Question: Hi, I am tired of carrying these puppies in
my belly, I do not have much energy, when will my puppies be
born?
Signed Expectant Mom
Signed Expectant Mom
Dear Expectant
Hopefully your owner has kept track of when
you were bred and knows your due date. Dogs are pregnant
for 57 to 65 days, with puppies often being born around 63 days
along. If your owner did not know when you were bred they may have
taken you to a vet to get a better idea of when your pups will be
born. Your owner should have started to feed you puppy food around day
45 and prepared a whelping room with whelping box for you long before
your due date.
To know more about when your pups are due your owner might be taking your temperature on a regular basis. They should know your normal temperature, which is often 100 to 102.5 F or 38 to 39 C. When your temperature drops to 97-99 F or 36 to 37 C it means your pups should be born within 24 hours.
Pregnant dogs often not feel like eating
on the day the pups are going to be born, or maybe even the day
before, and you will probably start to be drawn to the whelping box
where you may have a “nesting” behavior, circling and preparing
the area.
Your owner should be keeping a close eye on
you, possibly even take time off work around your due date. Your
owner should not let you go more than three days past your due date
without calling your veterinarian, and should keep your vet's phone
number handy at all times.
Question: Hello, I am a very pregnant dog, at first I
did not know what was going on, today I think is the day I am going
to have my pups, what can I expect?
Signed Too Excited to Give Birth
Signed Too Excited to Give Birth
Dear Excited
Labor in dogs is a three stage process.
In the first stage your temperature drops (as mentioned above) you
will probably be restless and may even vomit.
In the second stage you may
shiver or pant. You will feel contractions and may think you need to go outside to go to the bathroom.
Your “water” will break and your
contractions will be stronger. Within a short time your pups will be
born, one at a time. Your owner should not help but should
supervise (sometimes people want to help but pull at the wrong time). Pups are normally presented with one paw just ahead of
the other (to keep the shoulders narrow) and the head resting on top.
Sometimes they are presented backwards, with the two hind paws.
This is okay, but any other delivery presentation is a problem.
Your owner should have your
veterinarian's phone number handy in case of whelping problems but in most cases birthing of pups
goes smoothly.
Pups are usually born within 2 hours of each other. If your owner knows how many pups you are expecting (an earlier vet exam would have determined this) and more than four hours pass without other pups born and you are expecting more – they need to call the veterinarian. If a dog is having contractions and trying to push a puppy out, for more than 2 hours, with no puppy being born, your owner needs to call the vet immediately.
Pups are usually born within 2 hours of each other. If your owner knows how many pups you are expecting (an earlier vet exam would have determined this) and more than four hours pass without other pups born and you are expecting more – they need to call the veterinarian. If a dog is having contractions and trying to push a puppy out, for more than 2 hours, with no puppy being born, your owner needs to call the vet immediately.
After the pups are born their placentas
will come out, this is actually your “third stage” but sometimes
placentas come out between pups. Some dogs will eat their placentas
but owners should try to count to make sure all came out.
Hopefully all things will go well for you and your pups.
