dog is almost ready to have pups. help please!?

Question

step daughter brought home a 6 mos. puppy that got pregnant about a week later. so she is about 7.5 months now. the pups should come in about a week and half. How will I know when she is in labor? I don't want to take unneeded days off from work. so how can i be sure that she is in labor. what do i need for her and for the pups when they arrive? right now i have her set upl in her own room with food, water several blankets and a matress on the floor. there is an air purifier in the room and the house is warm. what else do i need? she is australlian shepherd and the pups will be mixed with blue heeler

Answer 1

This would have been info to get ahead of time. Watch for restlessness, turning down food, nesting, etc. Has her milk come in yet? When it does that is another sign that she is getting close. After this litter, please have her spayed. She is way! too young to be having puppies for one, and you are just contributing to overpopulation.

Answer 2

If you are planning on keeping the mattress, even just for the dog you need to cover it with a mattress protector (plastic type for children who wet the bed, or elderly) because if she has those puppies on the mattress you will not be able to clean the blood and fluids out of it. Just cover it w/ an old sheet on top of the protector or move it out of the room until after the pups come.

You don't need to do anything, you don't even need to take time off of work. She will do what she needs to do whether you are there or not. Some dogs will let you near when they are birthing and others very much want their space.

(Typical dog)
When she goes into labor she will have a hard time getting comfortable. She might grunt or whine a little as she tries to settle down. She will pant and lick herself as she becomes more uncomfortable. Eventually she will deliver a pup, there will be a gush of fluid usually with some blood. The puppy will be in a sac, mom will pull away the sac and start licking the puppy. At about this time (sometimes it takes a while though) mom will deliver the afterbirth for this puppy. Mom will bite the umbelical cord and then eat the afterbirth - she needs to do this, do not take it away and do not try to help clean the puppy** or cut the cord.

**The only exception to cleaning a puppy for the mom is when she has a large litter and is just exhausted. I have helped clean a pup or kitten or two in this case. A DRY soft washcloth rubbed against the fur to dry the puppy. Mom will do the serious cleaning eventually, my concern is just wet vs. dry.

She will go through this process with each puppy. The only thing you can do is watch, I know it is exciting but trust me dogs are very good at this. Even the ones who haven't done it before. If you can get her to lay down you can gently feel her belly, try to determine how many pups - feel for heads and bums and divide by 2 =).

She is pretty young. You might want to take her to the vet and get his opinion on her size. Unless he anticipates complications I wouldn't take any time off work, just make sure that she is put in her room with water when you go to work each day. Just before you leave and immediately when you get home she should get to go outside.

Normally with a dog that age (esp. a pregnant one) I would leave the food down for her, but if no one is at home to let her out she just needs to be an AM/PM feeder right now.

Feel free to email me if I can answer anything else.

Also - if you are anywhere near South Texas I would like a puppy!

Hope that helps!

Jen

Answer 3

normally you will notice her pacing and panting. she will lay down and get right back up again. you may notice her abdomen getting hard and her pushing. if she's doing this for hours and pushing and not getting anywhere contact a vet. you need to now call your vet and ask what the reccomend you watch for and when you should consider it an emergency. get the emergency number from them and keep it on hand just in case. now would be a good time to take her to the vet and have them do an x-ray to check and see how many pups there are so you'll have an idea of how many she's going to have and if you need to call if you think she's retained one or one is stuck. once the pups are here and a few days old if they're healthy take them to the vet to be checked over and mom to be checked also. when the pups arrive just make sure mom is cleaning them, and nursing them. other than that for the first few weeks mom will provide all they need. you should be feeding mom a premium puppy food to keep her body up with all the pups are taking away from it. also ask your vet when they reccomend you bringing in the pups for their first deworming and vaccines. they will also want to deworm mom. good luck. and once the pups are weaned and you've found them wonderful homes make an appointment to have mom spayed. good luck.

Answer 4

Your dog will stop eating about 24 hours before she gives birth. When she is restless, it's almost time. Make sure she has a whelping box that is just big enough for her to stretch out in, so the pups can't wonder off; access to her milk is essential for the pups. Also, keep a vet's emergency number on hand, just in case of complications; a breach pup, etc. Until then, make sure she always has water and puppy food available to her.

Answer 5

Oh my dear lord, seven and a half months and pregnant? Please do take her to the vet and get her evaluated. I do not know for certain but with a puppy that young can't it be pretty dangerous to let them have puppies? And I think there was another question about getting a dog spayed while pregnant in the YA today... I think also that some answers from people with experience said they can be spayed while pregnant and be fine afterwards.

I would reccomend taking her to the vet. A vet will be able to tell you all the signs of labor and how to care for her and the pups properly when they arrive. Please get her spayed, now or later, but get her spayed.

Answer 6

Wow, that's way, way too young to have puppies. Poor puppy! She's just a baby! I hate to say this, but I hope this puppy survives this pregnancy. You need to take her to the vet, right away, and have her evaluated. Dog's don't even develop fully until they are 2 years old. This is a very dangerous situation. I feel so sorry, for that poor little baby. I hope everything works out. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just really shocked.

Answer 7

Everything you've done so far is great. When she is about to go into labor you will notice that see will start pacing around. Also her water will eventually break. When she does go into labor allow her to do most of the work unless you notice that any of the puppies is breached. If this is the case you will need to help her deliver the puppies .

Answer 8

Visit a veternarian, (s)he will tell you what you what is needed and should be done. I'm not sure if it is very safe to leave her home alone, she may need help when giving birth to her puppies (ask the doctor what should be done during the birth process, will she needed to be cleaned immediately after to avoid infection, and the new born puppies might need to be cleaned or put in clean, special places) Hope that helps!

Answer 9

if i mid wife for you can i have pick of the litter?dogs have been having pups for eons by themselves.toanswer your qestion....heavy or labored breathing is the first indication of labor.in my experience they usually wait till you are ready to retire for the night....lolthen they go into labor..be prepared to lose some sleep.p.s.you may come home after work to a beautiful litter of clean dry warm healthy pups...dont lose any sleep over it right now.as that time will come,ready or not.

Answer 10

first i'm only 10 so i might be wrong, but you shold remove the pups as soon as they are born so the mom doesn't kill them.