My dog has been breathing more heavily than usual today - not panting, but kinda huffs through her nostrils. 

This evening, she is whining for no reason I can see, and looks uncomfortable and restless, she can't seem to find a comfortable way to lie or rest - she whines and tries to settle, and can't, so whines and tries again, and can't - and so on... she has a staring look sometimes and other times looks around with a worried look on her face. 

She just ate dinner no probs 40 mins ago.

So I'm just giving you all a little heads up!!

I have had my greedy eons eat right before having a pup.

the looking around at her rear and wanting to constantly go to toilet unproductively fro me is often the best signs that first stage is underway.

She just told me she wanted to go out & did a little wee and a small poo that took a long time to produce and was small & a little runny at the end. She's still whiney and panting. I think this might be it...

She just told me she wanted to go out again, now doing another minuscule pee...

I don't breed and know nothing but GOOD LUCK RABID. See you at 3am (I'm only kidding, sort of)

Thanks.... I think!

I guess I'm probably not going to the Fathers Day brunch I hoped to pop out to tomorrow, then...

Good luck, hope everything goes according to plan. Looking forward to your news!

We are digging in the whelping box

She is bracing herself against me or the whelping box and occasionally pushing, I can't tell if we are in stage 2 or 1 yet??? 

Some mucous just came out and one of the towels is a bit wet...

It all seems to be progressing very fast!!!

A lot more water just came out but I can't tell if she peed herself or if it was the water sac from inside having burst??

1st puppy = a girl  7.15pm

Already nursing whilst placenta inside!!

Wow! Great news .  Hoping all goes well for you and your girl and her babies. Very best wishes.

If she has cut cord that's fine! Placenta will most likely push out soon or with next pup. Mine often gobble them up very quickly on way out so you rarely see them .

Fantastic Rabid and hoping for a safe gentle arrival of all puppies.....

Exciting

Wow, fantastic. Hope all continues to go well.

Wow, fantastic. Hope all continues to go well.

Wow, fantastic. Hope all continues to go well.

Pup 2 was a boy at 8pm

Pup 3 a boy at 8.15pm

Excellent, it's proceeding pretty briskly, hope it continues straightforwardly xxx

Excellent news :-)

The way she is cutting the cords, she's kind of shredding them(?) and they are quite long, about the length of my little finger. Will she make them smaller, will they shrivel and fall off, or do I need to do something?

Think mom's doing a great job. 2 boys and a girl so far...

Leave them for now. Yes they will shrivel but if I have any left long I trim them so they don't get pulled on by bitch or when trodden by other pups. Better too long than too short but don't interfere at the moment :)

You don't need to do anything they will dry up and fall off.

Pup 4 was a girl at 8.45pm

Pup 5 was a boy at 8.50pm

Good luck! I am going to miss some action as we live in the grounds of a Castle who are having a huge wedding and the considerate (!!!) bride is having a huge firework display so we need to vacate us and 12 dogs for an hour .... Hate the damn things! Looking forward to reading happy news later:)

Ooh congratulations, I seem to have missed all the excitement while on holiday. Hope it all continues smoothly. :-)

What an exciting week in the labour ward this has proved to be! For oldies like me, it doesn't half revive the memories. Best wishes to the two and four-footed mums and their babies.

Three boys and 2 girls great job so far

Puppy 6 was a girl at 10.05pm.

Puppy 7 at 10.13pm.

We've been counting the placentas and this was easy at first, before mum knew what they were - but as things continued she was licking the sac off and eating it and chewing the cord before the placenta on the other end had even come out.  But we've accounted for all of them coming out, except possibly the last one which I think is still in there.

If this placenta doesn't appear, should I really get the vet to come out and give a shot tomorrow morning?? Mum's face was attached to her bits and pulling the cord and gobbling so I couldn't see easily if she did eat it or not. But when she finished there was a bit of frayed cord left hanging out and I gently pulled but it snapped and pinged back in. I was hoping there'd be another puppy/contraction and it would come out then, but it's looking like she might be finished. She's sleeping now.

2nd question: They are bloody loud almost constantly. Is this ok? They're not cold or starving or anything else??? They all tend to fall silent at the same time. And then they all start up again 3 mins later!!! How does anyone get any sleep next to he whelping box?!?

I personally wouldn't worry about not seeing the last placenta and wouldn't rush to get vet out. I've never given a clear out jab and puppies suckling keep contractions going so she will probably push the placenta out if she hasn't already done so. The clear out jab can make them very agitated and restless. I just keep an eye on the discharge and how the bitch is looking in herself to make sure nothing has been retained.

No, they don't shut up! It's like sleeping next to a swarm of bees humming away!

Congratulations Rabid guess she pre-empted us all......is she all done? Was the final count 7?

> I've never given a clear out jab

In over 40 years I've never given them either.  And never had a problem.  Most of the time they have eaten placentas quicker than I've been able to see them.

