# Poodle about to go into labor- any tips?



## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

It's been some years since I had a litter of pups in my home, but my daughter's toy poodle is due any time now. As best as I can guess, she's about 9 weeks along. The way I found out she was in heat was when I saw her mating with my male poodle out in the yard! We separated them, but apparently too late! :shocked: Anyway, I have her whelping box set up, & she's has been digging around a lot the last few hours. I put the box inside a big crate, as she kept going under my bed & hiding. Can anyone refresh my memory as to what I should be doing/watching for? 

Here is Dreamer as a puppy then adult...


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

Did the babies come? I'm not much help except to say to get a box ready for the mom and babies and I hope everything will go fine.


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

Nope, no babies yet, been about 61 days since I realized she was pregnant.Have read online I am supposed to tie a thread around the umbilical cords, was hoping someone would help me with that, I'll try elsewhere, & call the vet.


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## Kwings (Dec 21, 2010)

Don't tie off the cords, mom will take care of that herself. She chews it off which causes the cord to seal its self. 
Also don't cut the cords, IF you have to intervene, i read your supposed to try to use your fingernails and try to pinch it off the same way mom would with her teeth. 

Good luck! I think the average dog pregnancy lasts about 63 days? I read that recently. My dog just had a pup so I've read most of this stuff recently lol.


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## rhaige9 (Oct 31, 2010)

Watch for green goo. After the placents detaches the lack of blood will turn the goo green. Any green goo that goes on for a while with no puppy can mean problems. Call you vet and just let them know that you have a dog due, you don't expect any problems, but do they have an emergency number for after hours. My old vet was fantastic about letting me have her cell. She also volunteered t let me bring my dog in to whelp in the office, and olnly charge me if I had any problems or needed assistance. She came in and checked and gave advice, and I had the peace of mind, at no charge.


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## tailwagging (Jan 6, 2005)

green goo is common and normal but if it comes *before* the first puppy then that is a worry. it doesn't mean all will go wrong but is a worry, a real worry.
and let her eat the afterbirth of at lest two pups if she wants. they have hormones that are helpful in them.

clean hemostats to clamp off the cord is the best to have on hand, as well as towels to rub puppies. 

offer her water and small bits of cheese between pups. calcium will help with contractions and cool water make the pups squirm, stimulating more contractions. take her in to the vet within 24 hours after the pups for a "clean up" shot.


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

Thanks for all the tips! Still no puppies, the anticipation is killing me! I started taking her temp yesterday, was 99.9 & today was 98.9, so I would think it has to be soon!! :bored:


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Well jeez! I hope she has them soon!


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Well, let me see... you have the right temperatures for her to go into labor any time. Her first signs will be panting and digging. This can go on for hours (usually does) and possibly a day or so, don't worry about that. If she seems to go into real labor with straining and quits without starting up again, go to a vet. 

When she is serious, she will start to strain and push. Before there is a pup, there should be a water bag. It can come out like a little ballon - fluid in a tissue bag - or break on the way out. Then the pup will come. Sometimes I've had two water bags and two pups try to come out at the same time. This happens because the uterus in a dog is Y shaped, usually you'll get a pup from one horn, then the other. They often come fairly close together then a bit of a break before the next two. Two that come really close like that are usually ok, but could need help. 

The pup should come nose and front toes first. If their rear comes first, its not such a big deal, but do be sure they don't sit half out. If you have to help her get a pup out that is partway out, grasp what you can with a wash cloth (better traction) and pull gently *down* on it when she is straining. You can bruise them up this way, so use your judgment. 

When the puppy comes, the mother will usually take a brief break, then pass the afterbirth. There will be one for each puppy. She will be frantically licking the puppy and chewing at the cord. I keep a stack of clean washcloths handy. When the pup first comes out, I wrap a finger in a washcloth and hook my finger through the mouth to clear any membranes and dry the mouth. Then when it takes its first breath, its a lot less likely to inhale birthing fluids and rattle when it breathes and possibly get inhalation pneumonia. If its still really wet sounding (in the first few minutes), I use a nasal aspirator and clear the throat. 

If the mother seems competent, I let her chew the cord and eat the first 2-3 afterbirths. You may not have a lot of choice as to this, but its good. She gets nutrition and hormones that help her uterus to contract. Too many and she might also get a bit of an upset tummy or nasty stools. I often help with the umbilical cord by grasping it about 3/4" from the pups tummy with both hands and pulling TOWARDS the puppy to tear it. Tearing it causes less bleeding. Leaving too much can encourage the ***** to chew on it where it might get too short and bleed badly. 

If your mother passes a water bag and doesn't return to pushing hard and passing a puppy within 15-20 mins, I'd take her to the vet. Better to have the pup born at the vet's office than to need a c-section because it's stuck and not get it. 

