Whelping Stories - A Midwoof Call
Labor begins...
I am whelping a dog, today. Her owners brought her to me the other day, and I started taking temperatures. They ranged between 99.5 and 100.5, but last night, I had...
5:30 PM, 99.3
7:00 PM 99.0
8:00 PM 98.9
9:00 PM 98.8
10:00 PM 98.7 ( I know I HAVE to get up and take the temp in 4 hours) so set the alarm.
1:00AM 98.0 We have our drop, (undetected pre labour has started)
4:00AM 98.4 some nesting behavior.
6:30AM 98.4 more nesting, refuses to eat breakfast.
I have taken some pictures to show other things that have happened in the last day. I KNOW she is in prelabour, ONLY from the temperature.
The refusal to eat Canned Tripe, or any favorite treat is another.
Here is another sign, she has frequent small pees... at this time, it is fair, to give your dam an indoor potty area in the whelping room, as she feels pressure, and will want to try and pee every 20 minutes.
This is the position she has been in for a couple days, stretched out, to get pups lined up.
Her mucus plug has been letting go for the last few days, and her Vulva area has really swelled up.
We always hope that milk (colostrum) comes in Before Whelping. The above picture shows a dry teat.
We have colostrum, the yellow pre-milk. YIPEE.. we are ready.
Colostrum coming from the teat.
To check for colostrum, you have to get BELOW the milk ducts.
And then express the milk towards the teat. Do NOT squeeze the teat, the milk is much farther back.
It is 9:30am and we have some moaning - Normal vomit clear liquid
9:45am - Water broke - I chewed up a tum and spat in the dams mouth, for calcium
10:46am - Strong pushing contractions. An internal, gloved lube finger, exam shows puppy entering the birth canal.
Dam is pushing pup number 1
SHOOT, a pup is breach, one foot STUCK
Get out the lube, to inject it up past the puppy...
Making some progress, pulling on each contraction...
Got to here, but NOW STUCK SOLID - feet are wiggling, this puppy is gonna die.
Pups goes lifeless - It MUST COME OUT... but it will not.
I PULL, Nothing to loose, as you cannot kill an already dead puppy, Dam screams and sinks her teeth in my hand... OUCH.
(Picture taken 8 hours after the bite) A dog bite can really hurt. But remember, giving birth can make the dam (like people) do these things. Some dogs, will bite the puppy, that is hurting them... so be prepared, and keep a close watch, when a problem, hard birthing is present.
11:08am girl, lifeless, but I was able to revive her. Dew claws are removed, and she is nursing.
If you breed, PLEASE learn how to revive puppies!
Pup number 2...
11:18am contractions - push push.
11:28am REALLY pushing and a bubble appears.
11:39am still pushing hard, feet appear.
Shoot, another stuck puppy.
I had to pull this one harder...
This pup was really stuck
And the feet stopped wiggling. This puppy was born, white, blue and lifeless. It took me longer to revive him, but I did.
PHWEW - Please learn how to revive puppies, as puppies that appear to be born dead, CAN be revived, and are not always as dead as you think they are. Do NOT set them aside. Rough them up. Get him under heat, and give him a good rubbing to make him mad... get gently aggressive. HEAD down to drain the mucus. PLEASE learn from your vet or mentor on HOW to revive a puppy, BEFORE you whelp.
These puppies shoulders are too big to pass easily... 200grams, is 7oz.
Pup number 3 coming out head first.
Puppy takes his first breath, and gasps... this is a good sign... and exactly what you want.
Pup number 4 came easy at 12:30pm. She did it all on her own. This one is a normal birth. Pup is in the sac. Now I break the sac and get the pup going.
There were 4 pups born to this litter, and all 4 are doing well. Photo submitted by Annie
Mom and puppies, on day 3. Each puppy has gained 12 grams per day.
Puppies at 3 days old
Puppies at 3 days old
Courtesy of MistyTrails Havanese
