Do you know the maximum number of puppies a dog can give birth to at one time? Friends who have experience know that it is usually six or seven. If I tell you that this number can be multiplied by three times, will you be frightened? There is a dog...
Do you know the maximum number of puppies a dog can give birth to at one time? Friends who have experience know that it is usually six or seven. If I tell you that this number can be multiplied by three times, will you be frightened?
There is a dog named Mary Jane (MJ for short) who lives on the Isle of Man. She is a cross between a Great Dane and an American Bulldog. Earlier, her owner Joanne Hine (JH for short) noticed something strange about MJ's body, so she took her to the veterinarian. Doctors discovered she was pregnant.
JH was naturally curious about how many dogs MJ would have left. The veterinarian told her that there was a chance of giving birth to six to eight puppies. JH cared about MJ very much and often took her for prenatal check-ups. Joanne was originally happy that MJ was pregnant, but at every prenatal check-up, the doctor pointed out that MJ was pregnant with more puppies, and the actual puppies born might be taller than expected, which made her a little confused and even uneasy.
Finally, on November 20 this year, MJ finally gave birth to 21 puppies, which shocked Joanne! The puppies’ father is a Rottweiler, so they inherit the coat color and appearance of their father and mother, and they look very cute. Unfortunately, 6 puppies died shortly after they were born.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, a mastiff named "Tia" gave birth to 24 puppies in 2004, setting a record for the most puppies. However, that litter of puppies was delivered by caesarean section, and all of MJ’s puppies were delivered naturally, which means it may have set a record for the most puppies born naturally!
Puppies need to be fed every 2 hours, but MJ only has 9 feeding parts. It is almost impossible to keep all the puppies warm and full naturally, so manual intervention is necessary. After the current batch is fed, manual help will be replaced with the next batch. JH not only helped with breastfeeding, but also made a "crib" in the kitchen so that MJ and the puppies could rest peacefully.
Currently, only 2 puppies have been adopted, and the remaining puppies have not yet found their owners. Joanne is waiting for MJ to recover and will arrange for him to be neutered, mainly because the second litter of a dog mother usually has more puppies than the first litter, making it difficult to take care of them.
MJ maintains the overall appearance of a Great Dane, but his body shape is more similar to his father's Rottweiler. In any case, he is a big dog, so these puppies should also be powerful in the future.
