Whelping

Whelping can be quite traumatic and the bitches health and welfare is paramount, your bitch can show various signs that puppies are on their way by some or all of the following symptoms.
The first stage often goes unnoticed and can take place 24 hours or so in the temperature drop, the normal temperature can be anything between 99 – 101 degrees, it normally drops to around 98 degrees f, you should notice that your dam is much more restless trying to find a comfortable position depending on where the pups are lying, she stretch out on her side, be up and down looking for that comfort zone. She may even start staring into space or at you, she may start to follow you constantly not wanting to let you out of her sight or she may just go to a quiet corner or her whelping box if she has one, she could be sick, or feel she wants a bowel movement when she doesn’t, go off her food panting quite a lot and may have a discharge and her vulva may appear to be puffier.

You have moved onto the second stage when your dam moves into the area she is to whelp in and starts shivering although this is not because she is cold it is a nervous reaction, digging, panting, licking her vulva and constantly examining her rear end. At this stage she could be sick need the toilet and having mild contractions.

The Third stage is when the water sac becomes visible or breaks, the dam may still be shivering and panting and as the stage progresses so the panting and shivering gets stronger. The contractions will become much stronger and closer together at this stage she could start pushing and grunting. If the sac is present and the dam is pushing and grunting and throwing back her head for over an hour it would be advisable to contact your vet, always have his number to hand when your bitch is in whelp as many things can go wrong during delivery.

In my experience when the sac has appeared (the size of a golf ball) it usually takes the dam with the contractions about 30 minutes to expel the first pup.

Once the pup is born rub the pup vigorously to make them take that first breath, clear any mucus and membrane from them, using sterile scissors cut the umbilical chord if the mother hasn’t already done so.  Once the pup has made itself known in the world rub gently to dry it off and place onto the mother for its first feed. The other pups should follow without anymore hassle. Always keep an even temperature of warmth for the pups they are very susceptible to different temperatures.

After delivery is complete you can now clean up your dam and the area and making sure that all pups have “latched” on to the mother’s teats, have a cup of tea or something stronger if you prefer.

After this get out those scales and weigh each pup so that you can keep a proper record of how they are doing and you will know straight away those that are not doing so well.