Ok - my bitch is on day 65 - she's the size of a small house and is carrying a big litter according to her scan  and even though she's had bouts of panting and even a bit of scratching at the carpet we're no nearer having these pups ! Her temperature has been up and down like a yo-yo here are the last few days
day 62 - am 37.9  pm 37.5
day 63 - am 37.9 - pm 37.4
day 64 - am 37.8 - pm 37.3
day 65 ( today ) just taken her temperature and it's   37.3 C

I thought I'd pop her up to my vet for a check over this morning even though she seems fine in herself , she's eating like a horse and the pups still feel lively  - I've never had a bitch go past her due date ( all my previous litters came a couple of days early ) - I know that thie first stage is when the cervix is dilating and I'm assuming this means that she can't have Oxytocin until it's fully dilated ( or am I wrong ? ) - I'm just a bit worried that the fact that she is so big is the reason that things are not getting going - should I be worried ?

Yvonne

I'm sure you are going to get differing opinions, but here's mine!

I would say that her temperature is now on the way down, it's the first morning she's been low. Mine always drop to well below 37 before whelping.Take it again in a couple of hours and see if has gone lower.

You say she is day 65, was she progesterone tested? (if she wasn't, it could be that her eggs weren't fertilized until a few days after mating)

I wouldn't personally take her to the vet, she's fine in herself the puppies are lively - what else is he going to tell you?

Ideally Oxytocin shouldn't be given until a puppy has been delivered BUT with great care it can be given before and you do need to know that the bitch is fully dilated otherwise the uterus could rupture.

Such a breed specific thing.

I would really only be interested in opinions from posters in the same breed.

Cavaliers go up to 10 days early but experienced breeders will NEVER let them go late

Boxers almost always go on due date but going days over is no big deal.

Good luck,sure she'll be fine.

Well like Yvonne I've never had one go over (had one day 64 once), they are usually a few days early if anything -but at the same time problems are very rare indeed. So I'm not much help but I don't think I'd worry too much if she was mine. Fingers crossed.

Thanks guys - just got back from the vet and he had a feel and said that the cervix was opening but was not completely dilated - he expects the pups to be born by this time tomorow - she was progesterone tested but conception must have taken place later than we thought ( it WAS a very strange season  )

At the moment she is snoring gently at my feet and showing absoloutely no signs of being in labour !!!

Yvonne

Good luck, shall watch with interest!!!

My girl had her pups yesterday but was in the 1st stage for 18 hours, panting and shaking, her temp went down the day before to 36.5 wouldn't touch her food and started panting about 5am she started pushing after 12am and 1st pup was born just after 1am. Sadly 3 were still born but we have 2 babies boy and girl. Had a long list and im in the process of seeing who will be the best home for my little man (even though they were all good homes of course) will decide after the viewing at 4 week. Scan was incorrect also said she was having 8 plus, wont scan again as i was worried there was more but after a good palpate i could tell their was no more. I could tell there was not 8 in there also she wasnt big enough. Doubt ill scan again in a hurry.

Louise

Sorry to hear you lost some of your puppies. Remember it is possible for the bitch to reabsorb after they have been scanned.

Hi Yvonne, Roxy had her puyps much later than I expected, I can't remeber if it was day 63 or something like that but I expected them a lot earlier. She aslo gollowed the same pattern, dropping  just slightly every day overall . . . . . . .We worked out afterwards that a) she only took on the 2nd mating (clue was the lady at the 4 week scan and 5 week scan said she wasn't yet 4 weeks / 5 weeks !!!!!  and b) she had a large headed puppy come first and it was stuck for quite a while I think she'd been in labour for a while trying to push it out anyway with some help he popped into the world absolutely fine. it seems that we both had strange seasons and very late matings and maybe there is some sort of correlation as the breeding is so similar. I  would expect her temp to drop to below 37 even if only for an hour or two and then she'll be on her way (you may have even missed this drop) Roxy (both litters) Anoushka and Tahaioni all gave birth within 6 to 18 hours of the drop to below 37 I think they went down to 36 ish.  Good Luck, hope all goes well.

Valerie

sorry you lost some of the litter Louise..always sad but you have thankfully puppies and  mum safe and well

good luck for the following weeks to come.

Louise so sorry to hear that you lost some of the pups -it's heart breaking when this happens - enjoy the two that you have got.

