When your dog is pregnant, you want to know how many pups to prepare for. After all, this number could very well affect everything from potential adopters to whelping space.
When d trainer and breeder, Cecilia Lanton Bunkergot got the exciting news that her dog Miley was pregnant, she was ecstatic but very prepared. As the proud owner of a prestigious breeding program that has produced numerous titled and championed dogs over 27 years, Cecilia is the definition of an expert when it comes to handling situations like this.
So when it came to Miley’s pregnancy she knew exactly what to expect, or so she thought.
Cecilia would take Miley on regular trips to the vet to monitor her pregnancy to ensure she and her pups were safe and healthy.
After a few ultrasound and X-rays, the vet overseeing the gestation predicted a three puppy litter.
However, with all her previous years of experience, Cecilia became more and more skeptical of the prediction as Miley’s pregnancy progressed because of the extremely large size of her frame.
Nevertheless, She put her doubts aside and focused on Miley’s wellbeing above all.
When the time arrived for Miley to give birth, a team of veterinarian nurses were in place on standby to ensure her labour went as smoothly as possible.
And as expected Miley gave birth to 3 pups, but soon after, another followed, then so did another and another. In total Miley gave birth to a whopping 18 beautiful pups!
Cecilia and the nurses were astounded as Dalmatian litters average on at about 8 – 10 pups per litter and their first litters are often much smaller.
She said: “I thought she’d stopped after number 15, because it looked like she had laid down to go to sleep. But then along came another one, and two more after that. Nellie is making a really lovely mum. I’m immensely proud of her, she’s been amazing.
It took 13 hours of labor for all of the pups to be delivered. The 18 pup litter has 12 females and 6 males.
Since there are so many little guys, Cecilia and her husband are helping the new mother with the puppy-care. There is always a fresh supply of warm milk available for the little guys.
“Fortunately, we have a lot of outside space and the dogs have lots of things to play with.” Louise said. “They’ve got their own Wendy House, and swings and slides that they love to play on.”
Since there are so many puppies, the breeders have placed a temporarily dyed dot on their neck. These will be replaced with collars when they arrive.
In the meantime, Miley’s record-breaking achievement has been recorded by the Australian National Kennel Club as the largest litter in Australian history out of over 40,000 Dalmation births.
Watch the sweet video of Nellie’s 18 puppies below.
