Do not be surprised if you find mucus coming from her backside. It is the mucus plug and it is necessary for this to be dislodged before the appearance of the puppies. Unfortunately the loss of the mucus plug is not a good indication of labor. She could lose her plug anywhere between two weeks and minutes before the pups begin coming. I used to recommend Calcium/Magnesium pills if you wanted to ensure that she stayed in labor, but I now have learned that this is not a safe practice. Many dogs do not come to harm with these pills, but it is possible for a dog to suffer from eclampsia; a pregnancy related form of seizure attacks that may end in a coma. Better to be safe than sorry and stay away from the pills unless specifically given by your vet; hopefully one you trust.

At this point, my advice is to sit back and see what happens. I do not suggest getting involved with her labor unless something is wrong. Nature is a much more powerful being than we are and, remember, that dogs were giving birth long before we started breeding as a profession. The key is to find a place where she can be comfortable and have enough room to move into positions that will make her labor easier. But also make sure that it is a place where her puppies, when born, will be safe from hazards. Many will be in labor only a short period of time before the puppies start coming while others may be in labor for several hours. I have one dog who labored with contractions for 8 hours before the first puppy moved to the birth canal. This is not a reason for worry. If there is a puppy in the birth canal it is another story and I will get into that.

What your responsibility towards your dam is during whelping is different for every owner. Some feel that they have to be like an obstetrician and completely take over. To me this sounds like what I have read in recorded history about women and giving birth. For a time, labor and birthing were considered a medical malady and were therefore treated as such. The woman was put under and birth was always cesarean. We aren't quite like that today, but some feel we still rely far too much on a doctor. There was one litter where I tried to take over and it turned out I only made matters worse. My dam and her puppies were far better off when I have kept my distance and only interfered when I felt she could not handle whelping on her own. The choice is up to you. Of course, the other option is to take her straight away to a vet so she can whelp her litter in an animal hospital. If you do this be sure to make clear to your vet that you do not want your dog spayed, unless of course there were complications or if you really wanted her to stop after this litter. Also be sure to ask what your vet would do should your dog bite if interfered with. If your vet will be doing a c-section simply because the female will not let him near then you will want to know in advance.

Whether or not she might need help, you might want to keep some surgical gloves handy unless you don't mind the mess. Know that though the labor may last for a long or short period of time, once the puppy moves into the birth canal the mother has about 30 minutes to push the puppy out. Any longer and you increase the chance of losing that puppy or, in really bad cases, the mother. You will know there is a puppy in the birth canal if you check around the mother's vulva between her hind legs and either see a very large bulge and or feel something like a rock behind her skin. The sac will start to show itself first as a tiny bulge and then more with each push (Picture). Keep your patience as this could take her up to ten minutes to push out completely. If you feel she is having trouble pushing out a large puppy, you may try gently massaging her pelvic area to help her dilate fully and allowing optimum room for the puppy. If the puppy has been in the birth canal too long you might have to go so far as to pull the puppy out. To do this, gently slip your fingers around as much puppy as possible and even more gently pull downward several times. Usually, a puppy still in it's sac will be delivered without too much trouble only a little extra time. If the puppy still will not come out, call your vet and have them give emergency instructions over the phone until you can safely get mother and pup(s) to the hospital.

Be aware that most puppies that spend long periods of time in the birth canal, longer than one hour, have less of a chance of surviving. But there is always hope. Ideally, puppies are born with their sacs intact, head first and followed closely by the placenta. This does not always happen. Some mothers will only push long enough to release the puppy and will then rip the sac, clean the pup, cut the umbilical cord, and then push out the placenta. Sometimes the sac is not as strong as it should be or has been subject to more stress than it was designed to handle and will break before the puppy is fully born. This is a dangerous situation for both the pup and the mother. The pup must come out and will require you to pull it out as best you can. If you can be gentle and grip well than please do so, but if not you just need to get the puppy out. I have learned from the site I link to below, Dog Breed Info, that applying dish soap to the pup around the dam's vulva will help you to dislodge the puppy. Work with the mother's contractions as they will be your extra leverage because without the sac the puppy is not only more vulnerable but has lost it's birthing protection and will no longer be a smooth delivery. Breech puppies, puppies born feet first, are not as difficult as you may think as long as the sac is intact. It may take longer for the mother to deliver, especially a first time mom, but it can still be born without mishap.

