Sorry worrying about my girl again. She has been scanned with one, possibly 2 puppies. Day 63 is Thursday 23rd so she is now 58 days. My 2 other litters have both started labour early. One on day 59 and one on day 60.
one had a normal labour and birth and the other had a cesarean because a puppy was stuck but she did start labour on her  own.
At the moment my girl is fine, eating well and running around normally. Just starting to worry about how I will know whether I need to intervene. Do I just wait until day 63 and if she is showing no signs ask my vet to do a cesarean?, Do I let her go over and if so by how much. My vet has not been much help as she says labour should start on its own. My mentor has not had a singleton litter. I do know a couple of people who have had singletons who have lost them after having cesareans too late and I really don't want that to happen

How many matings did she have? Is Thursday day  63 from the Ist mating or day 63 from the last.  The thing is, is she got pregnant from a 2nd or 3rd mating then Thursday will not be day 63 if you see what I mean.

I too know of people who have late c sections for it all to end in tears so I know where you are coming from.

> Do I just wait until day 63 and if she is showing no signs ask my vet to do a cesarean?,

Depends on breed and size of the bitch.  My breed don't go 63 days, so waiting to see a vet on day 63 would not enter my head.  I have to say that I am probably in the minority.  I have had plenty of singletons with no problems, and have not found them too huge for a natural birth.  This in a breed well known for difficult whelping.  Consequently whether it is a multiple birth or singleton is irrelevent to me.

You definitely acquire a gut sense for inertia.  Some people just don't recognise it, and the bitch suffers.  There are no contractions, but the bitch is in pain.  She can't tell you, and you need to be attuned to your bitch.  Look for the pain and distress in her eyes.  It's the only way you can tell.  For a vet to say that labour should start on its own, really shows you that vets are not breeders.

Personally, if a bitch needs a section, or needs oxytocin due to inertia, I never breed from her again.  (She is spayed, and kept as an auntie!)  :-)

Spayed and kept as an auntie ....... I like that :)

I have been in this situation twice in the last few years. Knowing a bitch is expecting one or two large puppies. As my Vets do not do their own out of hours service it was vital for me to know the expected time of whelping and when the bitch might be overdue its natural whelping point.

The same way progesterone levels can be tested for to pinpoint correct mating time it can be tested for the decline in levels which occur for about three days before a sudden drop to less than 2ng/ml when the bitch would be triggered to whelp naturally within 24 hours.

The ordinary Vet's in house test is sufficient for this. However not a lot of Vets seem to offer this service, probably because clients don't ask for it the same way as they do for needing to know progesterone levels when planning to mate their bitch. By using this method knowing the day of conception is irrelevant.

Testing from the estimated beginning of the last week of pregnancy takes the worry out of knowing when to go for a c-section and when it is safe to wait, assuming all other indications the bitch is showing are normal. For me making the effort to get the tests done was definitely worthwhile as it took the worry out of waiting and resulted in healthy puppies. Also it made it possible to book a c-section during my Vet's normal working hours.

> How many matings did she have? Is Thursday day  63 from the Ist mating or day 63 from the last

Only 1 slip mating and I didn't know for certain my girl was pregnant until last week. presumably why she only has a small litter.

> Depends on breed and size of the bitch.  My breed don't go 63 days, so waiting to see a vet on day 63 would not enter my head. 

smallish breed and my other 2 didn't go to 63 days hence why I am starting to worry now we are on day 58.

>> The same way progesterone levels can be tested for to pinpoint correct mating time it can be tested for the decline in levels which occur for about three days before a sudden drop to less than 2ng/ml when the bitch would be triggered to whelp naturally within 24 hours.

Will my vet be likely to know how to do the test? As she is already on day 58 should i start testing ASAP? do i need a baseline to see if the levels are dropping? Will the progesterone drop the same with a singleton?

With a singleton there may not be the hormone drop to trigger labour to start resulting in primary inertia, no amount of waiting is going to help.

Like in premating hormone checking there will be an ideal reading which will mean labour is imminent, not all tests/investigations need a baseline normal as per patient to work from.

Hopefully things will progress normally but it is useful to know about other options available.

To maintain pregnancy you need a minimum of 5ng/l of progesterone, the drop to 2ng/l is indicative that you should be seeing signs of labour in a bitch reaching full term. If you have a reading of 2ng and you do not see signs of labour you have inertia hence the value of progesterone to establish if elective C section is required.

The pre mate or target type kits can be used

K