I have just had a call from a friend who has a friend (honest ;-) ) who came back from walking their in-whelp bitch and heard a sound like a puppy squeaking. She is due to whelp this week, but there was no sign of her going into labour. I have never heard of pups squeaking before being born. Is it possible?

They can only make sound when air passes over the vocal cords to make them vibrate; there is no air in the uterus so this cannot happen. It was probably the bitch's guts squeaking - my boy's do this every so often (can even be heard in another room!) when he has an upset stomach.

That's what I thought. I told her to tell him to take her to the vet if he was worried, but didn't think a sound from pups was feasible.

I'm getting heartbeats and kicking, but no squeaks!

Spoken to my friend tonight and the bitch has had a pup! They went to the vet after 1 1/2 hours of labour/straining and the vet gave oxytocin. The pup was breach (definately bum, not legs first ;-) ) and she will let me know tomorrow just how many she has. Apparently the 'squeaking' caused much hilarity at the vets. :-) Though we aren't 100% sure what caused it.....