Pregnant Dog, Need knowledge....quick!?

Question

My miniature dachshund is about to deliver puppies. How do I know when she is in labor? It's been 60 days which is the normal gestation period. Thanks for all your answers.

Her puppies are moving inside of her. I can feel them.

Answer 1

A little long winded but loads of information about whelping (whelping is giving birth)

Pregnancy lasts about 63-65 days (and ranges between 60 and 67 days)
During the last day before whelping, the dog often becomes nervous and restless, and pant more than usual. Often her temperature drops about a degree several hours before whelping, and she may refuse to eat.

What are the stages of labour?
Stage I is when the cervix dilates and corresponds to the restless, panting behaviour of the 24 hours preceding whelping. Stage II is the delivery of the puppies, and is usually accomplished in 2 to 6 hours. Stage III is the passing of the placenta, which occurs after the birth of each puppy. The mother will remove the membranes and sever the umbilical cord, as well as eating the placenta. It is important not to interfere at this stage, as it is an important bonding time between the mother and puppy.


How do I know if my dog is in trouble?
There may be intermittent, active straining for several hours before the birth of the first puppy. However, constant, unrelenting straining without a puppy after 20 minutes is abnormal. Usually less than an hour passes before the delivery of subsequent puppies.

Puppies are normally born head first, although they can be born with the hind legs presented first. Breech births are when the rump is presented without any legs. Puppies can be born this way, but it usually causes more problems.

If you see green discharge before any puppies are born, you will need to take your dog to your veterinarian as it means that one or more of the placentas have separated.

Also, if the dog appears suddenly unwell, weak and lethargic, she will require veterinary attention. If there seems to be a copious amount of bleeding during whelping, you should seek advice.

Immediately after whelping, the discharge contains pigment that makes it appear dark green for up to 12 hours, and then it becomes reddish or red-brown, until within a few weeks it is an intermittent spotting.


How can you help?
If the mother makes no attempt to remove the membranes to allow the puppy to breathe, you will need to do it for her. Clear any debris from around the mouth and nose, then from the body with a towel. You need to stimulate the puppy to breathe and cry by rubbing it with the towel. If the puppy doesn't appear to be breathing and its tongue is turning blue, you can breathe air into its lungs through its nose. If the placenta is still attached, you need to sever it a few centimetres from the puppy's body.

Also, if you can see the puppy or a fluid-filled sac, and the puppy isn't born in 10 minutes, you can attempt to assist. To do this, break the sac so you can grasp the puppy. Pull downwards towards the dog's hind feet as she contracts. If this causes the dog too much distress, or you can't deliver the puppy, seek veterinary advice.

Put the puppies into a warm, dry, clean box while the rest of the litter is being born. Use a hot water bottle, heating pad, or heat lamp to keep the puppies warm until they can be returned to their mother. Once whelping is completed, clean the whelping box and return the puppies to the dog.

It is recommended to have your veterinarian check the mother and puppies within 24 hours of whelping to ensure they are healthy.

Dog's generally do not need assistance whelping, but if you feel you do need help, do not hesitate to call your vet.
Goodluck

Answer 2

Normal gestation is 63 days but they can go a few days earlier or later. So she is right on track. Her temp will drop below 99 and she should have pups within 12-24 hr.She will have a discharge. She will start nesting which means digging in her bedding frantically, she will pant excessively, you may see a fluid filled bag come out and that will be the sac holding the puppy. You will see her stretching, trying to push the puppies out. Before long you will have some adorable, crying, squirming hungry little babies.

Answer 3

Call your vet. Call an animal emergency room vet if you don't know your vet's home number.

It is too late for you to learn sufficiently about whelping females at this very, very late stage.

You will not be able to get good enough answers here, or anywhere else on the net in the next few hours to be able to be of assistance to your girl should she require it.

Get help NOW!

edited to say: YES, some dogs can deliver all by themselves, no problems. They will even shove the stillborn pups to the side for later removal, or simply eat them.

But many, many dogs, especially the Toys, need HELP! Help from humans. Help to get pups breathing due to a prolonged stay in the birth canal. Help because the female was mated to a larger male and the pups are too big to come out and she needs a c-section. Help because she panics, not knowing what is going on and runs around the house, screaming, with a pup 1/2 out, his neck snapped by his mother's terror. Help because after the pups are born, she doesn't know what to do with the little things (not all dogs have natural maternal instincts).

I've personally seen all of the above. Dogs don't ALWAYS have easy births, don't always 'know' what to do. Please call your vet, asap.

Answer 4

yeh i saw your other Q...i just can't get some people..i have to say i have NEVER come across a woman like this! i think i would have told her there is no way in heLL she is getting her hands those puppies! the worst case was a couple who had a huge flea and tick infestation and their dogs (2) had scabs and open wounds, where soo skinny you could see their ribs, and they were NOT happy..i mean thus must of happened for a while and don't know what kind of person can watch their dogs suffer day in and out for weeks and not give a shi*...hmmmmm

Answer 5

u will know, she will not want to do anything but lay around, make her a nice bed to have them on and she will stay there right before she has them. some dogs are whiners and some are quiet, so if she starts whining then u will know, she may not eat or drink much before she goes into labor, just keep an eye on her and u will notice the difference in her. most dogs usually go in labor around 10:00 at night.
but not all dogs

good luck and congrats on your extended family

Answer 6

63 days.. but can happen anytime now.. she might stop eating and thats a sign she is going into labor.. she might start scatching the floor, trying 2 build a nest.. a cardboard box with ripped up newpapers in it is good 4 her 2 have her babies in.. cut a horseshoe cut, but not all the way 2 the floor.. so she can get in and out.. good luck : )

Answer 7

Here is a good illutrsted site, to help you get ready> http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/whelping.html
Please, take her for a check up tomorrow.. It may well mean the difference between life and death..for her AND puppies..

Answer 8

you will know when she is about to give birth because the water will break, and she will start shredding her bedding. make sure to have a emergency vet number by you at all times. and when the puppies are born, if she does not lick their noses you need to dry up the mucos around the nose... if not, they can suffocate. also, make sure to have warm bedding and lots of blakets/towels! good luck!

Answer 9

1. 60 days is NOT the normal gestation. It's usually 62-63. But most people count from the wrong breeding date, so you'll hear a lot of erroneous answers on that.

2. You'll get a lot of answers here. But the problem is that your dog should have gone in for routine prenatal care at least 2-3 times during her pregnancy. That's just as important for dogs as it is for women. Your DVM would have gone over everything you need to know during those visits (it's too much to cover here.) We like to see the mom during the final week of pregnancy, no matter how many times we have seen them in earlier stages. (Too many reasons to go into here....but doing so can prevent the vast majority of complications that arise during whelping.)

3. Call your veterinarian first thing in the morning and schedule a checkup for her (tomorrow, if at all possible.) Do not wait *until* she's in labor to call them. They'll be able to tell you if everything seems okay with her and the pups, as well as go over everything you need to watch for/know about.


ETA: Sorry, but I just can't help myself.... You didn't just now find out she's pregnant. You've known for awhile. Why wait until she's about to deliver to bother even trying to find out anything, then acting as if it's suddenly *urgent* for people to answer you??? You've had weeks to ask this question. It didn't just happen.


Additional edit: Anastasia.... good article, but it is copyright infringement (illegal) to copy and paste things like that without providing a link to its source. :-/

Answer 10

Dogs unlike humans don't need help in delivery....They do it on their own....

Let her do her thing, she may get stressed if you are around to much...

The gestation period is 60-64 days