# whelping bc- first time



## kirsten (Aug 29, 2005)

I have never had a pregnant dog before. She is due in a week I think, May 15th will be 60 days. 
I was wondering, how many days a dog usually takes to give birth?
Also, it is so strange but I could swear that her ribs have spread! She has always been a terribly skinny dog and no amount of food makes her normal sized in my opinion. I can't think she has many puppies in her but I swear her ribs look wider!

At this point, there is also some discharge. I assume you know where, has been for some days. Is this normal? She is sleeping a lot but still rounds up the sheep for us- just fetches them to the gate. The father is an aussie shepherd so I am looking forward to some great herding pups.

kirsten


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Get a thermometer. Stick it up her butt daily. 24 hours before she is due to deliver, the temp will drop slightly. That's when you'll have a heads up...sometimes it can be earlier than 24 hours but it's a safe rule.


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## james dilley (Mar 21, 2004)

Dogs are 67 days so are cats!! She should milk up A week or so befor. But then again She might get A bit aggitated A few days befor.


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## minifarmer (Mar 28, 2008)

In my experience, Usually a Dam will have a stringy, cloudy discharge from the vulva about 24 - 36 hours before birth. They often refuse food about the same time. They instinctively 'nest' by tearing paper, blankets, clothes, etc. right up to labor. They usually deliver 63 days from conception. (+ - 3 days) Once in labor, it can be anywhere from a few hours to a full day to see the first puppy. You should try to relax because she'll take cues from you and if you are fretting and fussing over her, she might stress out over the whole issue. If she goes over 70 days of gestation, I would have her looked at by the vets, or if she waits over 3 hours between pups, a call should be placed to the vets. Otherwise, best luck to you and your new mama.


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## NightmareRanch (Dec 24, 2006)

Start taking her temperature twice a day, every day. Write it down. When it drops below 99F you will usually see pups within 24-36 hours. My bitches seem to like 98.4F, they are pretty consistent about it. Milk doesn't mean anything. Some girls produce milk way ahead of time, some wait until after the pups are born. 

Go to the library and check out any books you can find on breeding and whelping dogs. They will help pass the time. Here is a good web site about whelping:

http://www.debbiejensen.com/

There are links on the left to pretty much anything you need to know.

Some bitches will carry up under their ribs, it's normal. When she is getting closer to her time, especially in a first litter, her belly will 'drop.' It will get kind of dangly and her flanks will hollow out some. In some bitches this is really obvious, in a very muscular girl not so much.

You should start seeing moving puppies in the last ten days of gestation. Pups heartbeats can be heard with a stethoscope the last two weeks, last three weeks if you are careful and patient.

A clear sticky discharge is normal, it usually starts about four or five weeks post breeding. It should NOT be colored (red, green, yellow), and it should NOT have any odor. Colored or stinky discharge means a trip to the vet.

I would probably not let her herd right now. A kick or bad fall close to the due date would be bad.

Jess


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Forgot to add my story. My pit bull was having her first litter. She was freaking out..thinking she was giving a giant poop when I told her it was okay to relax. Ended up she had the pups mostly on my BED! Had to throw out the bed because it was stained green and purple. Stunk bad too. She ended up having the rest of the pups in a kiddie swimming pool in the living room. She did end up having to have assistance because for some reason her pups were born healthy but with extremely short umbicical cords and if she tried to cut the cords..she would have ended up tearing out their stomaches so I had to douse my cutting tools in idione then cut the cords for her. Pups were fragile the first week then after that, they were fine. Her 2nd litter, she knew what to do and was much calmer.


