I'm a relativity inexperience breeder expecting my second litter but only due a single pup. Any advice on what I should do differently with a single puppy? Socialisation is my biggest concern from a development point of view. Mother was a solid performer with her last litter so no concerns there. Would appreciate some advice from anyone that's had this experience before

The first concern is whether one puppy will produce sufficient hormones to trigger labour.  Something like half of all singleton litters require a c-section.  It's important to know when ovulation was and to have a precise whelping window, so you know when to go get a section if labour doesn't happen...

The hormones which trigger labour are produced by the placenta.  With only one puppy, often enough hormone is not produced...

I didn't know this. She had 2 scans and the vet didn't mention this. Her due date is today from first mating, or if conception was second mating will be 7th April. No signs yet of any labour signals.

Is there a reason they operate as opposed to artificially inducing?

You can't artificially induce dogs.  I don't recall why, but it doesn't work. 

So if it doesn't happen naturally, it has to be a c-section. 

If you only have the dates of her matings, that's really not enough to give a whelping window at all.  Conception could have occurred as early as the day of her first mating - or as late as 5-7 days after her 2nd mating.  That gives you a huge whelping window which is no use in determining when to c-section. 

Really, it's best to learn how to do cytology - you can do this yourself at home, it will tell you the first day of diestrus and that tells you the whelping date plus or minus 24 hours. 

Obviously it's too late for that now, but the only other way to determine when whelping is due, is to monitor progesterone levels through blood draws...

https://www.dogbreedinfo.com/breedingdogs/whelpingsingleton.htm

Thanks

You can have reverse progesterone done.  Once the levels drop below early ovulation levels the pups are ready.

"About 48 hours before whelping, the progesterone level drops to the 2 ng/ml range and within about 24 hours of whelping, the level drops to the 1 ng/ml range. This can help determine the proper timing of a c-section, especially if the progesterone level or LH level were not used to determine the ovulation date."

https://www.petcoach.co/article/hormone-levels-determining-breeding-times-and-whelping-date/

Our litter was a signelton. We opted for a section after debating it and taking advice from a few breederd as he was a big pup.

Once he was here we rolled up some small towels to place under the vet bedding and put in some soft toys too all to help encourage him to not spend all his time flat on his stomach as I read this could cause issues with the chest becoming flat.

We had to make him feed on different nipples as he didn't like her back two only the ones next to them, so he wasn't using them and they felt like they were starting to go hard. Warm cloths and making sure he used one of the back one's every other feed fixed that. But I continued to make sure he fed on all the back 4.

As he was a big fat puppy and after seeing a friend of a friend's litter where one pup was fat and it took an extra week to get on its feet compared to the others in the litter I decided to only keep the front claws short and let the back ones get a bit longer to give him better traction. Don't know weather it made a difference but he wasn't slow getting up on his feet.

Mine took a little longer to wean compared to my friends litters, he would nibble a bit then wander off and forget about it so at first I had to keep him interested in it to get him to get more. (Now can't stop him eating lol)

^^
Pretty much covers anything I'd have to offer other than I stuffed a sock to lie beside my singleton puppy.   It is important to keep a singleton puppy 'rotating' round the teats if you can.

I had two, the first litter we had should have been two puppies, but sadly one was lost early on, due to my inexperience.  The second was the only puppy there from the start and unlike the first, she was born by 'Section.   Both were terribly spoilt as once mum lost interest (weaning had begun) I'd carry them round as I felt so sorry for them all alone in the big whelping box!

Amazon has a stuffed doggie into which you can insert little sachets which get warm once they are freed of their cellophane covering.  They make the doggie warm for several hours.  There is a little batterie-operated heart which goes into the doggie as well, and it beats!  My singelton wasn't particularly interested, but who knows how other puppies might react!

The words sachets and battery would put me off. I wouldn't chance it. A hottie wrapped in a towel and a ticking clock used to work for us. Can you still buy wind-up clocks?

There is no way a young (maximum 3 weeks) small-breed puppy could access either the sachet or the battery.  I wouldn't say the same for a litter of boxers or German shepherds!  Maybe they could rip everything to shreds, I don't know.  My breed is small, so a tiny singleton whose eyes are not even open yet can certainly profit from cuddling up to such a warm, stuffed animal (leave the beating heart out as it is just an option!).  The warmth lasts for many hours, which makes it superior to the hot water bottle.  Anyhow, it wasn't a bit hit with my singleton last year.  But there might be puppies who would love it!