Whelping Puppies
Whelping puppies is not always easy. Sometimes it takes
an experienced helping hand.
Some breeds whelp easy, and some do not.
Even some lines of the same breed, will free whelp easy, and other lines, and
pedigrees, seem to have repetitive problems.
What to expect
Your Female will show some of these signs or all of them. If your experience is
not normal from things you have read, you should call your vet. Delaying HELP
from a Vet could endanger your Dam and pups. This is a time to remember to be
Safe rather than sorry
First stage of Labor:
(This stage often goes un-noticed, and takes place in the 24
hours following temperature drop)
Temperature FINALLY drops to 98°F from its
normal 99,100,101°F (you should have been
taking it regularly for a few days)
If you are really committed, the
temperature taking does work. You will find her temperature around 99 to 101,
and as soon as it starts to drop, below 99, and continues to drop. (now
you take it every hour or two) ;you have about 12-24 hours from the start
of the drop. When it bottoms out, to 98 or 97.9, then you have about 2-12
hours.
You may find your dam much more restless, and not able to get comfortable. She
will stretch out on her side.
You may find her eyes different, they can dilate, and she can stare at you.
She may not want you out of her site. She may go to her whelp box.
She may vomit. She may try to have a bowel movement from the pressure. She may
urinate frequent.
She will refuse to eat, and seek a quite spot, like a closet or under a bed.
She may have some mucus discharge, and her Vulva area will become puffier.
The normal body temperature for animals is generally higher than for humans. The normal rectal temperature of a dog is 99.5° to 102.5°F. The normal temperature of a puppy at birth is 96-97°F. The temperature gradually increases with age until it is 100°F at 4 weeks of age.
Second Stage of Labor:
Your female may go to her whelp box, or couch, or wherever she has chosen to
have her pups, & start digging.
She may start shivering and Panting, examining her rear, and licking her vulva.
She may have mild contractions, vomiting, pooping and urinating more.
Warning Signs: Twitching, green discharge. (Green discharge is only Normal
AFTER a pup is born)
At the first sign of a contraction, give
her some calcium. Offer her vanilla Ice cream, or chew a tum and spit in her
mouth, or use Calsorb.
Third stage of Labor:
Water sacs present, and break
Shivering and Panting may continue and get stronger. AS well as digging.
Contractions will become stronger and closer together.
Vomiting, grunting and pushing.
Warning Signs: pushing on a pup for over an hour causing exhaustion (more
warning signs listed below)
Normal and preferred time, to push on one puppy
that is in the birth canal, is 2 to 10 minutes.
A puppy 1/2 out and stuck and breech, must be pulled out, or it will drown. If
pushing doesn't get this puppy out within a few minutes.
One must be prepared for some interesting scenarios.
It is a great tool to do x-rays on day 55/56, to determine
size and number of puppies. x-rays can be done sooner, but later gives you more
information on puppy size, and knowing that the last puppy is out is comforting.
X-rays may show a large puppy, and then one can anticipate a difficult
delivery, and have the Vet on call. (He should be on call either way, as you
never know what problems may arise.) Like these large pups can get stuck in the
birth canal. To help the pup along, grip the pup carefully with a clean dry
towel, rotate it slightly from side to side and then as the Dam has a
contraction, pull steadily downwards and across the Dams belly, towards her
head.
I have had a large puppy get stuck in the birth canal, {Pelvic Canal
Obstruction} and put the entire litter
and Dam at risk. In this case, my Vet called it "A Puppy Stuck in the Door". The
Puppy had to come out the birth Canal. His head was out and he was breathing (as
Dam broke the sac). I had to hold his head to make sure he did not go back in.
He was stuck tight, and contractions stopped. My Vets advise was to get out the
dish soap. It worked. All soaped up, I pulled and out he came. Without the dish
soap trick, I couldn't pull him out without hurting him-he was just too big for
the Dam. The dam was so exhausted, she couldn't deliver the rest of her pups,
and contractions stopped... So the rest was a C-section. Saving all puppies,
but
with another whelping this same situation could take place, but with the puppy
breach. A breach puppy that gets stuck in the door, is often born still born, by
drowning, or a pinched cord, or ??? If your puppy is still born, try to revive
him or her... Often they will come back, but often they will not. Keep trying to
revive for up to ˝ an hour, it is not
uncommon for a puppy to take 20 minutes, to come around.
Stuck puppies are VERY common. They come
out better with lubrication, the BEST way to get them out, is to have a feeding
tube, and a syringe. Insert the syringe past the puppy, and push in k-y
lubricating jelly.
The pup must come out.
It is also helpful to know, YOU CANNOT KILL a dead puppy, so you have nothing to
loose, and everything to gain, by being aggressive and TRYING to save a stuck
puppy, as if you leave it stuck , breach, then it will surely die.
