My girl is on day 55, huge and panting.  Will they survive now?  She had 13 last time and lost 5, so I am very nervous this time.  Any similar experiences or advice much appreciated.

She's panting because there's so little room inside her for her lungs to expand, but day 55 is too early for whelps to survive if she goes into premature labour.

If she is panting due to trying to cope with a large number of pups then keep her calm, not over exercised and not overly warm, give very small frequent meals as a full stomach presses on the diaphragm which in turn interferes with the breathing.

Hopefully it isn't labour and she hangs on another 3 or 4 days which makes alot of difference at this stage.

Do you know she's having a large litter? One of my girls on her 2nd litter was HUGE, nay G I N O R M O U S!! I could have sworn we were due to have 10+ (we're a medium breed where 6 is average). As it turned out she had 5-6, the same as her first litter :-D

She panted enough to compete in an Olympic event and be guaranteed to win!

Can't help re litter sizes of 13 or losses though. Hope everything goes ok for her. :-)

What's her temperature pattern doing?

Pups born a week early should survive so only another day needed.

Sorry, edited the wrong bit of my post, durr .... should have read average is 5-6, she had 6, same as previous litter. Early night me thinks ...

Update:
We are now on day 57 - hooray!  She is panting, and tried nesting on the sofa last night, so keeping a close eye on her.
One question:  In my whelping kit there is an aspirator.  I have tried to find out how you use it, without success.  Can anyone advise?

Always depends on the breed and the individual dog.  My large breed only goes 58 days yet my smaller breed goes right to the minute!
As for an aspirator? I have no idea what that is?  Is it to help them breathe?  I always have a little bulb thingy(don't know the correct name) to clear the airways and just give it a squeeze and release in the airway on an out breath.  I have also sucked the gunk out with mouth-to-mouth.  And learning the swinging technique saved a few pups over the years.
Have you not got a mentor to help you?

the aspirator is the 'bulb thingy'.  You squeeze it so the air is pushed out and hold against the nose so when it re inflates it sucks the crap out.

Oh I thought you put the aspirator in the mouth, so thanks for the advice.
She is laying on the sofa with me, panting and licking, off her food, and has been shredding in her whelping box, so I think she is getting ready to go now.

I hope all goes to plan and you have healthy dam and pups at the end.

My first litter will be 4yrs old on Xmas Day.

> Oh I thought you put the aspirator in the mouth

may well do, have only ever used on human babies when blocked up with a cold.

You mentioned that she's licking....Mine, no matter the breed, always spend a large amount of the day before carefully and painstakingly cleaning their paws and legs.
Getting into licking mode!

Wishing you the best of luck for an easy whelping x

Thanks Barbara!!lol  I was wondering how all those pups had made it over the years without me having one of those things, when I'd been using one all along!!hehe.
Best of luck for the next few sleepless weeks.  You must be mad at christmastime!!!

> In my whelping kit there is an aspirator.  I have tried to find out how you use it, without success. 

Unless you know exactly the tecnique required I would leave well alone as there is a danger that, rather than aspirating, you will cause inspiration and consequently risk pneumonia.

<<You mentioned that she's licking....Mine, no matter the breed, always spend a large amount of the day before carefully and painstakingly cleaning their paws and legs.
Getting into licking mode! >>>

I was told that this licking is a reaction to pain/discomfort?

>I was told that this licking is a reaction to pain/discomfort?

Or as a displacement activity.

Be very careful if you do need to use one, I've not had to myself yet, but I've been told you have to be very careful to squeeze the bulb before inserting it, then release to draw fluid out. Don't squeeze it while it's insert or you will blow air and / or fluid into the lungs instead. I'm sure all will be fine though!

I've never used one in over 30 years, although there is one in the cupboard.

In the olden days we used the swinging technique, and it still works the same today.  As long as you have been shown how to do it correctly, it's amazing how much crap you see fly out.

> Or as a displacement activity.

Or preparatory instincts?
No doubt in the final 24hrs when the pups are lining up for birth and first stage contractions are beginning, nature finds them something useful to do.
The long, trance-like licking carries onto their interaction with their pups I find.

It is 1.06am on 21st Dec and we have two boys and two girls safely delivered since 9.50 last night.  One a bit small but doing well.  Still looking big, so I think we will be going a while yet!  My girl has hardly made a sound, small contractions and out it pops - such a good girl.  Will update.

Congrats on the new arrivals

Any more?

congratulations, hope the rest arrive safely

> The long, trance-like licking carries onto their interaction with their pups I find.

I find the same, the occasional bitch that just produces puppies seems most confused as to what to do with them initially.

Now have seven, three boys, four girls, and one born dead in yellow sac, think there may be another couple to come.  Aren't dogs amazing - so trusting - she won't let me leave her for a second.  Had to forgo the loo for hours!!

This is wonderful, I keep coming on for an update.  Can't wait for the next one :)

Thats lovely :)

Sorry for the sleeping one.

If anyone has any information on the yellow sac i'd be interested to hear it.

