Hi my girl is 60 days pregnant now (only just as it's half past midnight) and this is her first 'ptoper litter'. I arrived home from work and she began panting really loudly and began to whine too, her back legs began to shake also. Thus began about 10.30pm and then stopped at midnight (ish) she's been alseep since (half an hour) but having short and quick pants. And she's just began to pant again properly. Is this normal?

have a quick look on google

I have buy it says a lot of different things, it's a little confusing and though the best thing to do was get some advice from experienced breeders :)

Could be & she shouldn't be left alone at all now as she could whelp any time.

This is her first "proper" litter ?? Has she miscarried or resbsorbed before? It is not a term I have heard before

She's definitely getting contractions, she's taken herself into the utility room to be alone, I can hear her through the wall and keep checking on her periodically.

She had an accidental mating last year at the very end of her season (she'd stopped bleeding so we thought her season had finished) and she mated, she carried two puppies but one pup died during labour, the vet said it was a deformity caused by the late mating. Her other pup was perfectly healthy, she had to be tube fed from 2 weeks as the milk dried up but everything else was perfectly fine, Bella was a fantastic mum and enjoyed it all the way.

This time, I say proper litter as I've purposely bred her

She is probably in pre-labour or stage 1 labour, which can go on for some time (6-36 hours).  Keep a close eye on her and don't leave her alone.  When you see a contraction, she is in stage 2 labour.  You want to see a puppy within 2 hours of the first visible contraction...

So this is her 2nd litter in fact not first. I hope you have better luck with this planned litter, although I personally would not have bred from her again. Never heard of a late mating causing a congenital malformation

She shouldn't be left alone for a minute especially after having a dead puppy last time

I had her vet checked and the stud and the vet said they were both fine to mate again. It was just due to the late season mating.

She's delivered puppy number one and he's doing great

Think puppy number 2 won't be long now. Am in the utility room with her an she seems happy for me to be here

Sorry but late matings don't cause congenital deformities....

Thank you, She's had her first puppy, he's doing great, she had him 1 hour and 15 mins ago, just waiting on the next one

I can only go by what my vet told me...

Sadly the majority of vets know nothing about breeding or reproduction.

And indeed, you can't 'only' go by what your vet told you - there are loads of excellent books, information online and access to mentors and other breeders available via the internet these days.  No reason at all to only be able to go on what a vet has said.

> It was just due to the late season mating. <br />

Sorry, as an extremely experienced breeder I totally disagree with this statement.  I had a bitch mated on day 28 with a totally normal litter of 7 healthy puppies.  As to googling???  Only a breeder has the knowledge that you are looking for.  And vets are not experienced in normal whelpings.  I delivered a litter in front of a vet once and she admitted that she had never seen a normal litter born.  Their area of expertise is when difficulties end in C sections.

You need to be there with her.   You need to start timing how long it's been since you first SAW contractions as if you leave her to struggle without seeing a puppy born, for much over 1 hour (my preference), each delivery too, you could lose that puppy and any others not born, and her.

I too have never heard what has been suggested about deformities being down to a 'late season breeding'.   

Good luck - I hope it all goes smoothly.   But again, do not delay getting professional help, if she's pushing hard and getting nowhere.   She could have an abnormally big puppy/breach puppy.

As onetwothreefour says most vets unless they are breeders or reproduction specialists know very little about breeding of individual species. the most they know is how to salvage things when they go wrong (C sections).

Vets are not the source of all animal knowledge their field is the diagnosis and treatment of disease and accidents.

Thank you, Bella delivered 8 beautiful and healthy puppies on the 6th june. No problems at all and she's a fantastic mum