Special sausages: Record-setting Leicester dachshund gives birth to 11 puppies

Winnie was only expected to have six puppies, so when she eventually gave birth to 11 it came as a big shock to her owner. Credit: SWNS

A dachshund has given birth to what her owner believes could be a record number of pups for the breed.

Rayma Jones, 23, from Leicestershire, has had three-year-old Winnie since she was just seven months old.

The dachshund, also known as a sausage dog, became pregnant around three months ago, and a 35-day scan showed she was due to have six pups.

Winnie's wiry hair is a silver dapple colour, and her pups completely vary in colour - from silver to chocolate to tan. Credit: SWNS

Five days before her due date, Winnie began digging and stamping on her bed - signs that she was ready to give birth.

At 11:30pm, Rayma heard a squeaking noise as Winnie gave birth to her first pup.

Another came two hours later, followed by four more, 20 minutes apart.

Winnie's sixth, seventh and eighth puppies were born seven minutes apart and, 40 minutes later, along came number 10.

The pups were all born in the same night. Credit: SWNS

Rayma finally went to bed at 6:30am after helping Winnie give birth, and believed that her labour had finished.

She could not believe it when she checked on Winnie four hours later, and counted 11 pups overall.

Dachshunds typically give birth to between one and six pups, so Winnie's special achievement could be the largest ever litter for the breed - although Guinness World Records does not keep records for individual dog breeds.

Another sausage dog called Cheesecake gave birth to a huge brood of 10 pups in September 2021, but now Winnie has overtaken her.

Rayma was completely taken aback by the size of Winnie's litter. Credit: SWNS

The largest litter of puppies ever is 24, all of whom were born in the UK on November 29 2004 to Tia, a Neapolitan mastiff.

Rayma plans to sell the puppies once they turn eight weeks old. They typically sell for between a few hundred pounds and £2,500, and the stay-at-home dog mum said: "I can't live with 11 puppies or I'll become the crazy dog lady!

"I was amazed [by the litter]. I just kept counting them over and over," she added. "She's such a great mum. I'm overwhelmed that she could have had a world record number of puppies."

The pups can only leave their mum after eight weeks. Credit: SWNS

Winnie has ten nipples, so she can almost feed all of her pups simultaneously, which Rayma says is "very sweet to watch". "She never wants to leave them, and if she hears another dog she's right there next to them," she added.

Winnie's wiry hair is a silver dapple colour, and her pups completely vary in colour - from silver to chocolate to tan.

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