How should I prepare for my dog to have her pups?(DVM's/LVT's welcome to answer!)?

Question

My dog, Cookie, is a 7y/o Boston Terrier mix. She has a wonderful temperament, and we are looking forward to her whelping within the next 2-3 weeks. My husband and I are new to this aspect of pet ownership, so we would like some advice on how to prepare for the coming event and how to care for the puppies once they are here. Anything helpful would be appreciated! Thanks!

Answer 1

I went though the samething myself a few months ago and i found this information to be helpful. Good luck with the puppy birthing process.


Preparing for your dog's labor and puppy care can be both exciting and fun; still, awareness of potential problems is of paramount importance. It is a good idea to keep track of your dog's breeding date so as to know when to expect what.

After about 35 days of pregnancy, the mother's caloric requirements will begin to increase. In general, she should require about twice as much food as usual whereas, when she begins nursing, she will need three times as much food. Do not supplement calcium as this can cause metabolic imbalances; also, excess vitamins may be harmful to the puppies. The best nutritional plan is to buy a dog food approved for growth and feed according to the package; such diets are balanced and require no supplementation. Exercise of the pregnant mother need not be restricted until after the first 4 to 6 weeks of pregnancy.

Some time around the 45th day, your dog should be examined by a veterinarian. At this time, the skeletons of the unborn pups will have mineralized and are thus visible on a radiograph. Your dog's abdomen should be x-rayed so that you know how many pups to expect. Ultrasound may be used to confirm pregnancy much earlier (after 25 days, the embryonic heart may be seen beating) but it is more difficult to count the number of pups using this method.

A comfortable area should be set aside for whelping and raising the puppies. The mother should feel at home here and should be able to come and go as she likes while the puppies must remain confined.

The gestation period of the dog is considered to be 63 days though this is not written in stone and a normal range might be 58 to 68 days.

Impending Labor

When your dog's due date is approaching, you should begin monitoring her rectal temperature. When her temperature drops below 100F (normal canine temperature is 101F-102F), labor may be expected within 24 hours.

The First Stage of Labor

During this stage, uterine contractions begin. The mother will appear very restless and may pace, dig, shiver, pant, or even vomit. This is all normal and all an owner can do is see that the mother has water available should she want it.

The Second and Third Stages of Labor

The second stage is the hard labor stage in which the puppy is expelled. The third stage refers to the expulsion of the placenta and afterbirth. Each pup may not be followed by afterbirth; the mother may pass two pups and then two placentas. This is normal.

Puppies are born covered in membranes that must be cleaned away or the pup will suffocate. The mother will bite and lick the membranes away. Allow her a minute or two after birth to do this; if she does not do it, then you must clean the pup for her. Simply remove the slippery covering and rub the puppy with a clean towel. The umbilical cord may be tied in a knot about one inch from the pup and cut with scissors on the far side of the knot.

Expect one pup every 45 to 60 minutes with 10 to 30 minutes of hard straining. It is normal for your dog to take a rest partway through delivery, and she may not strain at all for up to 4 hours between pups. If she is seen straining hard for over an hour, or if she takes longer than a 4-hour break, consult a veterinarian.

Expect some puppies (probably half of them) to be born tail first. This is not abnormal for dogs.

Call Your Veterinarian If:

30 to 60 minutes of strong contractions occur with no puppy being produced.
Greater than four hours pass between pups and you know there are more inside.
She fails to go into labor within 24 hours of her temperature drop.
She is in obvious extreme pain.
Greater than 70 days of gestation have passed.
It is normal for the mother to spike a fever in the 24 to 48 hours following birth. This fever should not be accompanied by clinical signs of illness.

Normal vaginal discharge after parturition should be odorless and may be green, dark red-brown or bloody and may persist in small amounts for up to 8 weeks.

Problems to Watch For

Metritis (Inflammation of the Uterus)
Signs of this condition are as follows:

fever
foul-smelling vaginal discharge
listlessness
loss of appetite
no interest in the puppies
decreased milk production
If these signs are noted, usually in the first day or two postpartum, a veterinarian should be consulted. Your dog may have retained a placenta or have suffered some trauma during delivery. Animals who have required assistance with delivery are often predisposed to metritis.

Eclampsia
This condition results when the mother has trouble supporting the calcium demand of lactation. Calcium supplementation predisposes a mother to this condition. Usually affected animals are small dogs. They demonstrate:

nervousness and restlessness
no interest in or even aggression towards the pups
stiff, painful gait
This progresses to:

muscle spasms
inability to stand
fever
seizures
This condition generally occurs in the first 3 weeks of lactation and a veterinarian should be consulted immediately.

