Evening everyone

It's that time again when we are 7 days from whelping and I'm getting stressed and anxious about everything!!

So my bitch is due on the 13th

She was progesterone tested and mated once according to the results from the test
She was mated on the 11th April

I had her scanned on day 30 with approximately 9 puppies

According to the measurements she would whelp on either the 12th or 13th

Anyway today she's off her food, runny poo, clingy and panting a fair bit
It's 15 degrees Celsius in the whelping room so not too warm

Should i start taking her temperature now?

Thanks in advance xx

Taken temperature she's 37.8 degrees C

I just posted this on the thread to the OP:

A week before whelping, take temperature 4x/day.  Use a GOOD digital thermometer costing £10 or more.  Use KY jelly on it (or similar non-petroleum).  Insert at least half way up the instrument to get an accurate reading.  Normal temp is 100.5F to 102.5F.  Most bitches in their last few weeks have temps around 100F but fluctuations from 99.5F to 100.5F are normal.  Temps will often be higher in the AM and drop as day goes on.  You are looking for a large temperature drop that persists at least 8hrs - this will be 24-36hrs prior to whelping.  So - 2 consecutive readings with temp 99F or lower.  Some will go as low as 97F.

So if she is a week before due date, temp 4x a day if you want to catch the drop.  Then you need 2 consecutive low readings.  One is not enough.

Thank you!

Just to say I didn't take much note of temperature and certainly wouldn't have been taking it 4 X per day! - I suppose if you have a bitch who will put up with this, fine.

Just had her out for a wee and i think her plug may have gone.
Lots of discharge then she went straight back to her whelping box.
Her temp this morning was 38.0 dc

Just taking temp 2x a day

Her temperature is now 36.9

I would temp again in 4-6 hrs after you last did, and if it stays low, then that's your drop.  The first low temp you took will be 24-36hrs before whelping.  (Assuming your thermometer is good!).

My bitches, other than a cursory examination, never take up residence in the whelping box until in first stage labour (anything from 0 - 36 hours before first pup born).

So if she hasn't been using it as her bed then I would say she is in first stage labour.

This morning,
Temperature 37.0

Hopefully this is the second consecutive drop as yesterday she was 36.9

Fingers crossed

> Just to say I didn't take much note of temperature and certainly wouldn't have been taking it 4 X per day! - I suppose if you have a bitch who will put up with this, fine.

Same here.

GFL6630 - it depends how often you are testing and what times (I'm not sure what time you tested yesterday).  The thing about 2 consecutive low temps, is based on testing 4x a day - so morning, lunch, dinner and before bed, for eg.  So take that into consideration when working out when to count your 24-36hrs from...

Struggling to make sense of my bitches temp reading so think o might stop doing them
She's been up and down for the past few days but not really progressed with anything

Today she's back from the past 8 readings of 38 down to 37.0
She made her nest last night but nothing more.
Just have to wait and see what happens

Only 3 days till her due date so maybe she'll go full term

Yes, it's normal for the temperature to go up and down like this - and that is why lots of people poopoo it and think it doesn't work...... it does, but you need (like everything) to do it properly.

That means - temping 4x a day, and looking for TWO CONSECUTIVE readings which are 99F or lower. 

One temp lower than 99F, doesn't mean anything.  And one lower and then higher and then lower again, doesn't mean anything.  It needs to be 2 consecutive temps...

If you aren't temping 4x a day, the results won't be accurate:  Say you temp at 9am and get a result lower than 99F, then you don't temp until 10pm - and it is STILL lower than 99F.... you might start to get excited - except you missed out 2 temperature-takings, that day - if you had temped at lunch time and at 5-6pm, then you'd have seen it went up above 99F, before dropping again at 10pm - so again, you didn't have 2 consecutive temps lower...

Like anything, it is not going to work if not applied properly.  And of course, it is dependent on having a good and reliable thermometer too... it's often a good idea to calibrate it at the vet's and check that your thermometer and the vet's are giving the same readings.

She's whelping

great news- keep us posted!

2 bitches 2 dogs so far. All's going well

Very lucky to have a day-time whelping - fingers crossed you are done by this evening and can get a good night's sleep next to them!!

Still at it!
She's having some long breaks between puppies.
Managed to give her some ice cream and other than that she's drank water (not up to eating yet)

I know there's definitely another couple left to come so just being patient

6 hours after your last post & she is still 'at it' would be cause for concern for me.

Has she finished yet if not when was the most recent puppy born?

She's having about an hour between pups.
Vets have said leave her to it and all's been well so far :)

Some breeds are slow whelpers, a friend's GSD took 24 hours to leisurely have 8 puppies in two groups of 4, she had a good 4 hours rest in the middle & had around 2- 2 1/2 hours between each puppy, on the other hand one of my dog's(BC) sisters had 8 puppies in 1 1/2 hours & then wanted to get back to her sheep !!

The GSD belonged to a very experienced breeder & the bitch came from a very slow whelping bitch line

On the other hand there could be an issue that someone inexperienced may not be aware of !

It's completely fine if she is whelping slowly. 

You want to see a puppy within 2 hours of the first visible contraction - each time.  The contraction is the pup leaving its place and moving into the birth canal - the clock is ticking for each pup, from that time onwards.  So - restart the clock each time you see the first visible contraction and time things to be at the vet by 2 hours after that, if the pup hasn't arrived.

When the contractions start to come in a sustained and more rapid way, every few minutes, then you want to see a pup within 45 minutes.  Sometimes bitches can have several contractions quickly and then have a sleep.  This is not sustained visible contractions, so you'd follow the 2 hour rule above. 

As long as the above guidelines are ok, then there's nothing wrong with a slow labour - other than, it may tire the bitch and make it harder for her to give birth.  I'd suggest adding powdered glucose to her water.  And - as long as she has whelped at least one pup - supplementing with calcium tablets, since these will strengthen contractions in a natural way.  Ensure that the puppies she has already whelped are suckling with her, as their suckling stimulates contractions and keeps labour going.

You can also take mum for a little walk in the garden.