We are still at 7.... Perfect number - exactly what the homes on our list want in terms of colour and sex :) :) 

She didn't want to drink any water with glucose during whelping but when she finished, I gave her some RC Babydog milk with glucose and she scoffed that up.  I just took her outside and she did a big pee but it was dark so I didn't see what exactly came out (placenta I mean, I'm pretty sure a puppy didn't as she was on lead and I'd have seen that!).  I've changed the bedding but not to the final vet bed stuff I'll put in, just in case she hasn't finished, and just in case there's more gunk to come out of her tonight.  I'll do that in the morning.  I think she has finished, though...

In terms of retained placenta, the Holst 'Canine Reproduction' book (which I rate highly) says: "The bitch will have a discharge after whelping, and it is referred to as 'lochia'...The lochia may have a dark green colour in the case of a retained placenta.  Retained placenta per se is not dangerous.  It will normally degenerate and be eliminated.  It may, however, serve as an added source of nourishment to bacteria in case of infection."

Great, that doesn't really help me either(!).  She just did some more obsessive licking of her rear, of the sort that when you try to pull her head away to see exactly what she's eating, she just won't let you and is very determined... for all I know, it's come out. 

JeanSW, exactly - for the first puppy or two, when she had no idea what was happening, it was easy to wait for the placenta to come out and I even had to plonk it in front of her to eat it.  By the time we got to puppy 3 onwards, she was a dog on a mission and I couldn't even get her head away from her bum...  It's good to know that you folks don't think I need to get the vet out on a Sunday morning to give a jab and get everyone stressed again...

Last question - do the puppies do poos already?  She is cleaning their rears, but I think she might be missing some as I'm seeing poo-like stuff on the towel sometimes.  It doesn't smell of anything, though.... is this puppy poo?  (Or congealed blood from their cords or something?!)

Lochia will carry on discharging for quite a while.... Very dark green,stains everything ,mine pass it for about 3 weeks then it slowly clears to lighter brown then tapers off. Your bitch losing very dark greendischarge now and for some time is normal and not a sign that she needs a clear out jab.

Yes pups will pass little poos but my guess is you are seeing dried up cord dropping off :)

7 seems to be the magic number...

It is most likely poo - small brown and sticky. Cords shouldn't drop off so soon - should do so in a day or two but not today. She may even lick a few off - mine has. Just be aware that there may be a small risk of the ring not closing properly and a small hernia (of fatty tissue) to remain - you should see that at about 5 to 6 weeks and can massage back in so not to worry.

The green stuff will stain and smell as it dries. We bathed our girl tonight because I couldn't stand it anymore and one of my pups is determined to sleep in the space between her bum, tail and hind legs so keeps coming out mucky, stinky and caked so she had a gentle rinse and a blow dry and actually looks as though she feels better for it. A lot of hair has already come out of her hocks and on her tail. Normally I'd wait with the bathing but even she was too uncomfortable to leave it. Chances are the placenta has come away and she has snaffled it while it was still emerging. If you're still worried, mention it when you get her checked.

I have boil rinsed all of the sheets used during whelping and the green has remained so I think I may be needing to get new old sheets next time.

Some will cringe when I say that I only use the white vet bed - for me, it shows if anything untoward is coming out or leaking from somewhere it shouldn't and as it is changed twice a day, it stays white (which addresses any OCD issues I might have with worrying about the pups being clean). I ordered 3 sheets last time and then panicked and ordered 3 more. I am still using the original 3 and the 2nd order remains in the packaging it came in. Only down side is that it has shrink and is no longer a snug fit in the box.

Did you use the box for your girl to whelp in? Mine whelped in a plastic bed which I have disinfected and put away, before moving in to the box. I have put inconti pads as the bottom layer over the waterproofed board and then a layer of chip paper over the heat pad, before topping with vet bed. So far, I have just removed the stained paper and changed the vet bed - not needed to change the pads yet but will do once she stops cleaning them. I have found that my girls don't like the height of the the entrance lip as their undersides touch and the back end leaves smears. However, by week 3 my lot could easily clamber out and were killing the box so I moved them in to a large pen in the conservatory instead. Let me know how you get on with it.

I have the opposite problem, in that I only have the white vet bed that came with the bed. I have more vet bed around the house, but it's grey - I can put it on a boil wash to use while washing the white one. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to get extra!

We whelped in the disposable bed but we put down a layer of whelping pads & a an extra layer of cardboard. I'll remove this tomorrow as its a bit wet now...

She really literally is 100% of time, cleaning their bums it seems (!) - when does she get to sleep?! She must be exhausted!

For how long do you all sleep next to the box? I don't think I'm any good at waking up when I hear their cries, to get any sleep I have to attempt to ignore them(!). I'm here to support my dog & keep her company - and take her out if she needs. But once I've learnt her routine & she's settled more, I don't need to be here all night for that purpose...?? I don't mind sleeping here (other than they keep me awake!) but I'm not sure I'm going to be achieving anything!