I try to see and count all the placentas, it's usually pretty hard, esp. with a larger litter. I take them to the vet the day after the pups are born and have the mother checked out and get a shot to clear the uterus (which will encourage milk as well) and, if the labor was hard and the ***** had problems, I put them on antibiotics as well. 

At three days I take them back to have the dew claws done and have the vet check the mother again. If she gets a uterine infection from whelping it will show up about three days in as a thick tomato soup discharge that smells bad. It can be really painful and is an emergency situation. 

After all that, I'd say most whelpings are stressful, but go well. One word of warning, I found that no matter how careful I was, I did lose a certain percentage of my puppies. It was worse when I was breeding toy breeds - not sure what size your poodle is. That's always hard, but just understand you can't always control it and don't beat yourself up if it happens. 

What day are you on now? If she's running late (and you are SURE of when she was bred) and her temp goes down and back up (for more than a few hours) without her going into labor, I'd sure have her checked out. She may need a c-section to save her and hopefully the puppies. Mostly my bitches have whelped on the 61st day after breeding. 63 is ok, as you don't know exactly when the whelps have implanted, but 65 or so, if I were sure, I'd have them out. 

Good luck!


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

Thanks for all the help Granny Carol! Well, I am not positive exactly which day she was impregnated, but it has been 64 days since I thought she might be pregnant. I first saw her mating w/ my male poodle a week or 2 before that, didn't even know she was in heat. Her temp is 98.1 now, & the pups haven't been as wiggly this morning as they had been last few days, so maybe today is the day? She has been digging in her box, & hiding under my bed for several days. I do not work s I will be able to be with her. We are due for our FIRST snow all winter tonight, maybe the drop in pressure will bring the pups? :bored:


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Keep us posted! Hoping for babies today!


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## Oat Bucket Farm (Jul 28, 2006)

Keep us posted. I LOVE poodles. I bet the babies are going to so cute!


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

She is in labor now for sure...panting, shivering,crying...wants to be on my lap, I am trying to keep her in her box, but not having much luck...what to do??? How nerve wracking.:shocked:


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## farmmom (Jan 4, 2009)

If you can, just continue to hold her until time to push, then put her in the whelping box. At that point, she *may* be ready to stay put. She's nervous and wanting comforting, especially if this is a first litter.


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

One little red female pup so far...think I will name her Valentine or Sweetheart...  mama & baby doing just fine.....


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Yipeee! What a great Valentine gift for you!


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Sounds like things are going ok, though I'm hoping to hear of more progress by now - they do sometimes take a break between pups for a while and that's ok, as long as they haven't been really working on one and then quit. It's always nerve wracking. I remember all those years where I was always no better than how my pups were doing.  

I'm really glad to hear she's finally having them!


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

OK, that was SCARY!! The 2nd pup was big & got STUCK, I had to help deliver it!! She just seemed to give up & lay there after a long time of trying to push it's head out. Luckily we got it out, & I thought she was done, then here comes pup # 3, tail first!! All are nursing & seem OK! Will post pics in a while!


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

1st baby



















This guy got stuck! Thank goodness I was here to help!!



















Tail first!!!


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Wow! Thank goodness you were there to help! Whew! Congrats on the babies!


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

If you don't want people calling you to beg for adorable puppies or scream about how terrible you are for breeding your dog, you may want to blur your phone number on her tag in future photos.


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

Annnnnd we'll be requiring cute, fluffy, dry pix to coo over too.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I'm glad you were there, I hate for a ***** to whelp unattended, if nothing else, they like the encouragement. Now, once she is done and they are dry and doing well, she might see a vet for a quick checkup to be sure she's empty of pups and all is well. As long as she is relaxed, eating and resting well, I wouldn't worry too much. Do stand her up for a moment and feel to see if she is empty - the massage will help to bring in her milk too. 

I'd really recommend a visit to your vet when the pups are three days old to have tails docked and dewclaws removed. You may decide to leave the tails, no biggie, but if you have them docked, be sure they aren't too short - as a groomer its really hard to make a nice tail ball on a nubbin! Have your vet leave about 1/3 of the tail. There is a part at the base that is fat, then it obviously thins down, leave the fat part or even a little more. Longer is better than shorter. 

As for the dew claws, I REALLY recommend removing them on Poodle puppies. There again, I've been a groomer for a long time and dew claws and Poodle hair can make it very difficult to groom without having to really watch not to damage the dew claw in the hair. Also on hairy dogs the dew claws are easy to miss and the toenails are prone to growing back into the foot. On many breeds, I think it doesn't much matter, but the small breeds that require grooming are better off without dew claws and it only takes a moment at age 3 days, they don't really notice, if its done properly. 

