My bitch  is having a section right now. Two pups jammed in canal shown on x Ray, oxytocin not an option.

I have bred 12 litters but never had a section......any tips please for when they all come home.?

Thankyou

My bitch is on day four after c section and has low milk and puppies have suffered low blood sugar.

She had an oxytocin injection two days ago and as of yesterday has been digging, carrying pups around and restless.

Does this sound like after effects of oxytocin or eclampsia or maybe just an Mum that is a bit confused about her instincts after a section?

Persevere with feeding.Milk may be slower to come down don’t worry if it takes a little longer to gain weight.

If it's not too late - try to save some placenta (really!!).  When you get home, dab it on the pups to encourage the bitch to lick and wash them - sometimes maternal feelings and mothering behaviours are affected at first and doing this can help them rekindle those...

PS - it can be 'all hands on deck' for a c-section and I would want a vet who let me be in the room to help revive pups whilst it was happening.  I've finally found a vet who will let me do this.

We have unfortunately had a few - Bassets tend to go 'ouch mum ..... you arranged to put them there = you get them out'.   I make up some scrambled egg, poached fish or chicken while she's with the vet, to offer mum during the evening after she's come home.   I take a box with a warm hot water bottle in it for the puppies so they don't get chilled on the way home (how far away from the vet's surgery are you?).   And I have the brood lamp on ahead of taking mum into the whelping box, and then go back to the car, for the puppies.  I have tended to find mine will walk to the car, but sometimes zonk out enroute home, making getting them out and into the house 'difficult'.

Once indoors, I put one or two puppies only onto the teats so not to overwhelp mum - actually if mum is kind-of zonked out, it's an advantage because they can all get a good innings at the milk bar before mum is fully with it.  I've never bothered with placenta marking the puppies because by the time she gets it together, they'd been nursing so mine have just licked them and accepted them.    Even with the most difficult of whelping/sections - Bassets are generally very maternal.   And yes, the milk has come down with nursing, although newborn puppies don't need lashings of milk in any case.  It does help to have something like Esbilac on hand, just in case.

I'll offer mum some of the food I've made up, but am not unduly concerned if all mum needs is rest, warmth and quiet.

You will have to clip the pointy ends of the puppies' nails so they don't catch on mum's stitches - and keep an eye on the wound to make sure they aren't disturbing the stitches.

> overwhelp mum

Should be overwhelm mum obviously.   I wrote this towards the end of a busy day and there are other things I could have written better - apologies.  My food offering, making up ahead of time would depend on when the C.Section is being done too.

Hopefully all is going well OP?

Restlessness and digging is common as the uterus continues to contract, and after a section it'll be more painful than following a normal whelping. But it could also be an indication of eclampsia so I'd give a dose of Collocal-D to help prevent that.

Thankyou. Can I get this over the counter today anywhere? Vets? Pets at home?

Digging and restlessness is caused by oxytocin for sure - it makes the uterus contract to expel anything in there, which causes cramping and pain a bit like labour.  BUT it was 2 days ago - I would not think it would cause this, now.  The effects last hours and are immediate.

For sure restlessness can also be a sign of low calcium.  You can give her Tums (calcium citrate).  At short notice and in a rush, that is probably the easiest thing to give.  What is her weight?  I will let you know how many Tums to give...

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