my bitch is 8 weeks pregnant today and is eating very little ive tryed alot of food with her and she might eat it for 1 meal and when i try her with it again she just wont touch it has anyone got any good recipes she might like?
also the food shes been eating throughtout her pregnancy she wont touch that either starting to worry for the pups sake at this stage

Your bitch could whelp today, and the pups would be perectly viable.  And a lot of bitches go off food towards the end of pregnancy.  Is she now on puppy food?  What treats are you using to tempt her?

I have to say that I once had a bitch that appeared to eat so little for her last 3 weeks that I was worried about the pups.  Of course, in reality, bitches don't starve themselves!   And, in my bitches case, once pups had arrived, she ate for england, and all was well.
Is your girl packed out pretty tight?  They can feel very uncomfortable towards the end, and eating big meals is impossible.  I would never worry for the pups sake - mum will make sure that they get the goodness first.  You can have a litter of very fat, well nourished puppies, and a bitch that is skin and bone.  I think you'll find it is more likely the condition of the bitch that suffers.

We all worry a little too much sometimes, and I am thinking that, as long as you are offering smaller meals, little and often, she will be just fine.  Not long to wait now!  :-)

I had a bitch that didn't eat. For other reasons she had to have a caesarian and when I went to collect ther I made the comment to the vet 'I'm glad you know I don't mistreat my dogs or you'd be calling the SSPCA on me' She was just skin and bone. She rapidly made up for it though and is still here with me at almost 13 years old, and still a gannet ;-) She had 9 live pups. All 9 are still live and kicking almost 9 years later.

Just try to find tasty things for her, and feed her little and often. Anything smelly (sardines, etc) are a good food if she will eat them. As are scrambled egs, rice pudding, anything you would tempt a sick dog with. I know she isn't sick, but things that will go down without too much effort. She just won't want to eat because she is so full. Perfectly normal bitch behaviour, and so worrying for an owner :-p

thanks for the replys , i had her at the vets today for another scan just to make sure she and the pups were doing ok and everything seems to be fine the pups were moving around so much it took her a few mins to get proper look with the scanner, but then we seen heartbeats and even got a quick glimse of 1 of there paws so i was delighted.
the vet said the same that she is prob just so full that shes only able to eat small amounts.
i cooked some diced beef for her tismorning and she ate as much of it as she could.

can anyone tell me when she has the pups and i cut the cords and clamp them do you leave the clamps on the cords and for how long ? this is assuming my bitch doesnt do it herself

Glad the vet has reassured you that all is well.

Puppy cords are not thick and juicy like human ones and only need clamping briefly, I used to tie dental floss on them but they fell off soon after so I gave up.

ive never used a clamp i just push the blood flow back towards the pups belly and use my thumb nail and 1st finger to tear it ,good look not long now x

thanks for the replys everyone does the blood in the cord not keep coming out after you cut it?

I do exactly the same as white lilly.  I have never even used the clamps that I bought years ago!

No johns14, the blood doesn't keep flowing.  But I would advise you not to jump right in.  Give your girl chance to make the choice about chewing them herself.  Only intervene if needed.  

I've never had to cut cords, the bitches have done that by themselves; unless you have a brachycephalic breed it's unlikely you'll need to intervene. If by some chance the bitch can't manage it (and she'll do it better than a human!) then the cord needs to be gripped between finger and thumb of both hands (so as not to pull it from the puppy - the weight of clamps can do this) and the cord crushed and torn with the nails, which seals the ends as the bitch's teeth would, rather than a clean cut which is more likely to bleed.

thanks for the advice everyone,
by the way how many of you go by the bitches temp drop to determine when your bitch is nearly ready for 1st stage labour, its just im taking her temprature 3 times a day and i was gonna wait til her temp drops a good bit before i stay with her and if night sleep in the same room , would ye advise me to be sleeping in the same room as her from now til shes in labour?

Never had success with temp taking this subject gets mixed reactions from other members too.

I sleep close to or take her to bed with me from about 10days before first due date.

takeing temps is good if you know what your doing and its taken propley, but i sleep downstairs with my girl from day 56 sometimes earlyer! just depends how the bitch is acting x

Hi everyone well my bitch is on day 65 from the first day she was mated, i can feel the pups move all the time now its amazing, got my delivery from Hyperdrug so im well prepared, should i be starting to worry if she doesnt have anything in the next day or 2?
ive been taking her temp 3 times a day and it hasnt dropped below 99.7f

It all depends on over how many days she was mated and 63days from the last mating would be the upper limit of due dates.

Did you have her tested for ovulation pre mating so you were sure of when she would be most fertile or was the mating based on how she was looking/reacting or days into her cycle?

Some bitches don't go into labour due to primary inertia causes are over stretched uterus unable to contract,only one pup so not enough hormone to trigger labour or it is hereditary in the female line.

Hopefully she gets going in the next 24 hrs or you need to get her checked out at the vets before the weekend.

I mated her based on her days into her cycle, tomorrow will be 63 days from her second mating so she prob has a day or 2 left , theres definitly more than 1 pup as i can feel on either side of her a pup moving near enough the same time, them 9 weeks have gone really fast, ill see what happens in the next 24hrs and get the vet to check her if nothing happens

when was the last mating? 

My most recent litter the bitch was mated days 14, 16 and 18 and whelped 65 days from first mating, so looks like she probably ovulated on day 15/16 and probably conceiveed day 17/18.

Any signs of action yet?

Maybe needs a very hot curry and a ride on a very bumpy road.

my bitch is in first stage labour a few hours now alot of panting,nesting and is reluctant to come out of her welping box wont be to long now

Keep us posted on how things go

Good Luck

still no sign of contractions she's been panting since 11.00am tismorning ,i think i could have a long nite ahead of me

is she still panting? hope all is well x

Hi everyone my bitch had to have a c-section at 5.00am tismorning she had 6 but unfortunatly 2 of them didnt make it a male and a female and this is the upsetting thing about breeding.
But the mother and the other 4 pups are doing fine ,theres 2 males and 2 females and there absolutly gorgeous.
thanks to everyone who replyed to my posts

sorry to hear about the 2 your girl has lost :( but glad mum and 4 babies doing well ,all the best xx

Congrats on the new arrivals.

Sorry to hear 2 pups didn't make it. Why did she need the section?

Enjoy them they grow up too quickly.

thanks, the first pup it took her awhile to deliver it and in the end i had to give her a hand to get it out ,1 back leg was coming and the other was bent back and i tryed everything with the pup but there was just no helping it.
and when the second pup was ready to come out i could see the sack but she just couldnt push it out the pups were just to big for her so i rang the vet for the 3rd time as they told me to wait awhile and see does she have it herself but i said no i want to bring her in for a section . so by the time we got there and they started the section the second pup didnt survive the lenth of time she was trying to push it out.
but the other 4 pups are all drinking well and seem content

It helps us all to know why c/sections are done so thanks for that.