Puppies that won't hush... Litter of 17 hungry pups that's left the mother and her owner exhausted

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:26 PM on 20th December 2010

• 
  

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

Ramona Wegemann says she barely slept for more than a couple of minutes without interruption during about four weeks in an 'exhausting' struggle to make sure all 17 would survive.

She said today that when she was 'finished feeding the last puppy, the first was hungry again.'

Please mum, can we ALL have some more! These Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies make up around half of the 17-strong litter that 4-year-old bitch Etana gave birth to. Thanks to the help of exhausted owner Ramona Wegemann, all of the pups have survived

Wegemann's Rhodesian Ridgeback gave birth to eight female and nine male puppies on September 28 in Ebereschenhof near Berlin.

Wegemann, an animal psychiatrist, said when dogs give birth to so many puppies several of them die within the first week.

'But all of our puppies survived' she said. 'This is incredible and wonderful.'

Sphere: Related Content