Mastitis (Inflammation of the Breasts)
Normal nursing glands are soft and enlarged. Diseased glands are red, hard, and painful. In general, the mother does not act sick; the disease is confined to the mammary tissue. The mother may be sore and discourage the pups from nursing; however, it is important to keep the pups nursing the affected glands. This is not harmful to the puppies and helps flush out the infected material. Hot packing may be helpful.

Problems with the Puppies
Newborn puppies should spend their time feeding and sleeping; they are not very playful or active for the first week. Puppies that nurse poorly, cry constantly, or do not sleep with the rest of the litter are in trouble and should be examined by the veterinarian. Ideally the puppies should be weighed shortly after birth and should be expected to gain 5% to 10% of their birth weight daily. (A small weight loss in the first day of life is normal but this should be less than 10% of their initial weight.) Puppies that do not gain weight properly are in trouble and should be checked by the veterinarian. It is helpful if puppies are weighed at least daily to be sure they are growing properly. Very young puppies have clear or slightly yellow-tinged urine. Obviously yellow urine is a sign of dehydration.

If you think their is a problem with the mother or any of the puppies, contact your veterinarian. Examination may be needed for the mother and entire litter, not just the individual who appears sick.

Most dogs are excellent mothers and problems are few. The basic rule is to seek veterinary care if she seems to feel sick or if she ceases to care for her young. Puppies nurse until they are about 6 weeks old and then may be adopted by new homes.

Answer 2

Do research on whelping online. There is a lot of great info out there from other breeders.
Personally, having just delivered and have successfully raised 7 english springer pups from birth (no deaths, all lived) I would take her to the vet and have her x-rayed. This is a great way to know how many puppies she is going to have so you know when she is finished whelping or not.
About a week before, shave her belly all around her nipples to remove excess hair so the puppies have an easier time finding the nipples.
Have warm towels in the dryer going when she starts delivering also. You may have to vigorously rub the puppies with these towels to get them stimulated enough to get breathing correctly. Use a infant bulb sucker on their noses and mouths to remove excess fluids. Have your vet on stand by when she starts whelping in case any questions or problems arise.

Go ahead and buy some pedialyte unflavored in case some of the pups seem a bit dehydrated. You can tell when you lift up the skin on the back of their necks... if the skin goes down slow - they might be a bit dehydrated. The skin should snap back quickly. do not give it too them too quickly - just a drop or two at a time from an eye dropper. You can drown their lungs if you put too much in there at a time.

Make sure that the room stays between 77-85 degrees. The best thing we used was a heat lamp at the corner of the box the puppies are in so the pups can move to or away from the light depending on if they are hot or cold. I also kept a thermometer inside the box at all times so I could monitor it closely. The number one killer of puppies is getting too cold. Their little stomachs don't digest milk properly when they are too cold and it can sour in their bellies.
Just look up the info on the net and talk to your vet! Good luck! Hope I was of some help! pups are a full time job!

Answer 3

I just recently has puppies too, and believe me, it sounds like alot of work but really it isn't!!

While ultimately, your dog is going to have puppies where she pleases, there have been many suggestions that if you set up a Whelmping box ((A large box with sides short enough for her to step in and out of but tall enough to hold the puppies)) in a place she's comfortable and encourage her to go there all the time, she'll have the puppies there.

Now and after, try to keep the house and definately the floors very clean, don't worry about her going to the bathroom around the puppies after they're born if she's not house-trained, it's her instinct to keep her puppies area clean.

I would also suggest getting her some vitamins, they help give extra nutrience that her and her puppies milk really need. Alot of dogs won't eat pills so get the sort of chalky vitamins that you can break up easily into very small peices or even into a powder over her food.

And as for her food, wet puppy food is really the best thing to feed her right now and afterwords until the puppies are done nursing, but that can get expensive, so you can also just buy dry puppy food that's just as good.

During the delivery, what you'll want to do is either have a friend that knows about this on call or call up an emergency vet line, they'll walk you through it. It's also best to take your puppies for a check-up not long after their born, maybe a day or two, or sooner if you think there's a problem.

Now I know that everyone will want to pick the puppies up and kiss them, but unless your dog has shown no signs of feeling threatened ((growling, barking, ect)) do NOT let hold or get too close to the puppy as it stresses her out, and come on, she's tired enough as it is! lol

Mainly though, be very loving to her, she's probably very scared right now as she doesn't know what exactly is happening and needs your support and care before and after birth. Make sure to give her some time where your attention is only on her so she doesn't start feeling neglected or replaced by the puppies.

