be a good idea

any input, ideas, tips, would be great

Get the book " How To Raise A Puppy You Can Live With " Would be a big help for you and a great start for the pups !

puppy raising is something im used to really, but the think that worries me is the actual birthing/whelping process
labor, delivery, what to expect ect..

ill pick up that book though, ive never raised more than 2 puppies at the same time tho

Do you have any idea what breed the bitch is? What size of dog, approximately? There are plenty of experienced breeders here who will be glad to help you along. Any idea how long she has to go?

and I would not bring home 2. if you are going to whelp the girl, take just her, and when you are done with the puppies bring another one if you want.

Any specific questions?

A good Yahoo! group to join is Myra Harris' list (I think CanineRepro-PuppyCare or something similar, would have to double check).

I'm assuming you've talked to your family and htey're on board with this? Because while a puppy or two is messy, a litter is an order of magnitude worse- and once she's home, you're basically locked into it for 8 weeks. Unless you've got a much more flexible schedule than I did when I was in HS, you're also going to need someone to let mom out and do a quick cleanup during the middle of the day while you're at school, unless you're talking a small litter or very small dogs.

I'm sure you've already talked this over with your family, but if you *haven't* discussed it in detail, you may want to confirm with your folks that a litter of puppies is okay instead of just a foster or two.

If you are serious about this ... please take on only one preggie female. It's a very time consuming effort to do the best possible . I would treat a foster litter the same as a purebred litter . It's 8 weeks of hard work !

ya, if i would be taking in a pregnant female, i wouldnt take in another dog.
i dont know, i called a/c and they have 4 or 5 pregnant females so i dont know which i should pick, i know its probably alot of hard work but when i went to the shelter and looked around.. i just couldnt imagine ANY Dog living there, let alone being born into it or having puppies there.
my family is on board about it
i just have questions on what i should do as far as a whelping box, i heard a kiddie pool works with towels inside
but um, what do i do to cut the chords, what should we do when a puppy is born? do we do anything or just let mom take care of it?
i cant imagine shes going to be comfy with us touching her babies, she doesnt know us or anything.

which is easier, large breed dog or small breed?
ive had 2 puppies before, but never a litter. what should i expect for the 1st week, 2nd week, 3rd.. ect..
should i put a heating pad or hot watter bottles for them to keep warm? what can i do to help mom? to calm her down, help her along, ect..

Sounds like you need to find a good book about whelping. I don't know of one, but hopefully someone else here could help you out there.

Myra Harris' books (Canine Reproduction and Whelping, as well as Puppy Intensive Care) and joining the group mentioned above will give a ton of information (and hopefully someone else can answer your questions, LOL, I'm suppose to be working)
http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DG215
http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DG219

Another good book is Another Piece of the Puzzle: Puppy Development (Pat Hastings):
http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DG213

Mostly for breeders, but good reads.

Do you know the breeds of the bitches? Will the shelter even release them to the general public (I know the local shelters/pounds in GA would only give them to licensed rescues, and from what I gather, you are not licensed...)? If you know the breeds, I would get in touch with the local breed rescue, breeders, and/or clubs and notify them (they can also help find homes, as some people will be on a "waiting list" sort of thing for puppies - the breeders can assist with whelping). Our club would have been more than happy to help anyone.

I would get a larger breed personally, or just not a really small one as many of the smaller breeds *can* be prone to the need for C-Sections, but breed plays a big role there.

For the most part, unless the litter is huge and you are getting to the last pups, mom will do everything like cleaning and cutting the chord. I've heard that if after a while she does not cut it you can tie it off with dental floss and snip it will scissors.

If you are worried about the dog being comfortable with you then try and foster one now who is not too, too close to whelping.
That book Grammy recommended does tell how to handle the pups the first weeks of life until they go home. I would not take all the training methods in it to heart as I believe it is an old book so may have old school methods, but the general how to socialize, handle, what the dog should be doing and learning etc. at different ages should still be good information.

The only thing that worries me about a kiddie pool is that it has no bars to prevent mom from squishing babies against the wall and her body. Bars around the edges allow for the pups to be underneath the bars so if mom rolls over to go against the side of the pen she hits the bars instead, so no squished pups.
Check this thread out: http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20647

I am NO expert though, it's just stuff I've heard.

Send a PM to Redyre or HoundedbyHounds with all your whelping questions, I'm sure they'd be glad to help.

Agree on not using the wadding pool !! Pick out a female that trusts you and I agree on a larger dog .

I would look for a girl who looks healthy, has a happy temperament, and is in the 25 to 50ish pound range.

You need to get a good book to read on the subject right away. I would suggest "Successful Dog Breeding" by Bonnie Wilcox and Cris Walkowicz if you can only afford one.

If you can afford several, I also like very much the one by Dr. Phyllis Holst, DVM, "Canine Reproduction, A Breeder's Guide". It is a little techinical, but very detailed.

And I also like "The Joy Of Breeding Your Own Show Dog" by Ann Serranne. It does have quite a bit of breeding theory in it, but also a great deal of very good technical information about whelping and raising of puppies.

Most of the time, the mom dog does not need a lot of help. Most of the time it is best to let her clean the puppy and cut the cord, etc. If I have to break a cord, I use my thumbnails to crush the cord and break it. Birth is not a sanitary process, and this is no less sanitary than the normal way of the bitch doing it with her jaws.

If she does not immediately attend to a puppy, then you just take a towel and hold the puppy with head facing downward while you rapidly and briskly clean it off with the towel. Then you get another dry towel, and while holding the pup head down, you show it butt first to the mom, who will usually start licking it. Let her clean him for a minute. It is important that the puppy has his first bowel movement at birth or shortly after to clear his intestines and make him able to properly digest milk. So you want to make sure that happens, and then I weigh the pup, put an ID ribbon on it if needed. Then the pup is put on to nurse while I write down the sex, what order it is in birth, how much it weighed, what its ID ribbon is, or if I am identifying it by markings, I will note that. Then I just make sure that all puppies are nursing well, and wait for the next pup.

Once they are all born, I weigh twice a day for the first week, morning and bedtime. I want to see puppies steadily gaining. If someone is slow or not gaining by day 2, then I start making sure this pup nurses first and gets the best teat. If necessary I will supplement, but I prefer slower puppies get the mom's milk, and if necessary, I will bottle feed the biggest strongest ones, and leave the mom for the others to nurse out first.

By week 3, you will start some thick gruel feedings, and by week 6 mine are eating pretty much what the big dogs do, just in a smaller quantity, with more grains.

You should plan on keeping puppies until 8 weeks, or they should stay together that long, not sure what age the shelter would take them all back?

^^^ Both would likely be available at a public library as they're "breeder bible" type books. There's also an option to buy used .... found both books recommended above with a 5-second search on Amazon ... both at very reasonable prices! The first suggested book is available for less than nine dollars, shipping costs are very low as well.

Links:

"Successful Dog Breeding":
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0876057407/ref=sr_1_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225650443&sr=8-1

"Canine Reproduction, A Breeder's Guide":
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1577790286/ref=sr_1_olp_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225650528&sr=8-2