Gsdowner I wasn't going to get her checked unless there's a problem - that's why I was asking about the oxytocin shot. Everything was really straight forward & all the pups seem like strong feisty things with no probs. If I did get her checked, I'd get them to come here.

If I don't need the shot, I don't think they need to see her as all is good...

Congratulations on your litter. Personally I stay with my girl and her puppies until they are 4 weeks old. There is a risk that she may lay on one and suffocate it whilst they are this young. Also you need to make sure that they are all feeding as the bigger pups will push out the smaller ones. Welcome to the feeling like a zombie stage...yes you don't get any proper sleep whilst the pups are this age, I find that the slightest noise wakes you up so that you can check on the litter.

Congratulations and well done!

Rabid, this is wonderful news!  How great that everything has turned out as you hoped!  It sounds like you have wonderful puppies!

I have never given a jab to "clean out Mum" after the birth.  I do keep track of the placentas, however,  and if I know that there is still one in there, I look for it, meaning just looking back there to see if I detect anything coming out.  I have on several occasions noticed (once even on the following day) a tiny bit of black something slightly visible at the opening of the vulva, I pulled gently on it, and:  out came the whole placenta!  So my advice is:  have a look! 

I never wash Mum all spick and span for quite a few days after whelping.  While everything is still so open, they say to be very careful not to introduce any source of infection - such as water!

Be glad that Mum is so diligent about washing the bums.  Just watch to see that she does not obsess about the umbilical cords.

As to sleeping:  I never sleep next to the puppies.  I sleep in my bed.  I don't see any reason to torture myself.  Mum and the pups are well within hearing distance, I get up once in the night to check on them, and if Mum wants to call me, I will be awake immediately.  All my dogs are just as involved in "our" puppies as I am, so they would alarm me if they felt anything was required.   As long as you are sure that your new Mum does not harbor any instincts to harm her puppies, then get some sleep yourself.  Once you have seen that she is happy with them and very involved in their well-being, then you can relax.  Since my breed is small, however, there may be some considerations in larger breeds which I am not aware of.  If so, then someone else here will alert you to these, I am sure.

P.S.  Newborns most certainly do poop!  In German it is called the "Pech", the poop which they have in them at birth.

Well done to you, sounds like a text book normal whelping, I have never even been able to count placentas, they disappear as fast as they appear and I would not give oxytocin as a routine, the discharge should give the clue and the bitch's state of wellbeing. I use brown or grey vetbed and have had  some pieces for 20 plus years, brilliant stuff it just goes a bit flat over time, the last lot I bought on ebay in a roll, much cheaper than pet shops.  I too sleep in my bed with the door open, the only time I was woken was by my GSD bitch who called me to say that a puppy had managed to get out of the bed and she wouldn't pick it up so needed me to do it. Enjoy the calm before the storm as they get mobile and messy

I slept next to mine too. I always took mum out of the box when I needed to do something in the first few weeks, however the one time I didn't and they were all sleeping I popped out the room for a few minutes to find a pup had crawled underneath her and she had squashed him. Never forgiven myself for doing that so never ever left her unattended with them after that as not worth the risk. When I needed sleep I dozed next to them but often mum would come and lay by me anyway to have a break.  In the end after they had eyes open I would take mum up to my bed with me for a few hours after they were sorted and sleeping.

Sounds like it is going really well and text book so well done.
I also have had a squashed pup and it was so healthy. I think that was the worst thing that ever happened for me. I sleep beside them for quite a long time. Yes I doze but feel that in my bed I would just sleep through so not worth the risk.
I read about people who just go to bed as normal when they think things have finished but so many things can and do happen. Sometimes I think I worry too much as have had some bad luck over the litters I have had but I suppose that is just one of those things.
Most litters proceed as normal, that is the good news, but always be alert to what can go wrong.
Enjoy.

Congratulations on the safe arrival of your 7 puppies and well done to mum  

I wasn't sure if we'd had all of our placentas, the following day she wouldn't leave her tail end alone so had a closer look and could see membranes so gave a pull and had 2 out within a few minutes of each other.

l have slept beside the box every night except 3 when my husband took a turn (4 weeks tomorrow).  My girl has been fantastic except she is a tad clumsy, and even when she is on top of one of them and they are screaming she doesn't seem to realize that she needs to move  I'm not sure I'd hear this from my bedroom so haven't taken the risk.  If you have some sort of child intercom it might work.

Hope you manage to get some sleep

Aren't you finding your babies fascinating...I don't want to leave them at this stage. After waiting for them to arrive I always want to spend as much time with the litter as possible.
You will need lots of vet bed at this stage, I always buy a brand new lot for each litter, especially as I send a piece off with each pup when they go to their new homes. There is a person on FB who sells vet bed at a very reasonable price Vetbedman, unless you know of someone going over to a Championship show as you can always buy it there.