Hope I've helped!

Answer 4

you need to take her to your vet for a prenatal check up. have some x-rays done so you can know how many pups to expect and they will tell you what their warning signs of trouble are. get a nesting box and start getting mom comfortable with it now. have puppy safe heating pads ready incase you need them. and have a small can of puppy replacement formula incase you get into trouble with mom's milk production and it's on the weekend or middle of the night. now i just have to add, i do not and never will condone breeding a mixed breed dog. there are enough of these pups around. and waiting to breed your dog until 7 years of age has put her at serious risk for a pyometria. this is where the uterus fills with pus. you need to ask your vet for what signs to watch for after the pups are born. as well as other reproductive cancers. i'm sorry you probably didn't want to hear that, but as an RVT i cannot honestly answer your question without pointing that out. her being 7 is like putting a 55-63 year old womans body through pregnancy. read all you can on puppy whelping. monitor mom for heavy panting and being lethargic will muscle tremors after birth, all signs of calcuim imbalance. and before whelping monitor mom for a drop in temp, milk coming from her teets, and "nesting". once you see this labor should being within 24 hours or less. she will circle several times, lay down get back up and you might see her abdomen getting hard and her pushing. let her be, but keep checking on her. remember a watched pot never boils, it can take an hour or so between pups and your vet when you take her in for the prenatal check will be able to tell you what their proticol is for when you need medical intervention. good luck with mom and the pups. and please have her spayed after the pups are weaned and she is healthy enough according to your vet.

Answer 5

Due to her age and her breed, she may have to have a c-section. I would take her to the vet (if you have not already) and have them do an x-ray to she what she is expecting (approximate number mainly). To be honest, it may be safer to do a scheduled c-section rather than let her try to have them on their own, plus you can have the vet spay her at the same time (if desired).

I use a kiddie pool and surrounded by an exercise pen for the whelping box, but you can also make one. I line the pool with newspapers, potty pads, and towels; and I also put a heating pad in just turned on low to insure that they puppies stay warm. I get up and check on the new mom and her puppies every 2 hours for the first week. Also, if she isn't on puppy food yet she should be switched to it ASAP.

Answer 6

If you type in dog whelping in your search bar you will find alot of helpful information, all I can say is read, read, read. But honestly all the reading will not prepare you for whelping, I went through it 5 weeks ago and it was the hardest thing I have ever done. She had the first 3 easy even though they were all breech, the fourth one was breech and he got stuck by the time we got him out we couldn't save him, we tried for 20 minutes before we stopped, and the fifth one was really little for the breed and she only lived for 34 hours. I am getting my girl spayed as soon as she is done nursing, I thought breeding was something I wanted to get into but after that experience I now know that I will have all of my animals spayed or neutered as soon as they are old enough. Good luck..

Answer 7

Lay out like a old sheet or blanket that she can lie down on to be comfortable to have the pups and you can discard it after she has them.when she starts having the pups you may have to help pull them out and cut the birthing sack and mom will eat the sack and start to clean them and then you can just put them on the nipples to start feeding.When they are all born you may have to get a big enough box or closed off room with hard floors to keep the puppies from going everywhere and easy cleaning.Once they open their eyes and get off the feeding of mom then you can start them on evaporated milk and then later on mix it with the puppy chow till they start feeding on their own with just the puppy chow.

Answer 8

Good Gravy, Wonder! : ) Here in Utah, with all the Mormons who DO beleive in God, they view saying that phrase as taking the Lords name in vain. Many God believing religions frown upon using the Lords name in such a negative manner. You will Rarely hear this phrase in Utah, unless you are at my house. They won't even say Good God, unless in the blessing before they eat food, play a sport or have a social event. (they pray about everything...) Instead, you will hear the phrase "Oh My Hell". Now, I don't know about anyone else, but Hell is NOT mine and I will NOT claim it as my own. EVER. That's worse than Oh My God, because for people who beleive in God, they are claiming God as theirs. Wouldn't that be a good thing? I will not be caught saying Oh My Hell. I'll say Oh Good Gravy instead. Or my cute little mormon friends will just have to understand that I say OH MY GOD! Sometimes I'll say Oh my goodness! I know someone who says "Oh My Word". Sounds stupid, but it works.

Answer 9

vet is the best way for this and i'm a real RN and can tell you to take her to the vet.