yes we know all this  JL:)JLS

LJS :-)

She lives in California and has made several trips to her vet. She has said she has no practical support in terms of another person other than her vet so any practical support now needs to be advice......not posting on here won't help her to feel confident enough to deal with this but deal with it she must.

You must have loads of info you can give :)

>Really Kayc! Well that does sound a bit Yak but suppose you have to be ready for every eventuality! lol

yes.. and I am sure many of us on here have done it...

This isnt the only advice im seeking LJS i have a vet, an emergency 24 hour clinic on hand, im ready for the pups, and my bitch doesnt look like she will need a csection. I have a bachelors in forensic anthropology and a minor in soc, so cramming for stressful events is an ok event for me!

Pleased don't have ago again, and get this tread locked, ev eryone has an opinion and yes it somes back to bite you in the bum but if someone needs help surely we can give it when needed.

Linda

No my dogs are indoor dogs, and have a kennel in THEIR room. I was using the word "stud" interjectionally for my male dog, i apologize if i didnt use the term correctly.

What difference does it make where she lives  ?

Yes never come on an internet forum as your only safety net when you have a maiden bitch about to give birth !

Advice can be given but how do you know how experienced people are ?

> No my dogs are indoor dogs, and have a kennel in THEIR room. I was using the word "stud" interjectionally for my male dog

Thank doG for that I had visions of the dogs outside in kennels

I have a bachelors in forensic anthropology and a minor in soc, so cramming for stressful events is an ok event for me!

Glad you think that this is comparable to this !

I do wish you good luck and hope that all goes well

LJS I thank you for your warning, I am looking for support whether it be from first time bitch owners, to breeders. Too much of a good thing can be excellent! Oh and my bitch still has about a week to go. Please no more negative posts.

sorry, i the reason i mentioned where she lives is she is using terminology like "kennel" which doesnt refer to the same thing and if she was spending lots of time outdoors in California it would be different to the sunny UK!!!

She has said she has other support on standby it is not her only safety net.

How do we know how experienced people are.......she has offered that up! She isn't so answer questions as if she knows nothing and i am sure she wont be offended.

Well good luck independant1 if we dont hear from you again! Night night all......puppies to watch :)

If you do not think this is comparable to cramming for a test you are wrong. I read what to expect when expecting and had no further investigation before i had my daughter, and everything went fine with my natural water birth! If that is not comparable than i dont know what is.

The OP is in the USA and I think there may be a language problem here ;) :)

'Kennel' almost certainly equates to Varikennel - ie. crate, and 'stud' just means un-neutered male.

i know wow 6.97 for brand new and posted free great isnt it. i had already been to pets at home and they said they had sold the copy they had but another would be coming in soon, thats when i just decided to search the net and remembered about amazon, so cant wait for my copy to arrive, should be any day

> How do we know how experienced people are.......she has offered that up! She isn't

I think the post refered to some contributors lack of experience - to safely mentor this lady and her tiny Chi through it's preganancy and whelping.

The one piece of advise that I would offer now is, Your bitch will go through so many emotions and will be in pain whilst going through the stages of giving birth and a fair amount of the same after giving birth. Your emotions will rub off to so whatever happens an easy whelp of a complicated whelp it is so important that you stay calm and possitive and give your girl as much support and love and comfort as she needs. Some bitchs dont want it but some need it. Only you will know. I wish you good luck for a problem free time from here on in. And remember, no question is stupid, the only stupid questions are the ones that remain un-asked!!!

>> vet appointment today, everything seemed to be fine

I am pleased your Vet seems happy, but must point out unless a Vet breeds themselves few have any real experience of the intricacies of whelping an rearing puppies.  Generally they don't know much beyond the text books and how to perform C sections.

With your breed being so specialised I really do urge you to contact the breed club for details of a member near you that can give you much more experienced advice.

> . I read what to expect when expecting and had no further investigation before i had my daughter, and everything went fine with my natural water birth! If that is not comparable than i dont know what is.

and you had the benefit of an experienced midwife who would know if things were going OK and if and when help from a doctor was needed.  I am sure you realise you are far from being a qualified canine midwife, and to be honest that is what your bitch should really have on hand, from when she starts labour.

I certainly had experienced help when I had my first litter with someone ready to rush out to help after that,a and have since done the same for others.

I am mentoring an experienced friend through whelping her first litter after many years study in March.

Only in the last few days a poster has lost most of a litter due to the fact they didn't seem to know that they woudl need to put pups onto Mum to get the first milk (colostrum) and subsequently, as the bitch wasn't demonstrating good mothering, and the pups had not had the opportunity to feed/fed properly for several days.

> my bitch doesnt look like she will need a csection

Hi - I believe from other thread and posts that you have the same breed as me.  II have been following this and I understand your girl is 4lbs (pre pregnancy) although she may not look like she will need a c section, please don't have that as your mind set.   Our breed are extremely prone to inertia and if not monitored correctly you could lose your girl.  If you are in the slightest of doubt when the time comes, get your vet involved asap as you are both maidens and believe me they are not an easy breed to whelp - probably one of the worst, not good for a first timer.

They can go a week early if they are maidens, however I've had some go right on target at day 63 and others go up to 68/69

I'd urge you to have her spayed a few months after her next season and be sure to keep the pair apart as this cannot happen again.