Of course, many times the mother does everything well on her own. Beyond some of the dangers that occur during the birth there are a few things that can be normal and you should not be alarmed about. One is whining and pushing followed by resting. Many dogs will have some preparatory pushes that help to put the puppies in line before birthing. For some dogs this is painful and others don't make a sound. The first time I heard my dog scream I was frantic but as long as she is not bleeding and there is no puppy in the birth canal and she calms down between pushing she is fine. Other moms become very restless while delivering the pups. This is also normal as the birthing position changes for every dog. Some birth standing while other sit or even lie down. Let her do whatever she is comfortable with. If she has to walk, than let her walk, but keep her safely confined. Annie is prone to circle her cage while pushing and then once the puppy starts coming she births standing up. Don't stop her from what is natural.

There are also the times when you cannot help but freak out. There are plenty of dangers in birthing a pup and one of them can be dangerous for both pup and mother. Before I continue, the best breeders are the ones who will save the bitch first and the puppy second. If you have to lose the pup to save your dog you had better not have to think twice. But back to what I was going to say, there is a possibility that two pups may try to be born at the same time. For this instance the best thing I can do is send you to another web site which shows some wonderful pictures and has some good advice. She does contradict much of my advice, but I have learned one or two things from her and the picture of the presentation of two sacs is excellent. Dog Breed Info.

Once a puppy has been born, and remember this is my opinion and not law, I do not recommend separating puppy from mother (Picture). Let the mother eat the sac and clean her baby (Picture). Many will tell you that this is unnecessary and only causes diarrhea for the bitch and multiplies its odor by 20 but this is not the whole truth. Before I tell you why, I also want to say that I have learned recently of a large breed bitch who had whelped 12 puppies and in eating all the placentas from every puppy she had liver failure as her liver could not handle the breakdown of all the placentas. I would say that if you are breeding larger breed dogs or if you are one of the lucky breeders who have a small or medium breed dog that has anywhere between 6 and 8 puppies then you might want to consider only allowing her to eat as many as four or five of the placentas rather than all. This way she will still get whatever her body requires for recovery and you avoid possible problems with her liver. But back to why she should be eating them in the first place: The placenta carries so much protein that there is a reason a bitch has the urge to clean her puppies herself. Yes, you can replace some of what is lost with supplements, but allowing her to follow the laws of nature is like arguing whether mother's milk or formula is better. I personally do not care how many tests are done, it is almost impossible to recreate with medical means what nature has already provided us with. But again, it is your choice.

If you happen to have a mother who refuses to break the sac or just cannot seem to get through the membrane you will need to help her. A puppy has approximately 7 minutes of oxygen in it's system, but after that it will need to breathe and the sac prevents them from doing so. To help her you need clean fingers, and I mean just cleaned, or a rag. If using just your fingers gently pull at the sac from an area on the puppy where you are sure to not catch skin. I usually try for under the arms or under the neck where the sac has a little bubble or space between it and the puppy. Do the same with a rag, but I warn you it is harder and you are likely to pull on the puppy if you are not careful. Once the puppy is released from the sac you will need to disconnect her from the mother by cutting the cord. Even some of the best mothers have trouble cutting through the material so you will want to have some sanitized scissors on hand. Should you have to cut the cord, make sure that you have as much space between the pup and mother, if the placenta has not been delivered, in which to work. Cut as close to the mother and as far from the pup as possible. If the pup's cord is pulled too hard or cut too close, or pulled out, the pup will suffer a hernia that may need to be treated later. The worse case is a pup whose cord is pulled out. This pup's stomach will need stitches, or if you are not adept you will need to pinch the stomach closed and rush it to someone who can (a vet). If the mother is able to clean the puppy herself you can just sit back and anxiously wait for the process to start again with the next puppy (Picture).

