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As AJ said, there isn't a hard and fast rule or magic age number when to give a bath. In nature, providing all has gone well with the dam, puppies are being bathed as soon as they are born; "mom" is always cleaning them. With AJ's c-section litter, I feel "bathing" in the manner she did was in a sense an imitation of nature and far healthier on their immune systems than leaving all the "crud" on them. We use a lot of baby wipes to assist "mom" and especially after they begin having gruel as a part of the weaning process.
C-sections are on the rise in Cardigans, closing in on the frequency that they are needed in Pembrokes. C-sections are very common in Pembrokes (in the US at least) and not the easiest of breeds to whelp, nor are the puppies the easiest to get going. From what Michael says breeders tell him, NZ may still be blessed with many free whelping lines. It isn't usually the large breed dogs that require sections, rather it is the toy breeds. English Bulldogs, Pugs, French Bulldogs, etc., sections are common in them because of the head size of the puppies. Brachycephalic breeds commonly need sections to the point of it is just routine.
In Cardigans at least, 10 or 11 puppy litters are not that unusual. I have a great, great grand daughter of a dam that had 13 puppies, all free whelped and all survived. There were 8 in her litter, but we will be monitoring her closely when the time comes for her to be bred in the distant future.
Debbie
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