hi all just a little update on poppy, were now on day 63 and nothing as yet cept for very sore fingers due to all the nailbiting!!
for two nites on the trot i stayed up till about 4.30 am....first time as she was pawing a lot and seemed restless and last nite because we thought she was panting and it wasnt until 4am that we realised that she was actually snoring!!! poor luv all she has to do is grunt and im there marigolds at the ready!
anyway ive got a feeling today just may be the day,fingers crossed! emma x

Hi
It's a tough time and the more you watch her the more excited, anxious etc etc you get..but what can you do except keep watching with anticipation. :)
Think after 9 weeks you get where you just want it to be over and have mum and pups safely through it all and contented..then you drive yourself to distraction watching the pups, putting them on to feed, worrying about one thats not doing so well, trying to get as much fluid down mum till she could drown and she just turns her nose up at whatever you give her..It's a nightmare from start to finish..why do we do it :)
Anyway lets hope todays the day and all goes well..you'll be in for another sleepless night whether anything happens or not :)

Tracey

If it helps, my last litter were born on day 68 - each night found me on a mattress in the whelping room, waking every time she turned over! By the time she eventually decided to have them, I was a zombie! :)

day 68?!! please dont say that dont think i could cope with the stress! shes actually quite happy and content just lying here fast asleep,full of sausages(all she will eat now!)little madam!
i dont mind tho if you cant spoil them now when can u eh? ;)
she needs all the pampering she can get anyway....gonna be a difficult few weeks for her,i think she will do gud tho got lots of faith in her....:)

Emma, My Maggie just produced four lovely babies on day 64. Have you been taking her temperature? I wasn't going to bother, but I'm glad I did as exactly 24 hours after it dropped to 98F she went into labour! Mind you she didn't do things as the book said she would, but we got there in the end. Good Luck and let us know how it goes :D

Grace

i havent taken her temperature....i think i will tho,congrats on yur pups!!! what breed are they?
i'll keep u posted emma x

I have never taken the temperature of my bitches.
Could someone tell me what exactly to do. Also whats the exact temperature they should be.
I think this must be a good idea. As I am like the rest of you. I loose that much sleep before babies are born because I think every snore, pant is a sign of labour.
Nutkin

nutkin, what you do to take the temp is just like the vet does.

get a little vasiline on the thermom.

put up the bum

for 2 mins

then read after you have wiped it ofcourse.

the temp should be about 100 normal

when the bitch is ready the temp will drop to about 98 97

i have been told that some bitches dont go by this, but it did work 2x with mine.

debbie

Take her temperature twice a day. A digital thermometer is quicker and safer than a glass one, which I must say we used for years!! Dogs normal temperature is 101.5F (Sorry I'm so old, I talk in old money!) For the last week of pregnancy, a bitch's normal temperature is nearer 100.5F. You'll see a pattern of slight variation, but when it drops to 99 or below, you can expect the pups to arrive with 24 hours. This isn't infallible (it's let me down once!) but it's a good guide.

because grace is not on at the moment i will answer for her. her breed is grate danes, and i have seen the pics of her babies and they are wonderfull.

How many do you think your baby will be having?

debbie

ps, the temp taking worked for me, cleos temp droped about 10hrs befor birth

thanks for that deb, couldn't get onto the noticeboard last might but every other site I tried worked fine
Emma, yes I have Great Danes and if you would like to see the photos of the pups you can click on my name and look at my web site.
I too used a digital thermometer as you only have to wait about a minute until it stops flashing, a lot quicker! I was a bit worried about doing it to start but Maggie soon got into the routine and just laid on the sofa so I could take it. Mind you when it did change I spent the next 24 hours living on my nerves! ;)
Good Luck
Grace

Good morning grace how are your little ones doing now? I hope you are geting your sleep.

Debbie

hi my cleo gave birth on day 64 with no problems at all. thank god.

All are good and strong. Hope yours will be the same

Debbie

hi your puppys are absolutly adorable !!!:)
i have taken poppys temp and it is 37.1 although im still none the wiser!! any1 who can convert that 4 me?!!
we are expecting around 3 or 4 pups....which is about rite for me, i could never cope with 12!! i take my hat off 2 you debbie ;) still nothing although shes started sctaching alot more and looking for little corners to hide in (bless)

Betty, unless you want Poppy to have her puppies on your sofa or on your bed, then you should put her in her whelping box (in the converted playpen!!) NOW. It's 98.8F!!
http://www.onlineconversion.com/temperature.htm

Hi Val,

I sat in the whelping box with Lil for 24 hours (apart from wee breaks for both of us!) and then decided I'd treat myself to a 5 minute cuppa on the sofa ...... Lil jumped up next to me and had a puppy, within 1 minute!! Two more followed on the lounge floor within 10 minutes ......... thankfully we had loads of newspaper and towels to hand - don't think she fancied the whelping box idea, and was hanging out for the sofa. As soon as they were born, we put her in the whelping box and she was happy as Larry (whoever Larry is?).

Did you hear Wendy Hills' news from the weekend?

M.

Marina, that's why I have a "filled in" whelping box!!

Yes, I have heard the news now. A VERY nice win! Congratulations to both you and Millie!

I never had much luck with temps until I bought a digital thermometer and then I felt safer - I was always worried about the glass one breaking whilst inside a wriggly dog.

Maybe just me but my Cavaliers usually whelp between days 60 and 62, if we go longer it usually means big trouble. I had one vet assure me that the bitch was quite well and if we were only patient the puppies would arrive at anything up to day 68. Day 62 she was scanned ant the vet stated that there were two puppies, day 63 she was anxious all day, day 64 at lunchtime nasty black gunge and by 2.30 a very sick bitch with a ceaser and two very dead puppies.

