I had my bitch scanned at day 29 and again at day 33 and both time only one pup was seen. I think she is only having one as she is now day 65 and bigger but not huge. Although this is my first litter, I am aware of the possible whelping problems (lack of hormone, pup too big etc) of only having one (still hoping there may be more). She is not showing any signs of starting off, she is very relaxed, has been tired and calmer last 3-4 days, appears to be drinking more that usual, especially the last two nights. She has been constantly ravenous throughout and we have increased her food, but been careful not to overdo it as expecting one only. She is a medium sized breed, was very fit prior to mating and has kept exercising. Her temperature has been between 37.4 and 37.6 since Thursday.

I have been told not to let her go more that two days over due to size of litter. I have made an appointment to see the vet later this afternoon, but don't really know what I want to ask. Would really value some advice, or suggestions from your experiences. Thanks.

When my girl (cocker) had a singleton, my vet told me if nothing had happened by day 63 from 1st mating then he wanted her in for a c-section.  When she was born she weighed over 1lb which is pretty big for a cocker pup, so I wouldn't wait any longer.  She did have a c-section.

Firstly double check your dates. Your Vet will want to check on the puppy and if the Vet advises the pup is getting stressed and to go for an elective caesarean it's always best to get this done asap. Far better to pay for the delivery of a live puppy than for a dead one by waiting too long. Also any problems needing an operation are best dealt with in regular hours. However bitches do whelp singleton puppies naturally. Sorry that's not much help but delivery of a singleton puppy is a bit of a balancing act and you can only follow the advice given by your Vet. Do tell your Vet that she appears to be drinking more than usual.

My girl had two, which is very small for the breed in November last year, they were born 4 days late with absolutely no problems.  Wouldn't say that in reality they were any bigger than the ones born on due date, which she did 18 months before, again a litter of two.

I had similar situation 18 months ago ..... advice from my vet was go by last mating date then if she geys 2 days past that opt for c section

When one of my bitches, large breed, had 1 puppy she went exactly to the 63 days - no difficulties experienced.

Another bitch who had only 3 puppies was over by 3 days, and again experienced no difficulties.

However, think that you need her checked by your vet and would take his advice as to the next course of action - it is not worth waiting that she is going to deliver normally if he advises differently, although have to say that with 1 puppy they have a long way to come down and no other puppies to stimulate the uterine horns into contracting.  But he should be able to tell you whether or not she has begun the first stage of labour, sometimes, especially with 1 pup it is difficult to determine.   But he should also be able to tell you whether the pup is stressed or not.

I had a girl go 2 days over with 2 puppies (very small for my breed) with no problems at all.

Sadly last year on new years i ended up with a c-section on my one of my girls who only had a singleton, this puppy was delivered dead as mum just didnt go into labour, she was only 1 day over from first mating but it was already too late, a horrible end to a horrible year for me, i would like to add that mum showed no signs of distress or problems through out the whole duration and i had felt puppy movement very clearly 2 days before so i was devastated when the little girl (who was going to be staying with me) was already gone when the vet done the c-section on day 64.

This isnt to scare you but just to say dont leave it too long, though of course as has already been said singletons can and are born safely and healthy with no problems also and i hope that this is the case for you and your girl. x

my bitch had her pups on wed she had 2 and didnt produce enough hormone so we had to rush ours to vets there give her the injection and she only had 2 hrs to start if not she was going to have a c section within 15 min her first pup was born but if it wasent for us rushing her there we would of lost pups and her we had her to vets mon and spoke to vet tuesday who told us everything was fine it was only a post we got bk from here plus knowing she wasent well that got us there on time ,i would be going to vets .

Thanks for all your replies. The vet has done a really thorough check on her. The cervix is not ready to deliver the pup and the pup is not far enough down. Did loads more checks too. If nothing happens am taking her back tomorrow afternoon and will then have to make the decision. It appears she might not produce enough hormone to deliver naturally.

mine was like that on the monday by wednesday vet could feel puppy and was fully dilated but she just didnt have enough hormone  either goodluck hope all goes well.

dancer - kevinsdog is right here.  Your bitch needs to be fully dilated prior to the oxytocin injection.  I once had a vet offer this jab without even examining the bitch! 

Fortunately, I am happy to say what I want, and demanded a scan or x-ray.  Only to find that she had 2 pups, stuck side by side in the same uterine horn.  They were totally lodged there, and no contractions were going to budge them.  C-section it was.

There are still vets that offer oxytocin without checking (not saying that yours is one of them), but it is an important factor that people do need to be aware of.

I agree with the advice. Do not wait. My maiden bitch gave birth to a singleton pup yesterday and I am heartbroken. She was born feet first and due to the fact that the sac had already ruptured, it wouldn't have mattered what I did, she stood no chance of survival-I just couldn't get her out in time. 

I have had perfectly healthy puppies born out of the sack and about half of all whelps present feet first.  What will kill a puppy is birth taking to long after the placenta detaches.

yea some vets dont check there just give injection our vet wont give with out examining first and also gives u the option to say at vets while you are waiting to see if it works my bitch has needed it on both her litters but we have been advised from  vet not to breed of her again cause nxt time we might not be as lucky , she had 11 on first litter and still didnt produce hormone so dont think size of litter matters .

"so dont think size of litter matters"[i]  In fact size of litter is very important. One or two puppies might not be enough to provide the movement required to stimulate the bitch into whelping. A very large litter can make the puppies too cramped together so creating the same effect of lack of movement. The muscle layer of the uterus becomes overstretched and primary uterine inertia results.

well didnt no that you learn something new everyday .

You also have to consider the future of the puppies you have bred from the breeding aspect.

As your bitch had inertia both times, this could be hereditary and may be something her daughters could suffer, and you end up with a lien of bitches that can't whelp naturally.

You will need to research the matter and find out what her mother and sisters whelping history has been.

only ever had 2 bitches of her on her last litter there were 2 boys this time her mother has no problems whelping but we have decided on advice not to breed from her again as she is important to us in other aspects eg  family pet and working .

Thanks for all your comments and good wishes, my vet is aware that oxytocin won't work at this stage, she explained it all to me. Going back at 3pm.

> but we have decided on advice not to breed from her again

I meant you have to seriously consider whether her daughters should be bred from.  You should certainly advise their owners that the mother has had Uterine Inertia for both her litters.

new owners were told abt this before there bought puppys and had no intentions of breeding from them i even told dog owners . thanks for info .

"new owners were told abt this before there bought puppys and had no intentions of breeding from them i even told dog owners "
Well done kevinsdog. As you had two litters of abnormal size I don't think you need worry about it too much. But if I had a bitch who suffered complete inertia with two litters of normal size I would definitely look hard at the whelping ability of her close relatives.

Anything happened yet?

Sorry, I started a new thread as I was having a bit of a panic the other night!

Baby girl born by elective caesarean on Wednesday afternoon. Mum is a first time mum and so it has taken her a while to settle and accept it all. She's not what you call a 'natural' but things are improving all the time.

Thanks to everyone who offered support.