At a three day checkup, the vet can examine all the pups and the mother to be sure everything is going well. If the mother is going to have problems, they will start to show up right about that time and can be treated right off, it always worked well for me. 

Congratulations! They are lovely puppies. That color is gorgeous.


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

Thanks, they all seem just fine! I spoke to the vet earlier, & am taking them to see him soon. We are lucky here to have a great old-time country vet, my family has gone to him & his father before him for several generations. I am so glad all went well, just a bit rocky for both of our first time, but happy to get 3 sweet little male red Valentines! I am sure my 4 year old will INSIST on naming them after the triplet boys in his class he talks about CONSTANTLY!


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

Oh, they are adorable!!! Congrats!


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Awwww.......I'm so happy for you


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

That's a really nice happy litter, enjoy them! 

Sounds good about the vet and I'm glad you were able to help her with the one.


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## farmmom (Jan 4, 2009)

Too cute!!


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)




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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

What are your plans for the babies (read...I want one) :ashamed:


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Great pictures and exactly how I want to see whelps their age. When I speak of a bright pink nose, that's it! They also have that nice "full" look and the right strong behavior to come together. If they were too hot, they'd spread out, if they were struggling, they wouldn't be so plump or able to crawl and find each other. Doing well!


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

I want to keep them ALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SO attached to them, after ENDLESS hours of Dreamer sitting on my lap & me feeling the little rascals wiggle, I already know them! I think that really helped during her labor,as they were used to me touching them & petting them, & I could feel them respond to me when I touched her tummy in labor. That second guy especially, I kept stroking him & etc until we finally worked him out...his little head kept popping in & out w/ every contraction, SO glad I finally got ahold of him! 
I was thinking, "Good grief, & people do this ON PURPOSE???" Someone better give me a tranquiler or something when my kids start having babies. :stars:
I was just thinking about homes for them a bit ago....personally, I think the best type of home for them would be with retired couples, who have the time to spend at home with them, as they just LOVE to be with their human all the time. Both my poodles are SUCH big Lap Dogs, they get SUPER attached to one person, & just want to be their shadow. They adore my children too, but with their small size it is dangerous for them to be around them. With mine, my son has cerebral palsy, so they had to get used to just scooting out of the way of his walker, rather than being trampled by a running toddler. Now that he is fully mobile, they are fast enough to outrun him! 
I have a friend who has 8 dogs already; how do I break it to her that I don't want to give one of these guys to her? I know how their parents are - - they want to be the center of attention, and guard their Person with their life. These pups wouldn't be happy in a pack. Any suggestions?


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## Kwings (Dec 21, 2010)

Kstornado11 said:


> I want to keep them ALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SO attached to them, after ENDLESS hours of Dreamer sitting on my lap & me feeling the little rascals wiggle, I already know them! I think that really helped during her labor,as they were used to me touching them & petting them, & I could feel them respond to me when I touched her tummy in labor. That second guy especially, I kept stroking him & etc until we finally worked him out...his little head kept popping in & out w/ every contraction, SO glad I finally got ahold of him!
> I was thinking, "Good grief, & people do this ON PURPOSE???" Someone better give me a tranquiler or something when my kids start having babies. :stars:
> I was just thinking about homes for them a bit ago....personally, I think the best type of home for them would be with retired couples, who have the time to spend at home with them, as they just LOVE to be with their human all the time. Both my poodles are SUCH big Lap Dogs, they get SUPER attached to one person, & just want to be their shadow. They adore my children too, but with their small size it is dangerous for them to be around them. With mine, my son has cerebral palsy, so they had to get used to just scooting out of the way of his walker, rather than being trampled by a running toddler. Now that he is fully mobile, they are fast enough to outrun him!
> I have a friend who has 8 dogs already; how do I break it to her that I don't want to give one of these guys to her? I know how their parents are - - they want to be the center of attention, and guard their Person with their life. These pups wouldn't be happy in a pack. Any suggestions?


Tell her you already have homes lined up for the pups?

or just be honest. Whats a friend for if you can't tell them the truth?


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

'I'm soooooo sorry. As soon as I posted pics of them on one of my online forums, I had *so* many people ask for them. If only I'd known ahead of time that you wanted one!"

Telling the truth would only offend your friend.

I have a friend I wouldn't give an animal cracker, much less anything alive!


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

yep....ramblinRose's answer is a good one. No need to hurt her feelings.


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

Good ideas!! I am sure it would be well cared for, but in knowing the breed & their personalities, they would be much happier in a home where they could "posses" their own person. My Male poodle JoJo really hates it when my big Doodle dog comes in, he sits on my lap & guards me,snarling at Doodle when he comes near. They get along great otherwise.


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