Hi,

My girl is on day 55, is very restless and panting a lot, she is also very big.  Could this really hot weather bring her on early, she had 9 pups on her last litter, which is quite a lot for a first litter although she is a med/large working breed which can have big litters.  I could be wrong but I just don't feel she will go until next Tuesday and I am just hoping she can hang on for a few more days.

Has anyone heard of the weather causing a bitch to go off early?  My worry is that they will not survive at only 55 days.

Any advise very welcome.

Bernie

Snap!

My bitch was due on Saturday but has had her litter today 5 days early and has lost 3. The dead pups seemed to have halted development around 3-4 days ago and only the survivors have gone on to develop fully.
This is despite keeping her in an airconditioned room and completely clippering her undercarriage.

No proof of this of course but I dont think it helped.

Same here tooolz. 5 days early, all survived but smaller than normal but doing OK. Never had one of this breed whelp more than a couple of days early before. Kept her cool and only exercised in the late evening. Bit of a worry when realising they are not going to hang on longer.

So sorry to hear that you lost 3 pups, I hope mum and the rest of the babies are fine now....It must be the heat if there are two of you whose dogs went that early...did you get the usual signs, like going off food and clear discharge?  My girl is still eating but I was out for two hours today and she messsed in the kitchen, which is not like her.

My girl whelped Friday night, 2 days LATE....so not sure it's anything to do with the weather.

I hope your right Sharon....if she can get to 58 days I'd be happier...hope the whelping went well and all are well.

So sorry Toolz,how heartbreaking.Hope the rest thrive x i had a litter 3 weeks ago born 4 days early and it's surprising how much size difference 4 days makes,they really did look dinky compared to other litters.

Bernie,sending lots of 'hang on' vibes your way.

Thanks Bucksmum...vibes gratefully recieved!!!  4 days early you wouldn't expect them to be much different, hope they are all well and caught up now.

I'll let you know how we get on...hopefully she can hold out till the weekend...but I doubt it somehow.

Just to update..now day 56, had a very worrying evening she spent most of it just staring at me and gently panting...then about 11pm she fell into a deep sleep, I checked on her during the night and today she seems more settled...but it is much cooler.  I would be very surprised if she goes to the weekend, but each day is a bonus now.

My vet reckoned the heat could be part of what was stopping Ellie having a natural birth...

I imagine it can effct both ways...did Ellie have to have a C section?

Yes she did, but her and her singleton puppy are doing well so far. :)

My vet reckoned the heat could be part of what was stopping Ellie having a natural birth...
That makes sense to me.  A bitch's temperature needs to go down before whelping and so if they are kept at a high temperature ................
Many years ago I was told by a very experienced breeder to feed a bitch ice cubes to encourage whelping in a hot summer.

That's great that both are doing well.

I had better stop giving Cassie ice cubes then, I thought they would cool her down I never considered that they could bring on labour!!!

She was in our air conditioned lounge much of the time... Ah well, all's done now. One of my friends asked me what her temperature had been doing over the last few days and I had to avoid answering, as I've never actually dared try stick a thermometer up their bum, lol!