Hi everyone. I’ve been reading a lot of posts on Champ dogs over the past few months and have finally plucked up the courage to post something here myself! I was wondering if any well experienced or even first time breeders would mind sharing their experiences of stage 1 labour of their lovely dogs. I am currently in stage 1 with my lovely girl and it’s not going quite how I expected. I thought I’d get some experiences from you! Thanks in advance and lovely to meet you all. Alice x

Hi Alice - What is going on with your dog that it's not how you expected?  Some bitches don't show many signs of stage one at all besides some light panting and occasional digging.  Others can be in quite a bit of discomfort and restless, mixed with periods of rest when things seem to calm down... It can last a few hours or up to 36 hours.

Well she has been showing signs of stage 1 labour for about 20 hours now. It’s just been quite calm! I’ve read as much as I can on labour in dogs but when it’s your first time you tend to doubt yourself about what is normal or like you’ve read and what maybe hasn’t been mentioned as much.  I did read a few stories about dogs being quite calm. I guess I expected her to seem more distressed. She had her first panting session at 6pm last night this went on and off for about a few hours. Then it was all calm until 4am. Panting started again for about half an hour. Then started again at about 1pm today. And that’s pretty much it! I guess you read information about discomfort, digging, nesting etc and then you worry something isn’t quite right. I’m sorry if I sound under educated. It’s my first experience of whelping. Thanks for your response. I’ve seen your posts and they are wonderfully informative. Thank you for your information so far. Alice x

It all sounds very normal to me.  Often people worry that things aren't going anywhere or progressing because 'something' seems to be happening - and then it all quiets down again and the dog takes a nap.  That's all perfectly normal. 

At some point it will all kick up a level.  It can take 36 hours - occasionally 48 hours.

That’s very comforting to hear, thank you! I will update on here how it all goes. Many thanks Alice x