Last week I was lucky enough to get to see a five-strong litter of three-week-old Westies. I usually get to see litters when they are newly born or when they are ready for their first shots at about six weeks, but there is something special about the sight of a litter of squirming puppies at this age that really warms the heart.

Westie is short for West Highland Terrier. Accompanied by the black Scottish Terrier, the Westie is depicted as an integral part of the iconic Black and White Scotch Whiskey label.

It is, of course, a Scottish breed, with the Westie representing the white of the two dogs on the label. A very popular breed, Westies are energetic, small dogs, with an adult normally weighing about seven to nine kilos. They make excellent companion pets, certainly full of character and possibly doubling up as the perfect burglar alarm.

Mummy Poppy had done a great job of naturally delivering her five pups throughout a long-drawn-out Friday night. The delivery was a bit more prolonged than usual because all the pups were born breech.

Coming out back end first is not abnormal, but it does not promote the movements of a normal delivery as with puppies coming out head first. However, the post-natal checkup confirmed all was well. No more puppies could be felt in the uterus, though we were still expecting a couple of placentas to be expulsed. Mammary glands and milk were normal, and all five puppies were fully formed and healthy.

But despite the mothering instinct of whelping bitches towards their pups, there is still a lot more care you need to provide in the first couple of weeks to make sure that the litter survives and grows strong.

Your veterinarian will provide you with a checklist of things to do and look out for and it is important that you follow the instructions to avoid the disappointment of losing puppies soon after birth.

During pregnancy, your vet would have advised you on how best to set up a whelping area. In fact, Poppy belongs to a highly-experienced breeder who had allocated a warm, clean room complete with whelping box, puppy heat mat, blankets and waste area, to keep the newborns warm and snug against their mum.

Rigorous cleanliness ensured that the litter area was kept healthy for the pups. Weekly phone updates informed me that all was going well – until I suddenly got a call that something was up and that the puppies had lay crying and moaning most of the night.

Whenever I get such a call, it is inevitable that my mind trips off to all the possible causes of what I might find when I get to my house call. Parvo virus is the most dreaded of viruses, which causes a severe gastroenteritis in puppies with possible fatal outcome.

This disease alone calls for minimal contact and interaction with other dogs as well as by visitors to reduce the risk of infection. Removal of footwear and washing of hands whenever going near a newborn litter of puppies is also imperative.

Poppy had been regularly wormed and the puppies were a bit too young to be suffering from any roundworm infestation. As far as I knew, Poppy was feeding her puppies naturally, which is always the best bet to avoid colic, constipation and, of course, sleepless nights. She had also been eating her special diet and taking her calcium supplement.

There is something special about the sight of a litter of squirming puppies at this age that really warms the heart

Time is critical with young puppies. If you notice something is not quite right in their behaviour, you should contact your veterinarian without delay. Abnormal behaviour to look out for includes excessive moaning or crying, diarrohea, vomiting or rejection from the mother.

You also sometimes get some puppies that are unable to get at the milk due to competition from siblings; these would need extra help before they get too weak to survive.

Thankfully, when I arrived, I found a beautiful litter, all approximately the same size, nice and warm with no signs of dehydration and, most importantly, they were all happily asleep. Thanks to her caring instinct and love for her dogs, Poppy’s owner had decided to try and feed the puppies herself, and even though they were so young, they had still managed to eagerly eat a few morsels of food and were now happily sleeping it off.

The milk the mother supplies to her pups is what sustains them when they are born. It provides just the right nutrients to promote a healthy, immune system and hasten good development. She will feed her puppies every two to three hours until they are able to eat solid food, starting at about four weeks of age. If the mother is not present or is not feeding her puppies, then it is recommended that you contact a veterinarian for advice on how and what best to feed them.

In fact, when I checked Poppy’s mammary line, it was immediately apparent that it had become insufficient to support a fast-growing litter. Poppy had produced a beautiful litter of five, which is certainly the upper limit for a West Highland Terrier; she had fed them till an age where their survival rate should be very good, particularly in the hands of an experienced owner.

The reason why Poppy’s mammary line was no longer what it should be could simply be a case of her not drinking enough water to produce sufficient milk for such a bountiful litter.

Well, this is the story of the litter of five. I feel I was lucky enough to be part of their story, which obviously repeats itself time and time again, enjoyed and suffered by dog owners and breeders who do their best to produce the healthy puppies ready to fill the hearts of their new homes.

thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com

Dr Martin Debattista is a veterinary surgeon.