It is also common that even the best mothers have a puppy that does not react immediately once clean. If this is the case, all that is normally needed is to take the puppy and rub it in a towel or cloth until it starts to move and breathe. If not, take the pup in both hands with your palms up (Picture) fingers crossed like you are giving someone a leg up. The puppy lays face down on your fingers and put your index fingers and thumbs around the head for support. Get a good grip, but do not stifle the puppy and prepare yourself. You are going to raise that puppy over your head (please make sure there is nothing in front of you!) and swing the puppy down in front of you. You may have to do this more than once. This is called a Shakedown and will release whatever is in the puppy's lungs and throat and jerk them into motion. Puppies that are gasping for air may or may not have a serious problem. Some unresponsive puppies need more time than others and it may take up to 20 minutes to get the puppy moving. After that you will need to understand that this is part of nature; no matter how hard it is for you. Normal puppies will open and close their mouth or make suckling movements, but breathe short breaths from their diaphragms and through their nose. Sick or stressed puppies will gasp for air with their mouths and their breaths will not be as close together. If the puppies movements are normal or the pup improves in a short period of time than it was stress from the delivery. If not, you will probably lose the pup and I am afraid there is not much to be done.

One other thing to consider is a shot of Oxytocin that is given to clean your bitch's system once she has completed her whelp. What it does is to force any undeveloped or discarded sacks and tissue from the uterus. This may be given by a vet or you may do it yourself but it is not as easy as giving a vaccination. The shot is given in the muscle rather than under the skin so unless you really know what you are doing, leave it to a vet. Keep in mind that if the litter was whelped in an animal hospital or vet's office this is usually automatically done.

Once the litter has arrived and the mother has cleaned them and relaxed herself, it is time to start documenting. I would leave finding out how many males and females there are and who is the smallest until now. If this is your first litter and you have been blessed with all females or all males, you could very well have trouble telling the difference. All puppies will have the umbilical cord in the middle of their stomach. Males will have a little pink protrusion not far below the umbilical cord and a female will have the same protrusion right at the base of their tail. (Picture) The mother will be more apt to let you admire her work when she is not whelping and would probably love to have you congratulate her on a job well done when she has calmed down. Pull out the scale and start keeping track of males, females, weight and whether or not there are any abnormalities.

Check the ears for splits. Splits are a defect and not dangerous, but must be noted and disclosed to owners, in case they do not already notice. Look closely at the mouth and nose for a hair lip. Hair lips are a thin to thick gap in the upper lip usually leaving a gap in the nose. It is dangerous and it is extremely rare for a pup to survive and live a healthy life. I have never been able to save one. Look inside of mouths for cleft palates (Picture). There are many sites at insist their puppies have lived with cleft palates, but again, they rarely survive. Make sure rectums have an opening for bowl movements and, most importantly, make sure that none of your puppies feels exceptionally flabby. A puppy that has a body that feels mostly like jello is not likely to survive as this is a sign of underdevelopment. Check the legs for proper joint placement and tails for crookedness. Be very careful in picking up a new puppy and try to handle them as little as possible.