Pre-Eclampsia/Eclampsia (which normally can happen 10 days after whelping,
can also happen with a large litter, and more in toy breeds in the last few days
of pregnancy. Hypocalcimic shaking & pre-labor shaking can seem the same at
first), but if Dam is hypocalcimic, and gets eclampsia, the shaking quickly
turns to Convulsions, muscle weakness, muscle tremors, spasms, rigidy and
twitching needing immediate Vet assistance before seizures, coma and death. It
is wise to give your Dam calcium when pups are 5 days old, (for the next few
weeks. The easiest way is one Tum a day. Tums are a great calcium supplement.
Eclampsia (sometimes referred to as Milk Fever) is a very serious condition, and
can come on suddenly. It is caused from a shortage of Calcium in the
Bloodstream.
Uterine Inertia can happen also with a large litter or large
pups. She will fail with weak attempts to deliver the pups. She may not even
show contractions as her uterus is too stretched. The biggest cause of this, is
from too much calcium, in the diet, while pregnant. it is they way to mess up a
breeding. NOW, I limit calcium at pregnancy stage, and give it at labor stage,
and my deliveries are noticeably better, and less c-sections.
Rupture of the Uterus, torsion or hemorrhage, can happen. The
Dam will pass heavy , ongoing flow of blood, from Vulva, this is a medical Vet
emergency.
Green Discharge- before puppy birth, means early separation of placentas. Call
the Vet. Sometimes this is okay, if the puppy is to come soon, sometimes not.
Normally we do not like to see green discharge until After a puppy is born.
If two pups try and come out at the same time, it is
physically impossible. This may be a cause for concern. This presentation is
best discussed with your Vet. It could be a medical emergency, or things could
just fix themselves if you are comfortable waiting. Call your Vet for his
advice, as every situation is different. This situation needs an experienced
hand. Delivery could progress uneventful, or delivery could get held up and
stop.
| If you are comfortable to do an internal
exam, this is the time. With a gloved finger, you must push the puppies, back
up, every so gently. Often, if you push one puppy back, the other puppy will
slide into the birth canal. |
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Abnormal presentation of 2 sacs |
Normal presentation of 1 sac |
Sometimes
you have to stimulate the contractions, if she pushes so long that she isn't
contracting any longer. Doing that is called feathering. It is done with a
finger in the birth canal, and you stroke inside with your finger. You can have
an extremely easy delivery, right out of the book, but you may also have
situations which require experience.
Your Dam could be
progressing normally. Deliver 2 pups, and then shut down. So after 3 hours and
no pups, and no contractions, you need to outguess as to whether every is Okay,
and she is having a rest (which can be normal) or if there is a problem. ((Time
to Call the Vet)) On a recent litter, after 3 hours of nothing, we went to the
Vets, we got a shot of Oxytocin, and that made a small contraction. We did
another shot of Oxytocin under Vet care, and still only a small contraction. The
contractions were not pushing the puppies down to the birth canal. We both
decided it was time for a C-section, knowing that we could be interfering with
nature, and she could start up again. Once the C-section was complete, the vet
informed me that the C-section Was necessary, and that her contractions had
pushed 2 pups out, and 2 forward. The 2 that had moved forward, were so far up,
that she would not have gotten them out. Decisions like this are sometimes hard
to make, but it sure feels good in the end, when you called for professional
Veterinary help. Remember, if something doesn't seem right, CALL your VET.
I personally do not like Oxytocin, Calcium works much better. I may agree to one
shot, or two of Oxytocin, but generally it will cause placentas to detach, and
the loss of a puppy.
Premature delivery: Pups
born before day 58, have a low survival rate, as the lungs are not developed.
This is a puppy still in the
sack, it had just come out when the picture was taken. This
particular whelping was a VERY difficult delivery, however all the
pups are doing well. The first pup was stuck in a breech position.
The dam pushed for 2 hours. All I had was feet. I called the vet,
nearly went in at 1am, but I used joe lube, and syringed the lube
inside her, and pulled. Pup number three, I am gonna call JOE, as he
was stuck the worse, but his head was out. They were 7oz puppies,
which are hard for a 7lb dam to get out. Last one born was a breeze.
The dam is happy, all is well, I will try and sleep.
C-sections are always the
last resort, and are sometimes unavoidable, like if two pups try to come out at
once, or the puppies are too large to pass through, or if Dam is just too
exhausted to carry on after failing to pass puppies. There are a wide variety of
problems you may be confronted with. Keep your Vet posted of progress. Do NOT
hesitate to call the Vet if you have questions. You are dealing with life and
death and it is better to take all precautions. Do not feel guilty calling on
your Vet several times if you are unsure what to do. He is the professional. On
Day 58 you should also start taking Dams temp 3 times per day. A Dams temp will
drop from the normal 101.4 to 98+degrees when the first stage of labor begins.
hard labor usually begins within 24 hours of this temp drop.
