Have put her to bed and will check her temp in an hour to give it chance to settle down after the walk, this is where being an insomniac helps LOL, new there was a reason for not sleeping.

ment to say if she starts strainin thinking she needs a poo she very well could deliver pup out side so watch her having her poo's (gross i know)lol

wish i was lol i carnt cope without 8/9 hours and only getting 3 if im lucky :(

don't get to sleep till about 6 then have to get up at 8.

Kept her on her lead tonight and kept an eye on what she was passing, thankfully there are plenty lights where we go and she passed only what she should. Will be last time she goes further than the garden I think, but she don't like going in the garden.

she will ,your right dont take her any further now ,you dont want to be down the road and a pup pop out !!!

Today her temp has at it's highest been 98.8 F and just taken it again and it was 98.1 F, has been in bed for a while, don't know if this has anything to do with lower temp.

just checked, half hour ago it was 98.3 F, rest of day it has been 98.8 F

to try and get a true reading take it 3 times a day , at 8am 3pm 8pm always take it after shes rested and then you should get a picture of whats happening ,it might drop around 97. somthing or even lower before she starts but until you get a true reading at same times it can be hard to know!

Taken 5 readings today, gone over the top i think, starting to get a bit panicky, all have been after she has rested for at least 15 to 30 min

forgot to say, all week she has been 98.7, 98.8 or 98.9

just looked in on her. Her breathing is heavier than normal but not to the point that it is panting, so took temp again and it is 97.7 F

how is she now ?

> you dont want to be down the road and a pup pop out !!!

This happened years ago to a breeder in my breed.

the bitch had been pronounced as not pregnant, had gone past the due date so was taken for a walk, and produced a pup in the gutter while straining  as if to poo.

the lady owner had to pick him up and pop him in her bra.

He became Ch Mageroy Waysider.

Inb my last wo liteers I ahve ahd the bitch deliver the pups outside on a comfort break, thankfully this was midway through whelping, so it wasn't tiotally unexpected, though a catchers mitt might have been handy..

She is fine at the moment, took temp at 9am and it was up to 99.7 F, only picking at her food, which she had been wolfing down. Currently sat staring at my husbands toast as he eats, LOL.
Breathing is still heavier than normal.

Paper work has been done, officially fostering her, they even gave a proper whelping box for us to use, and I have (in writing) first choice on adopting her too, and any or all pups if I want, though I doubt I will want any of the pups.

Louise have you got Parvocide to disinfect the whelping box?  Very important as you don't know where it's been......

Louise ive been following your thread and would like to wish you all the luck in the world. You desrve it
Jean xx

Yes, I have disinfected the box, they gave that too.

THANK YOU ALL so VERY much for your support and advice.

It's not me who needs the luck, but thank you all the same, it's Lucky, that's what we call her, think she will need it more than me, I'm just doing what any decent person would.

Anyway, her poop is even softer today, but not quite the trots yet, still eating though not so much. Also just wants to sleep in front of the fire today, difficult in getting her to go out side.

Will take temp again about 3.30pm and again at 10pm

Think I have everything ready know, got all my bits ready for the birth, got all the paper work done. Think I just need a good stiff drink to calm my nerves now :-D

Can see and feel lots of strong movement, and her bump has seemed to drop down away from the ribs, is this normal?

The dropping/change of shape is normal, but if pups moving a lot normally means birth is not imminent yet, unless it is actual contractions (more like ripples moving backward) that you are seeing.

Louise if you take a look at her eyes they go very pink and glaze over when she is very near delivery plus will want to stay close to you .

Good Luck for the next few days .

Hi STARRYEYES, just taken a look at her eyes, and they do look pink, but could not say whether or not they were like that already. What is the reason for the pink eyes?

they get that look with pain :(

She keeps stretching right out and looking very vacant, then at other times she is normal

Sounds like things are moving.......

Anyone got a rough time frame that I could be looking at?

Again I really am grateful for all your help ;-D

She is booked for a scan on friday if nothing has happened by then.

the glazing over is very obvious its when the puppies are getting into place ready to be born but its combined with the temp drop and the puppies becoming quiet  then its a waiting game.
Draw up a graph over say 5 days actually if you look at this website it explains it all very well . http://www.debbiejensen.com/temp_chart.html

HTH

Roni

Just made the chart up, done for 6 days including today and marking down 3 temp readings.

Thanks for the link.

Louise just want to say "Well Done"...

Good Luck to you and Lucky and well done to your boys for letting her stay...
Mary might be an appropriate name for her..:-)

LoL bilbobaggins, Mary, ermm, think we will stay with Lucky, LOL, suits her better. Considering everything though, she is looking very well, really pleased how she is coming on.