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

Correction...dogs go from 59-65 days. Most whelp 63 days after breeding- but it is always 59 days after ovulation. If I had a ***** that was not whelping by day 65 we would be sceduling a c-section. You should take her off work at this point. She will get clumsy with her odd shape/weight and her ligaments are softening (to help in delivery), so she could injure herself not to mention a kick in the abdomen by livestock could injure her babies. They can stash more pups than you think...I have felt puppies move from under ribs to be born- just when I was thinking the previous was the last one. A clear or mucousy discharge is normal. As someone said, take her temp 2-3 times a day at the same time each day and watch for her temperature to have a severe drop- over a degree. You can expect the ***** to whelp within 24 hours of that drop. It will go back up though, so it is possible to miss the temp drop. You should have a whelping box prepared with newspapers for her to whelp on, that is large enough for the ***** and her puppies- but not so large that the puppies can get far away and get chilled. For my 45-55 lb girls I use a frame of 1 by 4's that is 12 inches high in back and sides, 4 inches high in front- box is 4 ft long by 3 ft deep. Put a heat lamp in the corner...that corner should be at least 90 degrees and will provide a very warm zone for the pups to rest in when they are not nursing. I layer lots of newspapers in the box for whelping. I take off the top layers as they get soiled. After she is finished, I dab the cords with iodine and have someone take the ***** out to potty while I change out the papers to a large piece of fleece with the frame on top (so babies can get enough traction to nurse and cannot get under the bedding- lost a pup that way once years ago), weight the pups (so I can keep track of weight gain or loss), check for cleft palates and give them each some nutri-drops (wonderful for giving pups energy to nurse and to turn a fading puppy around). Then mom is brought back in and offered some mothers pudding for energy and milk (instant vanilla pudding made to directions with 4 egg yolks added). I monitor the puppies for the first 72 hours until true milk comes in on a pretty constant basis with first time moms (I nap by the whelping box). I make sure everyone is settling in and actually nursing (not going through the motions and getting no milk). First time mom's may be nervous (and panting is normal) but if a ***** is really nervous and whining and pacing alot, I suspect a retained placenta or piece of one. You will want to call your vet out to give her a shot of oxytocin (clean out shot) and a shot of antibiotics at that point as she will be at risk for infection. Discharge afterwards can range from red to brown. If it is green, it means there is still some placenta left behind. I give puppies nutri-drops twice a day at weight checks and check for hydration (pulling skin up on back and checking to see how long it takes to return to normal-compare with the most vigorous pup in the litter). If everything goes well, the only other thing you need to do until pups start crawling out of the box is keep the bedding clean and dry and feed mom as much as she will eat in several meals a day. Good luck and keep us posted


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## kirsten (Aug 29, 2005)

She is going to whelp in a kiddie swimming pool in our sunroom. She doesn't know this yet though. Her 58th day is tomorrow so I guess I had better tell her where she is going to whelp! I told my cat where to have her kittens so I hope my dog listens too! Starting tomorrow when I leave, I will leave her in the sunroom and she will get the idea. We have a big blanket in there at present but maybe s smaller blanket and some papers would be better? Hmm...

I guess I won't let her work sheep at this point. Seems a bit late now- didn't realize that the 12th was day 58 already. 
I lamb so I hope I can whelp pretty successfully. 
I will let you know what happens in the next few days.

kirsten


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## Catbird (Oct 14, 2004)

Here is a site that you may find helpful  http://www.debbiejensen.com/


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

Careful with the kiddie pool, the puppies could get lain on, crushed when they get behind mom or stepped on if they get under the bedding. That is why I build a frame with a pig rail. Use papers for the whelping then switch to fleece, you can buy it reasonably at walmart and cut to size of the pool. I would use double sided carpet tape to help keep it down.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Willow,

That's a good one. I just slept by the kiddie pool for 1 week and then the pups were able to tell mom that they were being squeezed and they were able to start crawling OVER mom at that point. Collies may be different. My pit bull female was always careful with her pups when they were under 2 weeks old.


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

Collies are careful too for the most part, but - sometimes things happen...they may not realize one of the pups is behind them or under the bedding. They are trying to get everyone arranged and it is noisy with all the pups wanting to eat or they can miss the pup that got behind while they napped and roll over on it by accident. Some new mom's can be nervous- especially if there is a retained placenta and pace the box. Yes, the pups can tell mom if they are caught behind or underneath- if thier head is not pinned enough so they can do so. I have lost a pup from a very careful mom that got under the papers while I went to the bathroom.. When I came out and counted them searched and found it in the front of the box underneath the papers- part of skull was flat- she was devastated. Another ***** had stepped on the leg of one under papers and broke it. Since I went to the frame to hold bedding down and pig rails- no more accidents. Now since then I had one girl (very spoiled momma's girl) who wanted nothing to do with being a mother as it took away time from her being pampered. She would have to be held to nurse for more than a few minutes. She would get a pup behind her or under her and just lie there even though it was hollering. I spent 3 weeks- until pups were mobile enough to move out of the way by the whelping box. The girl thought they were great fun when they were older and not requiring lots of care and loved playing with them...just did not want to do the first few weeks. Needless to say that was her only litter, and I swore I would never spoil a girl to that degree again.


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## kirsten (Aug 29, 2005)

One more question.
Is it always obvious when the ***** is going to give birth soon?
I just read that the first stages of labor, when the dog goes nutty lasts a long time- 6-8 hours. Did all your dogs go nutty and were obviously in labor? I need to know if it is obvious all the time.


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## mamahen (May 11, 2002)

Not especially that long before - BUT when in hard labor, she would howl like a wolf!


