Hi y'all!  I've been lurking on this site for a year and I love it!  What a nice, supportive group of people.  I show two different giant breeds (I understand we are not supposed to list which breed, correct?).  My Champion bitch was bred May 11 and has 12 puppies according to her ultrasound.  The waiting game is definitely on this weekend!  She hasn't left my side and I feel like it's getting close.  She is NOT a whiney breed and has a high pain tolerance.  Her first litter she didn't make a peep.  I just heard the first puppy cry and that's when I knew!  She is always snorting and panting and has a fluffy coat so it's hard to tell if she's having contractions.  However, she has started sniffing and licking the ground around her whelping box as if to check if there's puppies there. 

Just wanted to introduce myself and tell you what's going on with me at the moment!  I have only been showing for 4 years and this is my second litter, so any advice would be great!!

if I am correct her due date was yesterday?

Her reactions may be her way of dealing with the pain, like some dig etc. are you sure she hasn't had a pup outside or such and she is now looking for it, one member here missed a pup for 5 hours which her bitch had delivered outside, somehow it survived.

How many pups did she have last time?  You have probably read alot on here recently about primary inertia in small/single litters but it can also be due to the uterus being overly stretched by big puppy numbers and can't contract efficently to push the pups out, that is why I am asking how many she had last time.

Keep us posted on progress

yes it would be yesterday! ...sounds like she should be havein them pups todays! x

hopefully she is having them and thats why she hasnt updated..

Yes!  She's had 12 so far and i'm not sure if she's done.  7 males and 5 females.  She's doing great.  Such an easy whelp.  I gave her a shot of oxytosin about an hour ago.  I put my husband on puppy watch when she had expelled some blood I thought she was done, so I took a bath.  He starts yelling for me saying she's had another (#12) so I went in there buck naked and helped her!  LOL!  She's resting comfortably at the moment.  Doesn't "feel" like there's any more, but still looks pregnant.  We will see!

>I gave her a shot of oxytosin about an hour ago.

I don't understand.  You said "such an easy whelp", so why would you give oxytocin?

Congrats on the new arrivals, your going to be very busy for the next couple of months.

Many breeders give oxytocin when they think the last pup is out to clear out any placental tissue and clots it will help let the milk down for all those hungry mouths.

Just a query do large/giant breeds have more nipples than smaller breeds, my small girls have 10 but have seen some of my breed with only 6, so wondered do these huge litters get enough choice re nipples or is it a free for all.

Interestingly mine (20kg adult bitches) have also mostly had 10, but some, have had one missing, and Myka who has had the larger litters only has 8, doesn't have the two armpit ones..

Correct, I gave Oxytocin with the advice of my vet.  Ultrasound showed 11, possibly 12 so I gave it to her a couple hours after the 11th puppy and then she had the 12th.

QUESTION:  The puppies are doing a lot of whining when they are nursing, which I don't remember happening with my 1st litter.  Could that be because her milk supply isn't that great yet?  When I squeeze her, milk comes out though.  I have milk to supplement, but I really would like to hold off unless I really need it because I want her body to know how much to produce.  I have been alternating 6 on 6 off the nipples (she has 10) as to not overwhelm her.  They do seem to quiet down after about 5-10 minutes of nursing.

Am I just being paranoid?  I just LOVE these little buggers.  And of course I love my champion bitch too :)

I found that the pups can be noisy initially usually because Mum is trying to clean them and knocks them of the nipple, eventually they learn to hang on more firmly and I hold the Mum head till they are properly attached, by later the first day they were managing fine.

All the pups need the colostrum to help fight infection but I can see that having more pups than teats means there has to be some sort of rota system.

Her milk will come in if the pups are allowed to nurse, check their weight twice daily as there are so many and only supplement those not gaining.

Do you have vet/nutro drops, this gives the pups calories/energy without filling them up, great if they appear sluggish.