My 2 year old small terrier breed is due to have her first litter on the 4th of December. Yesterday was off food and I caught her eating grass a few times. Today she was hungry but extremely tired and clingy. She has been sleeping on my bed, in her whelping box and on my lap for most of the day, been out 2-4 times for a wee/poo. I went out with her 2 of those times and in the last one I watched her defecate. Her poo cam out as a ~10 cm string probably .5-1 cm in diameter, not her usual "pellets". Is she ok, I have heard that diarrhea is sometimes an indication of early labour. Help please!

**Update**
It is currently 11:54 pm and Milly is showing a few nesting signs but maybe its just her getting comfy. She was restless between 8-10 pm but is sleeping now. Tummy feels like soft rocks but still movement from the pups (not a lot). She had a pee about 10ish. Is currently wheezing in her sleep due to a dream.

sounds normal and like it wont be long!  Good luck x

Good luck, keep a close eye on her. My bitch showed very little sign other than being quite clingy during the afternoon. I thought she would be 6-8 hours away from whelping, but in fact two hours later she was happy to go out for a wee with the dogs, and it was only when I turned around to see where she was I saw she was squatting over newspaper I'd put down for the dogs in case I was called away to her and had no one to let them out. I literally had time to dive over to catch the puppy :-)

Any news?

Just had 6 perfect pups all well so far. No placenta as of yet. Been 58 mins since last pup. Not pushing but still shivering.

>Just had 6 perfect pups all well so far. No placenta as of yet

Each puppy will be followed by its placenta, so she should have passed 6. I expect she ate them before you noticed.

>still shivering

Have you got a heat pad?

Milly had her first one on the newspaper outside her whelping box too.

Just over 28 hours since last pup born. Bitch is expelling a dark brown/red placenta-like goo. Is it her placenta or is it something I should be worried about?

>Each puppy will be followed by its placenta, so she should have passed 6. I expect she ate them before you noticed.

Not always. my  bitch didnt pass any placentas when she had her first 3 pups. Vet removed them when she had the remaining 2 by cesarean. Vet said they were still quite firmly attached.

I did ask what would have happened if she hadn't had a cesar and had them removed and vet said they would probably have become detached and bitch would have passed them eventually as part of the normal discharge.

So... wait? Will she be ok?

yes but watch like a hawk and if she seems unwell get her to the vet.