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## NightmareRanch (Dec 24, 2006)

After the temperature drop the *****'s behavior can be highly variable. It might take a long time for cervix to open and for her to start stage one labor, or it might not. They might be in stage one for hours and hours or might progress to stage two (voluntary pushing) right away. I have had bitches start stage two labor six hour after the temperature drop, and some that waited thirty hours. Some nest vigorously during stage one, some mostly sleep. It will differ from pregnancy to pregnancy even with the same *****, sometimes. As long as the ***** does not wait too long (I will wait up to thirty-six hours from the temperature drop for stage two labor), and she doesn't seem to be in serious distress I don't worry too much.

Stage two labor is very obvious in most bitches, you can see them pushing. I have heard of bitches where it is not obvious (suddenly, POOF! puppy!) but mine always look like they are pushing. I have one girl that preferred to stand while pushing. A couple of mine would scream, or try to get in my lap. Sometimes they brace their legs against the side of the box, or against my legs.

Jess


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

most of mine do not show much signs until they are pretty close to stage 2 labor- they may pant and nest or get clingy, but I typically see that anyhow a few days before stage 2. I have been faked out twice by bitches. One was sleeping and not restless and panting at all, so I felt safe to run to the store right down the road...got back and she had a puppy on my clean laundry. Another was laying next to me watching tv, got up and walked around a bit and came back and laid down...I got up to go to the kitchen and noticed blood in the hall- looked around and there was a puppy in the sac in the corner of the other room. This one was also the ***** who did not care for being a mom. Fortunately, I found it quickly enough and she whelped the rest of the litter of 11 in the box. So no, not always obvious signs


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## kirsten (Aug 29, 2005)

Day 63- no puppies yet.
Last night she started panting and nesting so I slept beside her all night and nothing. Today she does not appear to be in any sort of labor at all. IN fact, she is quite bright eyed and bushy tailed today. She has to have them soon though! I only hope she waits until midnight, until I am home.
I think my dog will be very quiet. She is a quiet bc, I don't expect any howling- maybe whimpering but I will let you guys know how it goes. Just weird to start labor and quit it. I know it can last 18 hours but we are already almost at 18 hours. As long as she holds out until I am home from work tonight!


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

The panting and nesting was probably the beginning or braxton-hicks contractions. Have you been taking her temp several times a day? Any temp drop yet? Is there anyone that can sit with her while you go to work? Personally, I take vacation when my girls are due when I worked full time and with my paper route, I have a sub do my route (hubby or son) for that night or call me when she starts so I can rush home and have them finish route.


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## kirsten (Aug 29, 2005)

So the pups were born on saturday night, last week pretty much exactly 63 days and 3 hours after she was bred.
There was no drama. She panted and started shaking but was quiet. She was sitting next to me on the couch when woosh! her water broke on my leg and the couch. Forget about that part! Just watched my ewes lamb and there wasn't that woosh so it slipped my mind.
Anyway, I moved her into the sunroom and she had puppies from 11:30- 2:30 am. 7 of them. I had my face 2-6 inches from everything at all times. I broke the first 2 amniotic sacs myself becuase she was just licking them and I thought this was a faster deal than that. 

Her pups look like aussie shepherds and nothing like their bc mom at all. 4 blue and 3 red merle/brown pups. They are still dragging themselves around at a week. And my dog does not know how to pick them up with her mouth. When she is nursing all and one moves away, the pup whimpers, my dog whimpers, leaves all the other pups to go sit by the wayward one. My dog finds this stressful but I tell you, I tried to grab a couple by the scruff and boy did they scream- they did not like that at all. So maybe puppies are not like cats?

My ***** is eating like crazy. I buy her all canned food now and feed her as much as she will eat besides the other dog food. She is back to her skinny self. The pups seem fine and well fed. I didn't realize that they were born with their ears closed too. And now at a week, their ears are growing to flip forward.

Can I expect eyes open about 10 days?
At what age do puppies start eating dog food? About what age do they need to go outside?

Our ***** lets the male dog, the father, sniff the puppies for a little bit and he was even cleaning puppy butts today! She bares her teeth and sometimes lets out a bark at him when she wants him to leave but everyone is pretty peaceful here. I can't wait until they can walk and open their eyes. 

That is the news and I have to say that I am glad that she had a very quiet birth. I truly could not imagine a bc getting crazy like that, after all, she is a stealthy quiet breed. She does not even like voice commands, I use hand signals when getting the sheep. Anyway, good deal. I would have been quite upset had she been in any way noisy. My cat wasn't noisy either.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Don't pick the pups up by the scruff. Cup your hands and pick them up that way. Gives them ground support and causes them not to panic that much. I used to hold my pups at 2 days old several times a day..it helped.


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## kirsten (Aug 29, 2005)

I just tried the scruff once. I thought I might teach my dog. 

I still am so surprised that my male dog sits with the puppies and cleans them just like the mom.

How do you know if the pups are getting enough milk?


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