Best of luck to you and your girl :)

I wish you every luck with your girl and her babes to :-) there are some lovely experienced people on here willing to offer very sound advice to you, not long to wait now :-)

Another thought - as you are in the states and you say your dogs are pets - what are their heads like?  Are they to breed standard (rounded like a certain fruit) or are they quite "deer headed" with elongated noses and skulls, as is quite common in the states for pets of this breed?  If the dog and bitch are deer heads, it could make things a tiny bit easier for the chance of a natural, minimally complicated birth.  Only a chance though, be on guard.

Personally, I wouldnt let the dog and bitch spend huge amounts of time with each other at the mo, your dog particularly will stress like mad when you have to split them for the birth.  It is better to let them get used to being apart for small periods of time now than encourage them to be with each even more than normal.  It will be easier for them both that way.

> i still have lots of questions, but i have to pick n choose which ones are too "dumb".

Its cliche but the only dumb questions are the ones not asked.  

Ask away, and try not to take to heart some of the comments made that seem to personally attack you.  But, not everyone on a forum is going to agree with you either.  Just got to take it piece by piece. 

ive never parted my dogs till the time she as her pups ,parting them now may caurse to much stress for your girl and she hasnt got long left x

I agree she will let you know when she doesnt want him near. When my bitch had her pups she didnt want my boy anywhere near her, and they love each other very much and are the best of friends. He was curious of the pups and went near the whelping box and she flew for him and he had a big cut on his nose. She may not do this but watch for the subtle signs of her not wanting him around when the pups arrive.

Louise

>ive never parted my dogs till the time she as her pups ,parting them now may caurse to much stress for your girl and she hasnt got long left

There are two equally important dogs here! You're forgetting about the stress to the other dog if they're bonded and then suddenly parted. The bitch will (hopefully) have her pups to think about, no doubt with the owner concentrating on the bitch as well, and the poor dog will feel abandoned.

yes jeangenie i agree there are 2 important dogs there !!! BUT we are talking about her girl and not letting her get stressed at this inportent time ,when her girl as the pups and things are going well she can spend time with the other dog so he dont feel left out ,im afraid thats how things have to be in the real world her girls having pups and at this time she needs to think about whats best for her , so please dont tell me breeders dont put there girls 1st at such an importend time ?

>please dont tell me breeders dont put there girls 1st at such an importend time ?

Caring owners don't neglect the needs of their other dogs, though.

I agree with JG.. ALL other animals need to be taken into consideration when planning a litter.. (or not planning )

I tend to seperate my girl from the others around 2 weeks before due date, keeping her with me most of the time.. but allowing contact with the others occassionally.. reducing the amount of time spent together until a few days before due date.. This helps reduce any seperation anxiety ANY of them may have, both from myself (since I spend most of the time with my Girl in Whelp).. Its is easier to do when you have more than a couple of dogs.. there is less chance of anxiety..

In this situation, where there are only two dogs.. seperation needs to begin now, and gradually increased until fully seperated a few days before due date.. The boy will get used to not having the girl around.. and mum to be will be more relaxed.. and owner will be happy knowing that both her dogs are comfortable with the new arrangements...

since we dont know the living arrangements of these two dogs, they may be very close.. or it may be that owner is attaching 'human thinking' to her feelings.. and that the dogs are not that close, and seperation may not affect either...

OMG tell me where it says dont bother with your other dog ,did i put that NO i didnt so stop trying to read stuff thats not there !!!!! I SEE YOU DONT ANSWER MY QUESTION  ,because we all do ,AND I DONT NEGLECT MY OTHER DOGS OK now get off my case !!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okaaaaaay.....

~~~~~~ screen goes all wavy ~~~~~~~~~~
(Like a dream sequence..pshhht! nobody say nightmare!)

I'am whisking you all off to a beach, waves lapping, sun on your cheeks (face!)
I'm picking up a stick... (not to beat you with ;) ) and Im drawing a line!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So! By the time I put this vodka bottle down can we all just take a breath, wheeesh.. Folk getting snippy,people getting chippy and then there's just the down right lippy ;)

Caaaaaaalm down!
(post not directed at any one person, but if you feel it's aimed at you.... it probably is!)

Can I have some vodka Liv? Pleeeeease? :-)

I'm loving this chilling moment......  thanks HG....  not that I'm stressed or anything... but hey... man.... caaaaaaaaalm..

Sorry off topic :-/

As in my previous post, I personally feel it is better to begin splitting the dogs earlier, Jeangenie and kayc couldn't have put it better myself.  Best of luck whichever you decide to do and I hope the labour goes ok for you and all your family.  I have just opened a very nice bottle of merlot, cheers to the vodka drinkers!

Thank you so much ladies and gents. I am getting pretty anxious, but my girl seems to be having  peachy keen time. Both my chi's are deer headed *so cute* and they both are deer like, lean. I am truly blessed to have such great pups, and today my stud was bouncing around wanting to be held, so thats the first sign that i have been paying too much attention to my girl, and not enough to my boy. So he is in my lap right now, getting as much love as he needs until whelping time. I am looking into a midwife as we speak because you have instilled enough fear that my bitch may die, so im going to be safe rather than sorry. She is still pouncing around, and she doesnt seem to be uncomfortable until she has to lay down, then she is uncomfortable. She has become much more clingy and only wants her favorite snacks, not her dog food. I am giving her scrambled eggs, ham, & chicken. Ohhh and now she is no longer smitten with our house cats, she has been barking them away, so i removed the cats from the animal room. ((i have four pets, two cats ((one is expecting as well)) and my two pups, they have their own bedroom because i cant deal with all their clutter. But my bitches whelping set up is in my bedroom so i can keep her close.