knowing your labouring bitch

That time when your bitch decides its time she was having her pups

She in theory should pant for 12-24 hours and dig and then pop out a few and rest and then pop another few out and she is done,  well that rarely happens.

Knowing their due date helps a lot so you have a rough guide to go by. Rule of thumb for your bitch day 58 to 68 to early they won't survive to late and she'll need intervention as the pups maybe too big to be born naturally. It normally averages out to day 63.

Be intimate with your vet and have their number to hand for emergencies make sure they know beforehand she could go into labour. Bitches are very much like women unpredictable and will decide when to labour or not. Oh by the way even dogs can have Brackton hicks too. Go with your gut every time, if in doubt call your vet.

Ok here goes for us.

We mate 48 hours apart to give the guy a break and to build up sperm. Most bitches stand on day 14 but some stand at day 8 some as late as day 20 only had one bitch to do so late but she still didn't take so that was that.

We do the in-between date so ie she was mated on the 22nd and the 24th we chose the 23rd and count 63 days as our rough guide but viability is 58. If it was only one mating we count from that date as day 1.

Well back to the labouring bitch

its the 13th and her due date isn't till Monday the 16th but she is panting on and off so I've decided to take her temperature which at the mo is 38.1c so normal for her.

I'll most likely take it later on but even this isn't an indication she is in active labour. I go with the bitch and at the moment she is resting, She has had her breakfast and wrecked her whelping pen and lay on the mess. She has been panting but no straining at all.

I'm in the whelping box with her till the end. We do a nice stroll round the garden all supervised to the amusement of the other dogs. Her best bud Bella, is beside her as if she knows she is nearly there.
Doris is very restless so this could be an indication too.

to be continued.................




Lunchtime feed was refused but she had some water and her teatime feed refused also. Looks like this is the long haul of waiting on the actual pushing to begin.

she wrecked her bed again and it didn't look comfy at all so I straightened it for her to do again so I left it.

She once again tried to get down the back fence to birth and I was having none of it and in she came not happy as if I'd let her birth outside.

Next day arrives and we had a restless night thats for sure as she couldn't get comfy at all.

offered her, her breakfast it was refused but some water was taken and an ice cube or three, plus a massage bless her.

She isn't left at all now and we do supervised potty breaks much to her disgust as she can't get down the back fence to dig. I put her into the whelping box and I give her another massage only for her to fart very loudly and she looks at her arse and me. I laughed as it was so like a human but she looks disgusted.

She's panting and pacing a lot now so I know it won't be long in theory, at 7pm another supervised potty break which was very short as she sprinted indoors to squat and her waters break and 5 minutes later her first born is out in his sac she gets to work removing everything but doesn't eat the placenta. that was shoved to the side.

She is busy with her first and we get him latched and I'm going strange colour is it a mantle do remember he is all wet and slimy so colour sometimes can't be detected till dry as I'm thinking its a mantle, yeah it was but a merle mantle once he completely dried. Doris let him nurse away and she cleaned and cleaned him. I disposed of the placenta as she refused to even touch it.

I'm hoping for a text book delivery but the vet is on standby. At 9.15pm out pops a harlequin boy this time she eats this placenta and all the other stuff too then another is born at 10pm but sadly he wasn't meant to be and was born sleeping.

She is being quite steady and another harlequin boy is born at 10.45pm with a little help as he was coming bum first so a gentle tug downwards and out he came with mama's help with a contraction nearly 5 minutes later out comes another. I think she was waiting to come in the birth canal as the other was born and wanted out, a bitch this time and another harlequin. Doris decides on a break and waits an hour to birth a mantle girl for us. I'm thinking same as her mum 5 live pups a nice small litter.


We get settled in for the night with me in the whelping box on my quilt latching puppies when needed and cuddling Doris as she keeps looking at me and the pups thinking to herself no doubt did I just do that.

I can hear her whining and thinking your off to the vets for a check up at 9am and a soothe her telling her this. Well Doris had another ideas and decided she was in labour again and I'm thinking it'll be her contracting down expelling blood and placentas if any as I'm sure I counted them all but sometimes you do miss one.

Oh no she wasn't bloody contracting down at all but giving actual birth to a live pup as she's really cleaning down at her vulva and I see this wee black and white mantle thinking the worst and take her from her in case it was dead. Im astounded but it does happen. I let her latch the pup on and clean her and settle with her for her to do it again this time a harlequin bitch again alive. I phone the vets to let them know and we get an appointment for in an hour so she can get used to the new baby too. I line a shopping basket for her babies and off we pop to the vets. Doris was thoroughly checked over and didn't need any drugs as she was in fact done. Once back home she settled down to nurse for nearly 24hrs and had to be forced to have potty breaks.

So to summarise:

merle mantle dog 7.30pm weight 1lb

harlequin dog 9.15pm weight 1.3lbs

harlequin dog 10.45pm weight 1.1lbs

harlequin bitch 10.50pm weight 1lb

mantle bitch 0.37am weight 400 grm

mantle dog 7.15am weight 1.3lbs

harlequin bitch 8.20am weight 1.2lbs

Who said text book yeah they forgot to let Doris know this, but she took to mother hood brilliantly.