Val - I must admit I'm getting worried now - I took Bijou to Jim ( my vet) yesterday and he felt internally and said that she is partially dilated and that he thought that things should start happening yesterday afternoon or last night - well this morning we're no closer to having these pups and she's on day 66 - she's eating like a horse and sleeping like a log , the pups are still active and she seems perfectly well in herself ( no discharge etc ) - I'm taking her back this morning for another check up - I've NEVER had a bitch go so long after her due date they've always been a day or so early so this is new territory for me - her temperature this morning was 37.4 so a little higher than yesterday - I'm trying hard not to panic myself into asking for a caesarean but equally I'm terrified that I'll leave things too long and the pups will die .

Yvonne

Hope your girl starts soon. If her temp has gone up slightly that may indicate that things are about to start. Not all girls go off their food either i have had bitches eat hrs before giving birth. I hope you have a good outcome. Just curious but is your vet Jim in holbeach....if so he is mine too and i put all my trust in him.

yep - he's really great and I trust him implicitly - just waiting till he opens then I'll take her up again

Yvonne

Fingers crossed here.

In a case like this I would progesterone test when the expected due date has just passed.Progesterone is high during the pregnancy to maintain it but about 24 hours before birth the levels drop off very quickly to less than 2ng/ml. Therefore you would know by the progesterone level if it is too early to be thinking about a C-section.

I recently had a bitch go a day over and tested to find her level hadn't completely dropped.I felt confident to sit and wait, did a second test two days later. She eventually whelped four days late.

Finally we have 9 beautiful healthy pups  !! - in the end Bijou had to have a Caesarean  - I took her to my vet  who said that she was fully dilated and to wait for second stage to begin - but some hours later she still was not contracting and the pups had stopped moving - Jim gave her a shot of Oxytocin again to no effect we left it another 2 hours by which time I was really worried as she was not contracting at all - so I took her back for a Ceaser - I was able to stay and watch - just convinced that I had waited too long and the pups would be dead but Jim handed me 9 wiggly protesting pups to rub dry - all big strong and healthy.

Once home my poor girl would'nt even look at the pups - her expression said  " where did they come from " - but once she had laid down we put a pup on her back teat and held her head so she could'nt get to the puppy and she just accepted it - we then placed all the pups and as they began to suckle  Bijou then  just relaxed and clicked into 'mum' mode - so all is well.

Needless to say I'm so relieved to have such a good outcome - thanks for your support guys !

Yvonne

Congratulations (have been checking in most of yesterday for news lol)

So pleased for there safe arrival and a happy mum.

Enjoy those babies xx

That's really good news, hope mum and pups continue to do well.

great news, congratulations.
Paula xxx

Mixed news but a good outcome all the same -really pleased for you.

oh..thankfully all is well.. good luck with the litter.

> I've NEVER had a bitch go so long after her due date they've always been a day or so early so this is new territory for me

As with your breed mine tend to go a day or so before day 63 as bitches are rarely mated (either they won't stand or the stud won't mate them) as early as ovulation.

My Kizi had her first litter 5 days early to only 1 mating.

Her last litter was born on day 67, but she had a prolonged season and at palpating on day 28 the Vet told me the litter were not that old, so I did not worry when she went over.

So did you have ovulation pin pointed by blood testing and age of whelps by scan, if not and all is well another day should see things revealed.

Edited:

Pays to read to the end, well done.

Congratulations. So long as Mum and babes are fit and healthy, that's the important thing. Now time to relax and enjoy ;-)

Congrats on the new arrivals.

WELL DONE AFTER YOUR LONG WAIT

Great to hear mum and all the babies are safe and well. I love the fact that jim lets you stay for a c-section, i have three times in the past. Amazing to watch but scary when your girl is on the table.

Good luck with your litter :)

yep it was pretty amazing ! -the new family are doing just fine - Bijou's being a wonderful mum and the pups are plump, warm, sleepy bundles of gorgeousness !!

Mind you I'm rapidly becoming a sleep deprived zombie due to the fact that I'm leaping out of bed everytime she moves in the whelping box to check on the pups.

Yvonne

> the pups are plump, warm, sleepy bundles of gorgeousness !!
>

How wonderful, congratulations !

Still have a very soft spot for this breed.

> the pups are plump, warm, sleepy bundles of gorgeousness !!
>
>

Wonderful!   So very pleased for you.  Congratulations.

A breed that I have often thought about trying.

So pleased for you!

Congratulations. I'll close this now all is going well.