Your family dog’s pregnancy is approaching the 63-day gestation period. There are many things you need to prepare for this event in advance.
The first thing to do is determine a location for this blessed event to take place. The best location will be secluded in a quiet area. Your dog will appreciate the security and privacy. It should be warm, dry and without drafts. You will also need access to an electrical outlet. First, you need to prepare a ‘birthing’ box (birthing is the process of giving birth). This birthing box should be large enough for her to lie on her side fully stretched out, including space for the puppies. Note that, depending on the breed, a litter can be of any size, starting with one, but it can be as long as two digits. The birthing box should have a low front so your dog can get in and out easily. It is also ideal that the birthing box has at least two walls surrounding it. The best location would have three walls around the box. Note that if you have such a location, you and possibly your vet may need to fit in this space as well. Space for you to help your dog during labor and space for your vet in case of an emergency. Before presenting your dog, you will need a heat lamp in the birthing area. It should provide a constant temperature between 24º-27º Celsius / 75º-80º Fahrenheit. You will need to test this and adjust how high or low the lamp needs to be to reach this temperature. Make sure the lamp is anchored and the temperature cannot be changed to protect your puppies from literal cooking. Introduce your dog to the birthing box several weeks before you expect to deliver. You will need to get used to the space so that it is also where you sleep.
With the introduction of the birthing box, you will also need to start taking your dogs temperature twice a day and recording it in a Detail Log. The detail record will be used to record many important details during labor. It will contain details of each birth and will be invaluable to your vet in the event of an emergency. You should take the temperature when your dog is calm, in the morning and again at night. The normal temperature for a canine is between 38.5-39º Celsius / 101.3-102º Fahrenheit. Ask your vet how to take his temperature, it is a simple process. There will be a significant drop in her temperature to approximately 37º Celsius / 98º Fahrenheit within 24 hours before birth. Keeping a temperature log will alert you to impending labor and give you a 24-hour window to complete last minute preparations. One more thing to remember, during these last weeks of the gestation period, your dog will have puppies pressing on his bladder. You will need more opportunities to go outside to relieve yourself, but you can also have occasional “accidents.” Have plenty of newspaper all over the floor of your birthing area to allow these ‘accidents’ to happen with easy cleanup.
Childbirth checklist
Your vet’s 24-hour phone number, easily accessible in case of complications.
Large supply of newspapers for bedding.
Heavy towels or veterinary bedding for postpartum. Do not use loose blankets or bedding as it creates a choking hazard for puppies.
Accurate scales to weigh each puppy at birth
A watch to record the time of each birth along with the weight.
Antiseptic lotion and sponge to clean your dog after giving birth.
Hot towels to dry puppies
A smaller box with a hot water bottle (heated only to blood temperature) in case your dog is emotionally immature or clumsy. Just to keep the pups warm and out of harm’s way
Jar of Vaseline
Trash cans for dirty paper, laundry basket for dirty towels
Strong sterile cotton or silk thread in case a puppy’s umbilical cord needs to be tied and a pair of sterilized blunt-tipped scissors
Your notebook containing the Record of details you should have places to record what time your waters broke (note the color of the discharge), time / weight / color / sex / any obvious abnormalities of each new puppy, number of placentas / placentas that are sure to have not been retained (if one is retained and does not dissipate within 24 hours, call your veterinarian
Milk and glucose to offer your dog during labor
Snacks for you, may take several hours and you should stay with her for signs of problems and help with the puppies. You should never leave her alone for more than a few minutes.
So now you have all the preparations completed. Now you need to know what signs and behaviors to expect from your dog and how to help her and her puppies during labor. There are three stages of labor: labor, delivery, and postpartum.
Labor: FYI, dogs often give birth when it is calmer and calmer, it could be called into action in the early hours of the morning. Maintain a calm, reassuring, and relaxing tone of voice and use slow movements. Your dog will feel vulnerable and his protective instincts will heighten. When the contractions start, you will be restless, you can only relax for a few minutes. You may walk, refuse food, gasp, shake, or vomit. It may build a nest and start scratching the bedding. You may notice a discharge of mucus from the vulva. This is the fluid or ‘water’ sac and when this sac breaks, the first calf must be born within 2 hours. The waters will come out of the vagina and will be yellow and slimy. If your dog is having strong contractions, which you will be able to see moving from the rib cage to the abdomen for more than an hour after the waters without giving birth to the first puppy, call your vet.
Birth: Observe the appearance of discharge after the birth of the first calf. A dark green or blood-colored discharge may mean that the placenta has begun to separate from the uterine wall. This could mean that the puppy is lacking in oxygen and needs to be cleaned quickly. With that said, if the first puppy is fine and the discharge of the same color appears before each puppy, there is probably nothing to worry about. The new mom instinctively licks the puppy’s membrane and cuts the umbilical cord which dries and warms the puppy, clears mucus from the nose and mouth, and stimulates it to begin breathing. Licking also causes chemical changes in his brain that cause an emotional bond to form between mom and puppy. Additional pups will be born at intervals of between 10 and 60 minutes and an average of 20 minutes between them, depending on the breed. If you have strong contractions for 30 minutes or more without producing another puppy, call your vet.
For emotionally immature or over-tired moms, you may need to step in to help. From your supply of hot towels, clean the birth membrane of the face, especially the nose and mouth. Holding the puppy at a downward angle, pat him dry and pat him dry while allowing excess fluid to drain out of the airways. Gently rub his chest with a towel to get the puppies to start breathing. CPR may be needed if you do not start breathing. Remove the umbilical cord with a thread about ½ inch from the puppy’s body and then cut the cord between the tether and the placenta. Place the puppy next to mom.
Afterbirth: Each puppy has its own umbilical cord and placenta. The placenta must follow the birth of each puppy, usually just before the next one emerges. It will be a reddish-black mass accompanied by a dark green liquid. His new mother will instinctively eat each cub’s placenta to hide the evidence of vulnerable cubs. (another reason to keep an accurate record of postparties in the Detail Record)
The last couple of things to ensure during labor is to keep the litter together. This will keep the puppies warm and reduce the chances of the mom rejecting a pup. After the last cub is born, your new mom will open up to nurse. You need to make sure that each puppy has located a nipple and has started feeding. After feeding, the mother will lick the genitals and anus of each puppy to stimulate it to urinate and defecate. It will consume all of its puppies’ bodily waste, again instinctively, to hide it from predators and danger.
I hope this has made you feel better prepared to welcome your family’s puppies into the world. More information in this series on raising and caring for new puppies can be found soon by following this link … http://www.familydogadvice.com