The Guinness World Record for the largest litter is 24 puppies. They were born in Cambridgeshire in 2004.A guide dog has given birth to a record litter of 16 puppies. They were born by caesarean section, one was still born, three died in the first week. There were nine women, 15 men in total.
Tia's full name is Abellatino Arabella. The number of puppies may have surprised poor Unity, who is a first-time mother with a huge calf now. The Jacobse family knows of a boxer in Texas who gave birth to 15 puppies several years ago, and another litter of 14 boxing puppies in Florida, but they believe Athena now holds the unofficial Canadian record for the largest litter of boxing puppies. The previous title of Australia's largest litter of puppies was shared by Melody the Dalmatian in Albury and Minnie the American bulldog, says the blog post, both with litters of 19 puppies.
She was raised with Trigger, a six-year-old Golden Retriever who is the most prolific stallion of Guide Dogs, having had 27 previous litters and fathered an astonishing 239 puppies. The title was previously awarded jointly to Melody the Dalmatian in Albury and Minnie the American bulldog, both with litters of 19 puppies. Despite being Unity's first pregnancy, her litter is more than twice the average size of German Shepherds and more than three times the average litter size across all breeds. The delivery led to a team of 10 veterinarians and nurses who removed an additional 18 puppies from the Neapolitan Mastiff, bringing their total litter to 21 puppies.
The Brisbane-based Animal Emergency Service shared an adorable video of newborn puppies mixing in cardboard boxes, just hours after birth. Although the new mother Shadow has missed the title of the Guinness Book of World Records (24 born to a Neapolitan mastiff in 200), she has broken the title of Australia's largest litter of puppies. Two of the dogs that could set records have already gone to new homes, much to the relief of Jacobse, who compares caring for the big litter to a full-time job. The Unity litter is twice the size of an average German Shepherd litter and three times the size of an overall dog litter.
All puppies will spend a week at the National Guide Dog Centre near Leamington Spa before being individually placed with volunteer puppy breeders across the UK.