Most puppies born with hair-lips will die before they reach the age of separation. If you find a hair-lip or cleft palate, I suggest having the puppy put to sleep or keep it as comfortable as you can until it naturally dies and then stop breeding the two dogs together. I do not mean to have them spayed and neutered. Just hire a new stud, stud out, or buy a new bitch. Birth defects come from bitches or studs carrying unwanted traits or it could be that their genes do not mix well. Those born without a rectal opening, Imperforate Anus, will also not survive as they will be unable to release bodily waste, though they will have the ability to urinate. They may live up to one week in this condition but they will die a slow and painful death if not operated on or put to sleep. This problem is way more common in cats but is possible with dogs and mostly in small breeds. There is a very costly surgery (approx. $2000) for these puppies, but if they survive the anesthesia they will be unable to control their bowl movements and will poop at anytime and anywhere. There is no way of correcting this problem. Whether or not you take this action is entirely up to you, but, in my opinion, this is no humane life for any dog.

Puppies that have developed hernias from distress on the umbilical cord after delivery can and will still be healthy adults. If the stress comes from the birth you may even be able to get away with doing nothing. Make sure your new owners are aware of the hernia and what problems to watch for in the future. Also tell them their vet may recommend additional surgery during the spay surgery to correct the hernia. Whether or not they have the additional surgery is up to them. Some of these dogs have even grown up to breed with their hernias and never had a problem. My advice is to educate yourself as best you can and follow your instincts. It is possible for a hernia to cause twisting of intestines and pinches in the stomach which have to be corrected immediately for the health of the dog. Hernias that are caused by other means must never be ignored and must always be corrected at the earliest time.

Fading Puppy syndrome is one of the most common among the toy breeds. I have recently learned that it is not what I previously thought, which was a puppy dyeing for lack of will. Fading puppy is the description of a puppy lacking warmth, energy, and hydration; not a diagnosis. Reasons for a puppy to fade can vary from a stomach unable to properly digest food and/or infection of one sort or other. You have a fading puppy when one separates itself from the litter or the mother shows no inclination to care for it and pushes it away. The puppy may not be nursing as it should, may be lacking in energy, even be crying uncontrollably as if in pain or will be colder to the touch than the other puppies. If this happens to one of your pups in the first 48 hours, do not rush to pull out the formula. Instead drop feed a sugar and salt water solution in very small amounts (1-cc) every hour and keep trying to get them to suckle on mom.
The solution is made of
1/4 C water, hot
1/2 Tbs. salt
1 Tbs. corn syrup
Turn your tap to hot and wait for your water's hottest temperature from the tap and fill a small GLASS about a fourth. Add the salt and stir to diluted. You may want less or more salt so taste it, you should be able to lightly taste the salt without puckering. Then add the corn syrup, this is a natural form of sugar and safer for the pup, again to taste. It should little more than tinge the water and not taste like sugar water. You do not want to pump a tiny puppy with too much sugar. If anyone gets a more accurate recipe then please, please send it to me, it needs to be kept in a small (almost tiny) batch so that it is not wasted. A new puppy will not be drinking much more than a quarter teaspoon each feeding, which varies upon the age of the pup, and most pups will not need to be force fed after the first few feedings. Some will only need it once or twice. You can stop the supplements when your puppy suckles mom on it's own. If this happens in an older pup be sure to still use sugar and salt water only until the pup starts to improve. One website I have really liked is Breeder Vet. This site explains all about the safest way to feed a new pup to ensure their survival. They explain much better than I could and they definitely deserve the credit! I have been told there are other sites that help with ideas and when I find them I will post them.

Should you have done everything possible for your pups and they are still not improving or you do not have the money or the heart to have the puppy put down, the best you can do for that puppy is to move it to a warming pan in a warm and quiet place and allow the puppy to naturally die on it's own; this is in no way inhumane. I generally lean toward the laundry room as this is always the warmest part of my home and I am, usually, the only one to go in there. You are providing the pup with both warmth and comfort which it would not be getting with the mother. Death is hard for anyone, novice or expert, and does not get easier with time. I will say that I have noticed it is easier for me to lose a pup that was just born verses a few days old and easier to lose a pup that is a few days old verses several weeks old. We all tend to become attached as more time passes. Remember that you have a mother and the rest of the litter who still need you and you can feel at ease knowing that you gave that puppy the best conditions and care possible before it's death and no one with a heart and good sense can ask more of you. When the pup has passed your first priority is to the mother who may very well be having a harder time with the loss then you are, but do not be surprised if she is not.

