My girl had her litter 6 days ago, can someone tell me if it is normal that after she has fed the pups she pants heavily and digs.  I have read on other posts that a bitch will still pant days after whelping, would she still be doing it 6 days after.  I did have her checked at the vets the day after they were born and he thought every thing looked fine.  I am concerned I have missed something and that the panting is a sign of something else being wrong.

Hi, I am not an experienced breeder but I am whelping my second litter of toys. It has been 4 days since my girl gave birth and she is still panting off and on, it is much worse after she has fed a lot of pups. Being a flat faced breed she struggles with the heat, and the milk production makes her very hot too. The vet advised me during my previous litter that the panting and digging will be a mixture of pain from the cervix, anxiety (for inexperienced mothers) and also heat. So from my little experience i would say this is normal. I would try and keep her as cool and comfortable as possible, and also just reassurance you are close by. My girl loves being wiped down with a damp, cold wash cloth. It sends her into a good sleep which is exactly what she needs. Hope any of this helps although Im sure other people can provide lots more in way of advise and experience. is your girl getting enough calcium and water/milk?? Making sure she keeps hydrated is really important, as well as trying to keep it cool enough for her and warm enough for the pups.

Perfectly normal, and I've had bitches go on for over a week.  One in particular was so loud she sounded like a steam train.  I would only ever worry if a bitch had a smelly discharge.  Bitches will scratch when in pain, it's no different to them doing the same when in labour.

And remember just how hard her body is working to make milk for her pups.  I don't agree with calcium supplements, and have never needed them in many, many years.  I do, however, believe in quality feed.  Your bitch is likely to go off dry food as her tongue can be sore from cleaning pups.  Plenty of meat, fish, egg etc.  And try her on goats milk.  These should provide all the calcium she needs in a natural way.

I can remember the pain in my uterus whilst breast feeding making my toes curl so you can imagine what it is like for a bitch who has had multiple pups resulting in lots of placental sites to heal over and the pups feeding 24/7 initially so the uterine contractions will be constant and her way of coping with the pain is panting and digging.

Several owners of recently whelped bitches have mentioned this weather not helping, has anyone tried one of the cooling mats placed close by to allow the bitch to cool down without chilling the pups?

Thanks to all of you, its reassuring to know that it's not just me.  I am feeding her goats milk as we think she is only drinking when we prompt her.  We are also giving her goats milk yoghurt, sometimes mixed with her dry food.

She does seem more comfortable today, I guess that's a mixture of the temperature being lower and possibly less pain.  I have not had a heat pad on for the pups as it has been so warm and they seem good so far, I will however watch as it gets cooler.

I feed my dogs dry food except when they are feeding new pups. Their mouths become sore from al the cleaning they do. I add liquid to the food to make it mushy, so easier to eat, and am therefore giving them extra liquid so if they don't want to drink then they are not getting dehydrated. Something to think about.

hi there, my dog just had her litter of 6 yesterday. she started panting last last, while nursing, and can be really loud, and the digging started today, so afer reading this, im a bit more at ease, but will monitior her