Massive litter of valuable puppies

A Tibetan Mastiff has made its owner potentially rich in China - by giving birth to a litter of 22 valuable puppies.

The massive litter, born to a dog called Black Pearl in Urumqi, Xinjiang in western China, is one of the biggest litters of puppies ever recorded.

And Tibetan Mastiffs are among the world's most valuable dog selling for an average of £100,000.

One prized specimen was recent put up for sale for more than £1 million at a trade show in Shijiazhuang, capital of China's Hebei Province.

So Black Pearl's owner Guo Qingcai, 53, who owns a pet shop, was delighted with his pet's huge litter.

"She was given to me by a friend three years ago. We have always treated her like our own child and given her nothing but the best," he said.

Five of the puppies have died but the remaining 17 are said to be doing well - with help from Guo and his wife.

They are helping to care for the puppies around the clock, taking turns to nurse them with baby bottles of milk.

Su Zhanqiang, of Xinjiang Agricultural University, said it was unusual for a Tibetan Mastiff to have such a big litter.

"Usually a litter for a mastiff should be four or five puppies, sometimes it could be seven or eight, but this is very rare," he said.

The largest number of puppies ever recorded in a litter was 24 from a Neopolitan Bull Mastiff called Tia, in Manea in Cambridgeshire.

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Massive_litter_of_valuable_puppies

Dog in Germany gives birth to 17 puppies

BERLIN – A dog in Germany has given birth to 17 puppies, leaving their owner thrilled but fatigued after having to feed them with a bottle for several weeks because their mother couldn't cope with the demand.

Owner Ramona Wegemann said Monday she barely slept for more than a couple of minutes without interruption during about four weeks in an "exhausting" struggle to make sure all of the purebred Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies would survive.

She said when she was "finished feeding the last puppy, the first was hungry again."

Wegemann's dog Etana gave birth to eight female and nine male puppies on Sept. 28 in Ebereschenhof, which is near Berlin.

At least five times a day, Wegemann gave the dogs a bottle with special milk because their mother's nipples could have never coped with the demand, and when the puppies were not hungry, they wanted to be entertained, she said.

Wegemann said when dogs give birth to so many puppies several of them die within the first week. "But all of our puppies survived. This is incredible and wonderful," the 32-year-old added.

It was the second time that Etana gave birth. She gave birth to eight puppies in her first pregnancy, not uncommon for the dog's breed, Wegemann said.

"The birth of the puppies was very special. All puppies were born naturally, no cesarean was necessary," she added. It took Etana a full 26 hours to give birth to all of the puppies — and Wegemann was as baffled as amazed.

But caring for 17 puppies turned out to be a full-time job: Wegemann put her work as an independent animal psychiatrist on a hold and her husband took as much vacation as he could.

Their lives have been turned upside down by the puppies, and their living room is now occupied by a giant box that houses the puppies.

But even Wegemann still struggles to recognize them: The females puppies are called Bahati, Binta, Bahya, Bashima, Batouuli, Binki, Bora, Bisa and the male ones are Baakir, Banjoku, Belay, Bruk, Bundu, Bayo, Bukekayo, Biton and Bulus.

Wegemann gave them all African names because the Rhodesian Ridgeback is an African hunting dog. Wegeman and her husband now plan to give most of the puppies away.

A price of ?800 ($1,050) per puppy would only cover the expenses for the veterinary, vaccinations, food and the mandatory paperwork, Wegemann said. She hopes to get about ?1,000 ($1,315) per dog, but said they would only give them to families with children, not breeders.

Four of the puppies have been sold, two more are already paid for and will leave their siblings shortly.