Most Cavalier people I talk to will generally say not to let them go to full 63.

Alice

just so as you know, to convert °C to F you multiply by 1.8 then add 32
Hope to hear some news soon! :)

Grace

Multiply by 9, divide by 5 then add on 32!!!!! That is for the simple people like me who cannot count!

An easier way John for enumerates like me is to double the figure, add 30 and then minus 2 :) :)
Gina :p

I hope all is still ok for you.we are all copeing thank goodness.

when the time is right she will have them. so dont panic. keep an eye on the temp and you should be ok.

grace is maggie eating now, cos you said earlyer that she wasnt.

debbie

Hi im new to this site an was just readin up on ur soon to be new additions...hows she gettin on an wot type of breed is she...iv had 2 litters of doberman pups both small litters (thank God) an im planning on takin another litter out of either same bitch or her daughter this year sum time. good luck xxx linzi

hi all, OMG.....98.8?? really,could someone please tell poppy that because she just finished her dinner and wolfed the lot! shes in very good spirits to...oh well another nite on the sofa for me then!
hi linzi, poppys a cavalier king charles,i love dobes beautiful dogs...

With all my litters the temp drop has been 36.9 C or below........so you may find if you take it a bit later before you turn in for the night it maybe still dropping. I hope everything goes well for you.

Sorry Val but I went from F to C after getting a digital .......used to go by the 98 F but have found the 36.C more accurate! Next time I see you I will have to get you converted LOL

Too old Millie, too old!! The thermometer might be more accurate, but I don't find that bitches are!! ;)

Too true (Don't mean the age bit ).........Bitches don't tend to read the books..........always full of surprises!

How very true :D I wish I had given the book of the bitch to Maggie to read instead of me keeping it to myself, it would have made things a lot more straight forward ;)
Debbie, She is eating now and seems a lot happier in herself. She is also a bit more willing to leave the pups for a few minutes. They've nearly doubled their birth weight already!

Grace

I knew she would eat again grace, after all she is a mum of 4 now. Glad the pups are coming on well. Mine are huge now and there eyes are starting to open.

Debbie

Any news on the cavalier front yet????

hi yes i did post another thread but it was removed....oooops!!
poppys temp has dropped to 36c now still not much happening tho :( shes just sleeping alot...im sure everything will start soon,proberbly just when im going on the school run!!;)

Isn't it always the way!!!Stayed up most of the night with a panting ESS on her due day.Of course I fell asleep in the chair after about 4.30 PM and when I woke at 20 past 5 she'd had 4and I hadn't heard a peep
Another time I went to bed confident that the bitch was fine no outward signs and only on day 60.Woke up next morn to 9 pups
Ho Hum!!

when her contractions starts it wont be long after...ul be able to see her contractions...good luck xxx give her a big kiss from us all

planning on takin another litter out of either same bitch or her daughter this year sum time

Would this be the 2 and a half year old bitch who has already had one or two litters or her one year old daughter?

Surely if your dogs are think with their ribs showing, you have an agressive male, you should think at least twice preferably more before you even consider having another litter until their condition is as good as you can possibly get it?

The average Dobermann litter is around 7 pups and range from 1 to 17 so again, have you thought about why you are having small litters?

Christine

Hi i sent u an email cos i codnt find where u had put my reply

hi all:) well temp on its way back up now.....so i guess im wondering 24 hours from when it started dropping 6pm last nite! or 24 hours from the lowest this morning??
im dying to go to tescos for a bottle!! coffee just doesnt have the same effect;)
since poppy cant the time it isnt gonna matter but still.....i havent been this nervous since my driving test!

Betty, what's it gone up to??

hi val, well at 6pm it was back to 98.8....

That's OK. As I said, if you keep a chart over a few days, you'll see a pattern, and it usually goes up a little in the evenings. If it goes right up to 101.5 again, then that's the time to call the Vet for help.

Hi Bettyboop,
I've been following this thread and as I have absolutely no idea about breeding can't postany help or advice, but I'm continually scrolling up and down checking how many days and up and down checking temperatures, it's like reading a really good story and you don't want to put the book down..what a time for you.So it's any time from day 64 to 68 am I right, but her temps dropped so it's any time soon..OOooooh can't wait to hear from you..As I've never seen a dog give birth (would love to though) how do you help them during the process., can you help by reasuring them, with strokes and speaking to them..(do they want to be left alone to get on with it) or does it all depend on the dog..(like women in birth we're all different)..

Good Luck !! :) :) :)
Sandy x x x

Sandy,
I have just been through it all for the first time :) As I said earlier I wish my Maggie had read the Book of the Bitch, then at least she, like me, would have known what order to do things! Maggie decided not to pant until she was actually having the first puppy, and didn't want to have the pups in the whelping box, she wanted to have them in the car! Things got a bit scary (for me) so I started to drive her to the vet, but as he said she would, she had the first pup on the way there, then had the second on the way home :rolleyes: She then waited an hour and as she was now a well experienced mother ( ;) ) she had the next two without even a flinch.
Mind you I was living her contractions with her to start with, and felt totally useless as she just got on with it. She had four and they are doing very well (five days old now) and she has settled to mother hood well. I was lucky to have a friend with me from 4am to see the whole thing through, but she says each bitch is different, and often each whelping is different.
I like you can't wait to see how Emma gets on with Poppy :)

Grace