Sometimes the mother tends to cause almost as much worry as the puppies. Some things are normal and some are not. In the next 48 hours, if you start to see her energy waning, she loses her milk or her milk quality was not good enough from the start, she has a dramatic rise in temperature (above 103 degrees), loss of appetite or she stops eating you will have to take her straight to a vet. The signs generally lead to Metritis or Uterine Infection. Some dogs get infections from birthing and others have retained a placenta; usually from an undeveloped puppy as healthy puppies are born in their placentas. If this is not taken care of immediately she will die. The vet will give your dog antibiotics and a shot of Oxytocin into her muscle which forces her body to clean itself out. You should also make sure your vet takes blood to test for infection spread into her bloodstream. Unfortunately, if this happens you will have to supplement your puppies on your own. Your dog will have to remain on antibiotics for at least 10 days which makes her milk toxic for the puppies. She will start to feel better after a day or so and will want to try to nurse and take care of her puppies. Should this happen, Kathy, an ingenious friend of mine, tried cutting a pair of children's opaque tights to fit over her middle so the puppies could cuddle up and she could care for them without allowing the puppies to nurse. When trying, make sure you have a piece of some type of cloth or plastic over the nipples and under the tights as, even through the tights, the puppies might extract milk from the nipples. If Metritis has happened to your dog, chances are it will happen again. Oxytocin is available for you to give to your dog yourself after every delivery but, as I mentioned above, only if you know how to administer a shot into the muscle. If you have never done this before I suggest you leave it to a professional.

For her to lose her coat is completely normal. It may take her a few months to gain it's original sheen and thickness back and bald spots are also normal as long as they start to grow back. Some moms are prone to continual light bleeding for a few weeks after delivery. I would not worry unless it was heavy or your instincts were continually bothering you. Better safe than sorry. It is also normal for the mother to claw at the carpet like she is nesting again. Chances are she is not happy with the length of her nails and is trying to file them down. Go ahead and clip them and don't forget to smooth them with a file. If your mother is a first time mom or if you have changed anything about where or how you have placed this litter she may exhibit odd behavior. Before you react by feeding the puppies yourself, take the time to watch what she is doing and think as she. Might there be a reason for her behavior? Is she unhappy with where the puppies are placed? Is she separated from others and trying to get closer? There are many oddities with moms but observance is the fastest remedy.

After delivery, many dams are covered in a black or dark green substance and others are simply wet with amniotic fluid from the puppies; they may even stink. You may bathe your female but wait until the mother is spending less time with the puppies. This is usually possible when the puppies are older than two weeks. I realize the thought of having a smelly, stained dog in the house for two weeks or more is daunting but there is no other alternative. Do not attempt to separate her sooner. Her reaction to the separation will not be mild and her puppies will lose nursing time when it is most vital. Do not take her to a groomer as only weaned puppies can handle such a long separation. If your groomer is mobile be sure to tell him/her that there are puppies waiting while she is being groomed. You can, and I recommend that you, bathe her yourself. Carefully separate her from the pups after they have eaten and are asleep. Wet her down completely and then lather with a puppy safe shampoo. Be very careful to avoid rubbing soap on her nipples. Should soap run over them during rinse, do not worry, only avoid touching her nipples with soap. After lather rinse her very thoroughly. If you use conditioner, again, avoid her nipples and rinse thoroughly. Do not use a leave in conditioner. Even if you feel a "leave in" to be necessary to her hair quality it can wait until her puppies have weaned.

I know this may confuse some who were looking for the information I used to have here for the care of the litter after birth but if you will bear with me, I have a new link for that information where you will be able to find the information you need faster. If you are having any trouble with the changes I have made or trouble in general, please contact me.