As soon as you know your Dam is in pre-labor, it is wise
to contact your Vet to make sure he is on call. There are so many scenarios. In
case of anything out of the ordinary, consult your Vet. This section is here to
let you know, that you can have 6 different litters, and be given 6 different
scenarios. Some books say do not let your pup have heavy contractions for more
than ˝ hour without producing a pup, some
say 3 hours. Some say 4. Each Whelping is different. You cannot put time limits
on, as every situation is different. You must study, and know the warning signs
of problems and there are many. If something doesn't seem right, contact your
Vet. ""Sooner is Better than Later""
Even after the whelping is finished, problems can come.
A new Mom, may have doubts about these puppy things, especially if she had a
hard whelping The faster you get all the pups nursing the better. They will get
the needed colostrums, and the Dam will produce hormones that will actually turn
her into a better loving mom. Keep her fluids up, and give her a bowl of warm
broth. Some puppies do not take to nursing, BE PREPARED to be up around the
clock. Feeding a slow starting puppy that just will not nurse. Have Canine Puppy
milk replacer on hand. Hand feeding one puppy happens, but the worst one must
prepare for is feeding an orphaned litter.
Are you Prepared to do this as a breeder ?????????? There are so many questions
to ask yourself before you breed your Dam, as very frequently things go wrong,
and being prepared and educated can save your Dam and puppies lives.
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Here are photos of two pups being born, one Breech and the other
Normal
Day 60 temp dropped to 98* @ 2pm......... So I new in about
24 hours contractions would start.
up all night.>>>
At 2:30am she started crying, grunting, panting, and frantically nesting.
3pm she vomited and contractions became quite noticeable.
6pm she started pushing puppy # 1 (the largest puppy)
There was presentation of the puppy's water sac.
1 hour is usually the limit for pushing on a single puppy.
She pushed>> it came out a little, and then kept going back in.
it was a big 7.5 ounce plug
It didn't help when Dam broke the sac and out came only 1 foot the next
push,,, (one foot is not good) So I pushed the one foot back in, and feather'd
the birth canal to stimulate a contraction... because she was not contracting
anymore, I was able to get both feet in the birth canal, and kept stimulating
contractions with my finger.. and on the next contraction, I managed to grab
both feet, and pulled towards the Dams head, along her stomach,,, And out he
came,,,,, with a fair bit of discomfort to poor Mama. Being out of the water
sac, and given the situation, I was expecting to have to revive this puppy, But
Happily he came out strong and thriving.......
After the Dam has strained for some time only one foot appears, like the
above picture, suggesting that the pup is in an abnormal position, an
inexperienced person should NOT attempt to remove the pup. Call your Vet. Any
delay could risk the life of the puppy and the Dam. In an emergency, and when
there is no time to get to the Vet, the only helpful action is to attempt to
push the pup back beyond the neck of the womb, in the hope that the puppy may
get into a better position, or to grasp both feet.
It is very important to know how to revive puppies and get them breathing.
Not all puppies come out, cry and start breathing. This also takes experience.
Puppies need to be rubbed vigorously till they cry and start moving. Some are
born and cry easily, but very often they need extra help, and it sure feels good
when you know what to do. You will need to get your Vet to show you how to get
the fluid out of the pups nose and throat. A centrifugal force drop done by
swinging the puppy down between your legs (holding head VERY secure) is a very
useful tool to learn... You do not shake the puppy, nor flick it. The movement
is not jerky, but a smooth down swing with a slow stop. Constant exchanging of
warm blankets is also needed. If puppies get chilled in the first days of life,
there is a good chance they will not survive. The box needs to be 85 degrees.
Puppies are very susceptible to heat/cold. Have your heat pad on, and hot water
bottles filled.
*****************************
Normal Whelping
Presentation of puppy #2 (1/2 hour later)
normal presentation, head first.
Presentation of puppy #2 - normal birth
Puppy #2 is born
Video clip of
removing the sac from around
the puppy - The Pup is out, the sack is broken and removed from the face
IMMEDIATELY, so the puppy's first breath is air. Normally I pick up the pup,
and rough him up, before the cord care, but here, I stalled a little,
getting the cloth, as I was trying to get it on film.”
And then I used one hand to rough him up, and other on the camera.
Basically as soon as the pup is out, REMOVE the sac from the head. With my
breed (Havanese), I do ALL cord care, as the dams
are too aggressive, and cut them too short.
If the pup is out, and the placenta is still inside, you
need two hemostats.
Clamp the two hemostats on, and cut between them with
scissors. THEN, one pair will stay hanging out of the Dam, and the other pair
will be on the puppy.
These 3 photo's show cord clamping, BUT the placenta is out. REMEMBER, the
placenta does not always come with the puppy, it may come 2 to 50 minutes later.
