Dachshund surprises owner with 11 puppies

At just a couple of weeks old, the puppies' eyes have not fully opened yet

A dog owner says he was "very shocked" when his dachshund gave birth to a litter of 11 puppies - more than twice as many as were expected.

Ian Rampley, from Fordham, Cambridgeshire, said he had been expecting his dog Mollie to give birth to about four puppies, as that was how many had appeared on a scan.

"The plan was four, maybe six," he said. "I'm very shocked."

Mr Rampley said Mollie and her puppies were doing well and he had not decided how many of the offspring he would keep.

Ian Rampley was only expecting about four puppies

He said the experience had been "a whirlwind".

"It's been fantastic," he said. "Mollie has been a great mother. It's the first time it's ever happened to us and it's been amazing.

"Four were seen [on the scan] and another possible two, so we were expecting six and then the seventh one came and then the eighth. It was just unbelievable really.

"When she got to the 11th, we were still wondering for another couple of hours if there was another one to come."

Ian Rampley has not decided how many puppies of the new litter he will keep

Mr Rampley said he would look to rehome some of the dogs, despite wanting to keep them all.

He said they had been born about two weeks ago and it had been "very expensive" getting them registered, vaccinated and microchipped.