Normally this time of night (from 7pm onwards) the pups are very active, but tonight, although there is still plenty movement, they seem to be a little less active, hope by end of week the pregnancy will be over with for her.

Been reading that dew claws need removing from pups, at what age does this need doing and is it completely necessary?

not completely necessary but wise to. day 3 or 4 but not after day 4... apparently most vets wont do it, so you may have to shop around or get an EXPERIENCED breeder who does it, to do it for you, unless you've already done it, im just assuming not

if you search on here for "hind dew claws" there was a topic posted by me about 3 weeks ago, under breeding session with a list of pros and cons of doing it as tiny puppies. from that topic advice i got, i will always do them

Hind dew claws are quite uncommon, but all dogs have front ones. I always have my puppies' front dew claws removed at 3 or 4 days of age.

Hi her breathing is very laboured tonight, she is sleeping next to me on sofa, is everything ok? never delt with a pregnant bitch before so no idea. Have found out about a local lady near by who breeds (different breed), so been up there today and put note through the door explaining everything, and asked if she would mind being on hand to help, so waiting to see if she gets in touch, will give a day or 2 then will see if I can catch her in.

pups very still (little movement still, but only just) have been for last 30min, normally they very active when she sleeping

they do tend to breath differently the closer it gets because the puppies are pressing on the internal organs , it is worrying to watch but normal , if you are ever concerned just give your vet a call to put your mind at rest.... the only thing you can do now is not leave her alone even for toilet breaks  take her temperature and wait. She may get very agitated nearer the time trying to get in unusual places so make sure you can access her , some puppies have been known to be born on the owners bed !! you may find it easier to let her have the first pup on a clean sheet or blanket in the whelping room on the floor then carry the pup into the whelp box and she should follow.
Remember as soon as she starts.. to pop the heat pad on so that it is warm ready for the newborn as she may start with number two and you will need somewhere for the first and consecutive puppies to go or you could have a box with a hot water bottle in covered with a blanket or vet bed try to keep them near so she doesnt get stressed. Keep the light low and the whelp room at even temp of around 70 ish deg.

just taken last temp reading for today.......they have been in this order....99.6f, 99.3f and 98.3f all taken after an hours rest and 7 hours apart

her temp readings yesterday ranged between 98.1f and 98.8f

they may do this for a while ...you usually see a rise then a big fall if she goes 98 or lower and stays there ....dont get to obsesses with temperatures its just another way of giving you an idication things are moving ..Louise you will know when she starts, I go more by the eyes...you can see the pain in them.

Thanks STARRYEYES, as you can no doubt tell, I'm very nervous, worried that I will miss the signs and sleep through it all.

we share the time with a pregnant bitch , its difficult for you as you dont have dates to go by. Can you  not share with your hubby or a friend so that you can get some sleep and they stay with her, once the puppies are here its very tiring and hard work.

One of my litter we sat most of the night with her as we knew they were imminent it got to 4am and Mum was fast asleep , hubby said to me go to bed if anything happens I will give you a shout , I fell asleep right away was woken up with hubby shouting at 6.30am my girl had a puppy whilst sitting next to him on the single bed we put up in the whelp room ..she just popped out. So you do have to be vigilent!

There is usually a member on here most of the time if you need someone to chat too ....usually a breeder  awaiting thier delivery!!

Thanks, hubby works shifts so not always possible, but I'm an insomniac so sleep very little anyhow, no more than 2 hours at a time and sometimes not at all.

how she doing louise ?

Reading through ur post just brings me right back to my first litter just 20 days ago I was worrying about everything and missing stuff and wondering what was normal and what wasn't! Once mine were born I was even worse with worry with thinking about the temp of the box if mum was producing enough milk and the rest of stuff. But trust me it is amazing when they are born and even more amazing when u see them open eyes, begin to walk and then ur'll wonder what all te worrying was about. I wish u the world of luck that things go smoothly which I'm sure they will!!

Thank you all, and she seems to be doing fine, heavy noisy breathing at mo while sleeping next to me on sofa, pups are still and have been for a while now. Sorry can't remember who, but someone told me and I have seen on other sites that the breathing was down to pups pushing on lungs ect, so not too worried about that any more.

Suppose I'm worrying cos she has already had a rough time and I want this to go ok for her.

My bitch was panting and shiverig like mad day and half before she actually gave birth it was such a shock to see her like this and made me worry. Her instincts should kick in and if ur relaxed it will help her no end! I know it's easier said then done but trust me it does help!

how are things today Louise?