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If you want to feed a pregnant dog shortly before labor, offer her food, but dont force her to eat, since its normal for a dog going into active labor to refuse food. Instead, add fresh water and food to your dogs nesting box for convenient, easy access. On the other hand, if your dog is still a couple of weeks away from giving birth, youll want to start feeding her puppy food, so she gets enough nutrients. You should also feed your dog about 15% more food than usual, but divide it up into several smaller meals, since pregnant dogs cant eat very much at once. For more tips from our Veterinary co-author, like how to feed your dog after whelping, keep reading!
This phase is when the contractions come on quite strong, and there should be intense straining. The first pup should be born within an hour of this phase starting. If the mother strains for over an hour with no sight of a pup, please contact your vet. The time of delivery of the next puppy varies, but if the mother is straining for over 30 minutes with no sight of the second pup, you should contact your vet.
Birth is an exciting time, but it can also be stressful and scary for the owners. It is essential to be prepared for the delivery and have all your supplies ready. Typically pregnancy in the dog lasts for 63 days, with some slight variation. However, a dog that is pregnant for over 66 days is not normal, and the vet should be contacted immediately.
Once the birth is over make sure the mother has plenty of water available and is in a warm and quiet spot. The pups should start nursing immediately, and the mother should be calm and happy. If you have any concerns regarding your dog, or if you think your dog is pregnant, please do not hesitate to contact Cronulla Vet Clinic on 02 9527 2604 with any questions.
This phase involves the expulsion of the placentas. The mother should be relaxed, and the pups should be nursing. As dogs have multiple pups, there should be multiple placentas expelled. It is important to count the placentas as they come out and ensure that there is one placenta per pup, and it should be attached to the umbilical cords of the pups. When two puppies are born rapidly together, the placentas can come out together as well. If there are fewer placentas than there are puppies, there is a chance that the placenta was retained, and a vet needs to be contacted immediately. Prevent the mother from eating all the placentas, as it may cause her to start vomiting or have diarrhea.
You may notice several changes in your dogs that can indicate that she is close to giving birth. Those include: an enlarged or dropped belly, enlarged nipples with the full teats, increased nervousness (pacing, panting) along with increased rest when she is not pacing.
As your mother dog delivers her last puppy, youll be busy making sure the early pups are warm and well. Youll know when the mother has finished whelping because shell look around for her brood, check to make sure theyre all with her, perhaps do a few turns in the whelping box and settle in to nurse. Shell look content but exhausted; the look of anxiety she wore when puppies were coming will be gone. Give her a few minutes with her puppies, then take her out to potty before returning her to the whelping box.
Feed your mother dog three to four meals a day in the weeks after whelping her litter. She will need extra nutrition during this period to feed her puppies. Feed her puppy food, which will supply extra nutrients during this period. The American Kennel Club recommends increasing a mother dogs food while she is nursing by 25 percent per puppy. Add some cottage cheese for extra calcium. Be sure she has access to water at all times in the whelping box. Hang a water pail from the side of the whelping box to avoid leaving it on the floor where a puppy can reach it.
Most mother dogs lose their appetite just before they whelp, so theyre ready for a meal right after theyve given birth. Yours should have gotten extra food during her pregnancy, and shell continue to need extra nutrition while shes nursing. Once youve cleaned up the whelping box and your nursing female is settled comfortably with her puppies, shes ready to eat.
Put together a small meal for your mother dog. Her first meal should be light but nourishing. Mix canned dog food, warm water, and vanilla ice cream or cottage cheese. Give her about half of her regular meal size, then let her rest with her puppies for a few hours. Offer her a bit more food — again, about half of her normal meal. Dont feed her too much at once. Small meals for the first 12 hours after whelping will be easier for her to digest.
Its likely your mother dog didnt eat much the day before delivering her pups. Many pregnant dogs begin to refuse food about 12 hours before they whelp. She may have vomited just before whelping. Offer her a small bowl of water after shes delivered her last puppy before you take her out to potty. Once shes been out and is back in the whelping box with her puppies, make sure shes nursing the puppies. Shell be too anxious to eat if her puppies are crying or looking for her. Place each puppy on a nipple, if necessary, to get them started.
Signs dog is going into labor | My Dog is in labor !| What to expect/What to do?
Whelping, which is what the canine birth process is called. A process that should be handled by people with experience, if you ever do find yourself having to oversee the delivery of a litter of pups, heres what you need to know to assist.
Prepare the necessary kit when the time is near. After 64 days or so, the gestation period is up, what is gestation? Gestation is a process or period developing inside the womb between conception and birth, lookout for some of the following signs in your furball:
Some vets see a drop in body temperature as a sign of impending labor while others discount it. Vets who use body temperature see a drop between 38 to 39 Celcius as the indicator that birth will occur within 12 hours, while others do not think the connection is so clear-cut, therefore the above signs should take precedence over the body temperature.
The mother dog might have complications while she is giving birth, hence, you will need to help your pup by observing if any of the following occurs:
It is important to prepare an emergency kit before momma dog gives birth to its fur child, below are the common necessities:
It is hard to see whether a pup is breathing normally, hence if you think that the pup is having difficulty breathing, use the aspiration bulb to suction the pups mouth, nose, and throat. It is used to help clear out the airways to help the pups start breathing.
A whelping box is necessary for all puppy deliveries, as the mom can feel comfortable before, during, and after whelping. You can either buy or DIY your own whelping boxes, you can use a cardboard box with the front cut down so that the mother can go in and out easily. The sides only need to high enough to prevent any drafts from reaching the pups.
Start taking her temperature 10-14 before her expected due date. When the temperature drops 98 to 99 Fahrenheit (36-37 Celcius), get ready for fur babies!
Newborn puppies cannot regulate their body temperature. It is recommended for owners to buy heat lamps with clamp and attach the lamp to the edge of the whelping box. As mentioned newborns cannot regulate their heat, hence you will want to make sure they can get away if its too hot.
Additionally, have your regular vet phone numbers on hand, as well as an after-hours animal emergency hospital, most whelping occurs during predawn hours.
DIY a whelping box for your furball! There are many materials that you can use to make a box. Here are the steps on how you should do it:
Measure and cut all the lengths that you need. On one of the sides, cut out an entrance- the size of this will depend on the breed of the mother. You will need to estimate how low does it need to be for her to easily get in and out.
If you are using plastic, use the 90-degree L-Shape trim to glue the sides together. Glue along the inside of the trim and attach one side to each length of the trim. If youre using wood, nail the sides together.
Attach the base, you could glue the trim on the inside or the outside of the box, again, if youre using wood, just nail the sides to base.
Attach the rail, if using plastic, glue one side of the plastic trim to the side of the box around 4 inches from the base. If using wood, glue the railing to the sides of the box around 4 inches from the base.
If theres a grayish sac drop from the vulva, this means that theres a puppy on the way! The mother should pass the first baby within an hour of the sac appearing. If she doesnt, its time to call the vet to discuss further steps. If you are not sure what to do, check in with the vet by phone through the entire process to report its progress.
The membrane will look like a plastic wrap, which needs to be removed within six minutes, even much better if you could remove it immediately, so that the pup doesnt suffocate. Normally, the mother will do it by itself. If she doesnt, please give her a hand to break the membrane.