Glad to hear things are mainly going to plan. RIP little one. She is certainly taking her time getting finished.

The sac becomes discoloured for a couple of reasons I can think of, the pup died and started to decay or the pup became distressed due to lack of oxygen and it's bowels activated staining the sac this will have happened some days before labour. I have seen pups born on video alive who have stained coats, the distress has been more recent and hasn't been enough to kill the pup.

We now have eight live puppies, three died, and I think she is finished, or at least I hope so.  She has been taking lots of rests between puppies and went from 12.15 to to 4.35 this morning, so panic call to the vet for reassurance!  First little boy very small, so am using Puppystim which, together with Nutridrops, has been a godsend this time - would highly recommend.

Will update further tomorrow after visit to the vet. Or if there are any more I will update.

Congratulations!

Wow, what a great family! Sorry you lost 3 though. :-(

Well done all of you. 

Good luck with them all, a busy Christmas ahead. Sorry you lost some.

Was that the final count?

Well, what a roller coaster!  She had 15 in total, five dead at birth and was in labour from Thursday 9.50pm to 7pm Friday.  We left for the vet with 10 but when we came back two were poorly and despite our best efforts, died.  Then to cap it all she laid on one little girl when I left her for a few minutes.  We have been up with them all night for two nights.  The final 7 are doing well and suckling well, and all settled.  You have to be so tough to go through this, and she won't have any more puppies.  I must admit to finding it all really upsetting and at this precise moment don't want to have any more puppies.

Forgot to add, we have 4 girls and three boys.

Sorry about the ones you lost. If she is a breed which will easily squash a pup then she must never be left unobserved with the pups with her, I have heard of many litters from such breeds being shuffled to and fro from a heated box and the whelping box because when the dam stands up she isn't careful lying back down again, pig rails don't always work

So many come into breeding dogs only seeing cute pups, they don't realise the heartache and hard work that it takes to get those pups to maturity.

Sorry for the ones you lost or were born sleeping. It's hard work isn't it. I have a litter that are 4 weeks old at the moment. It's a big litter for my breed (not the one in the picture) and its been blood sweat and tears all the way. My bitch has been amaizin but she too is exhausted and eclampsia has set in twice, fortunately I've spotted the signs. I too had to use a heated box in between whelps as there were so many and she chose not to whelp in the whelping box (little diva). Thankfully my bitching was careful but I wouldn't leave her unattended , if I went to the loo so did she. Hope your little ones thrive xx

I have never leaft a bitch unattended until the pups have their eyes open - not easy when you're on your own but the way it has to be. In the early days they're just too exhausted to be careful.
I also sleep at the side of the whelping box until 3-4 weeks (as well as the week before whelping) and the puppies are strong enough.

I am sleeping next to the whelping box and and don't leave her as she gets so stressed.  This litter was too large, came too early and as such I am fighting to keep them alive, but won't leave them for a moment until I am confident they will live. Have managed to bring one girl back from the brink - thank god for puppystim and nutridrops- heat pad and heat lamp.  Won't sleep a wink tonight for watching every movement  - am determined not to lose any more and will be watching for any movement.

New update.  Am now down to five puppies, all okay at the moment, and suckling but am now resigned to losing them all for some unknown reason.  Was up all night making sure they were fed off bottle or mum, on heat pad if poorly, and lots of nutridrops as prescribed.  Just hoping for the best now.

So sorry they are all fading, did the vet say they were premature,how heavy were they and did they have hair? From the dates you gave in your first post they would have been early but still viable, maybe she didn't ovulate till later than you thought and sheer number overload pushed her into an early whelping. The very long labour may not have helped as infection can get in as soon as the cervix starts to open.

They really should only be feeding from mum at least 2hourly to stimulate her milk supply and get the colostrum they need to fight infection, give nutrodrops before feeds to boost energy levels for suckling but only 1ml,not enough to reduce their appetite.

I hope the remaining pups are stronger and survive.

I had a similar whelping in May.  Slow labour, 4 out of 11 pups stillborn, last one retained for a day and a half!!!

She had whelped easily the previous litter.

I had the bitch spayed when they were 12 weeks old, even though I had planned to keep a puppy from a future litter, meant I had to keep one earlier than was ideal, but hey ho best laid plans and all that.

At least I didn't loose my girl, and she is now a fit and healthy neuter.

So sorry for the puppies gone to the bridge, I hope the remaining ones do well x

Am down to one remaining pup, who seems very strong but tiny - 270g instead of the normal 300 plus.  Seems to be holding his own at present but wouldn't be surprised if he failed to live.  At least mum is okay - will be getting her spayed as soon as I can.

Oh Jenny I'm so sorry. Have everything crossed for the pup you have remaining xx

Thanks for thhe update, so sorry that it wasn't better news.

Keeping everything crossed for the final pup.

You need to wait till Mum is back to normal and in full condition before spaying her, many wait till 3 months after her next season but at least 3 months from whelping, in my girls case would be 5 weeks before the next season was due hence the wait till it was out of the way.