Size of a newborn puppy neck? how are you marking puppies? - Page 1

Hello.  Who is using whelping bands?  What are you using?

What size is the avg neck?

I don't mark newborm pups. I make notes about minor appearance diffferences a couple times a day when I weigh them and call it good.
SS

I have about 20 different colors of yarn and take 2 different colors(2 of one color and one of another) and braid into a "collar" approximately 8-10 inches long and tie loosely on their necks, tight enough they dont get a foot in it but loose enough not to choke.  I mark them moments after birth this way and they wear them until the get a collar at 6 weeks.  I check it several times a week and cut off and replace as needed, at 3 weeks they get a new braided one and it is approximately 12" long and it is loosened daily if needed. Here is a picture of  a couple my pups from February so you can see how they are marked.  This litter was hard since all but one was sable and same amount of males and females.

Shelley - you are too smart...I would need to mark (smile)

I like the braided collar concept!

What about cat collars?  Too heavy for a newborn?

I agree with Shelley! Admittedly I have not had really big litters (max 7, usually fewer) but I note down at birth anything obvious like white toes, but really I have never had a problem identifying each individual from day one, I also weigh them daily or the first 10 days or so (and spend too much time just looking at them), so I know each one really well. I can imagine it would be a bit more difficult if you have 9-12 puppies though! I tattoo the puppies in my region and am often amazed when certain breeders cannot recognise individual puppies even at that age and ask for me to put a dab of ink in various places so they know which is which before the ink wears off the ear and the number becomes clear!!

I've seen some people put a different color of nail polish on one paw of each puppy to identify it (there are pet-safe varieties). Many breeders use rick-rack or small ribbons, some use yarn.  I would think kitten collars or toy-breed collars would be okay as long as they're light-weight. I have also heard of implanting a microchip and recording the number of each pup.

Average neck:  3-4 inches

http://www.omahavaccine.com/product_details.asp?display=full&cid=0&itemid=05389A&itemname=Puppy+I.D.+Bands

I go to the dollar store and buy the elastic hair bands. (they are about a 1/2 wide band, soft material with a small metal clasp) These are soft and expand nicely to go over the pups head. They last about a week without getting snug at all. You can usually get 12 for a buck. At two to three weeks, I have cat collars that are also stretchy with a quick release. By the end of week three they are usually into their puppy collars.

I have also used hair scrunchies made of fabric, but those seemed to come off while mom is cleaning pups all the time.

I'm thinking of trying the nail polish.......:)

But yarn works better, ribbon seems to always work loose.