[deleted]

Have you been tracking her temperature at least twice a day? Usually about 24 hours before labor begins you will see a significant drop in temperature, to around 97-98 degrees farenheit. It then goes back up. Some of the early labor signs are: intense nesting activity <but they don't all do that>, restlessness, panting, constant shifting of position, and many of them will suddenly start clinging to you. Once active labor begins, you can't miss it, you will be able to see the contractions, and she will strain and push. If she pushes for more than two hours without having a pup, call your vet. Be sure you have your whelping supplies handy, along with plenty of strong tea or coffee for you. If you have a long labor you will need it to keep you going. Is there a reason you are whelping your girl outside? Now is the time to start sleeping next to the box at night, so you will be handy. Lots of litters are born in the wee hours of the morning.

Sherita

No I have not been keeping track of her temperature. I didn't know what a dog's temperature was supposed to be naturally so I didn't think it would really matter what her temp. is now. But thank you for all the advice, it will really come in handy. The reason she is out in the porch (which it is a completely inclosed room) is because the whelping box won't fit inside the house. My fiancee made it out of a Pivot box which makes it quite large.

Oh my......the box won't fit in the house! Just how big is this box? LOL.....I do understand, my box took over my office completely. What breed is your bitch?

Sherita

Also, you might go ahead and track her temp any way. It has a normal range of 100.5 to 102 farenheit. If you use celsius, sorry, but I have no idea how to convert. You take her temp at least twice a day <I usually do it three times a day>. When you see the temp drop, you can expect labor to begin within 24 hours. It's not a bad idea to track it anyway, if you see a spike in her temp that will also give you a hint that something may not be quite right. On my last litter, my bitch only dropped to 98, but the litter before that went to 97. Anyway, the drop is a marked drop, you will notice it right away.

Sherita

LOL... The box is 4' deep, 3' 6" wide, and 2' 8" tall. Believe me... it would take up most of my empty space in my bedroom and that's for walking. Jersey is a Boxer. I don't wanna seem extreamly new at this because I used to raise Boxers 4 yrs. ago. My bitch then was only on her second heat cycle (would've been second litter) but she got bit by a rattle snake during her cycle and she just couldn't fight it. She passed within 4 days of the bite. Anyhow, at that time when she was bred, I lived very close to my vet and he did all of the checks. Now I am far from a vet and have to do it all myself, which is no problem, I just found out that I need a little help besides what I have read in books. Yesterday Jersey was very restless ( up and down and up and down)... today, the only reason she gets up is when I open the refridgerator. LOL. I have taken her outside twice today and both times she has had very runny gooey bowel movements... does that mean anything? Thank you for the temp's. They will come in handy, and by the way, I only know farenheit too. I'm from the USA.

Dee