hi, im new to these boards,and firstly id like to say i think its wonderful that people can come here and ask questions about the few things that they are a little unsure of,the question i would like to ask is roughly how long after loosing the mucus plug should they go before whelping?,my little babe is due on sun/mon she is so lethargic,sleeping all the time eating very little, but as and when she likes.she keeps trying to get into the most unusual places though ie behind set of draws in the bedroom that are more or less pushed back to the wall,is this normal behavior?she doesnt seem at all interested in her whelping box,thanks debs

During the last week or so they often have strings of mucous when they stand up.  As long as it is more or less transparent then it is normal. 
Don't worry about her not going in her whelping box.  When she starts labour try and encourage her to get in it, but if she wants to give birth in her usual bed (or wherever) it's not worth upsetting her by making a big thing out of it.  As soon as the first pup is born, just put it in the whelping box and she will follow it in there to carry on cleaning it up and licking it, and will then settle down and have the rest there.

thanks,so is it normal for her to get into such tight spaces,im worried she may hurt herself in the process.

It is a worry when they start nesting,its best to avoid letting her get into places that are not easy for you to get into, I can remember when we were expecting our first litter we had to retrieve a very reluctant bitch from under the garden shed!
Don`t worry about her not going in the whelping box before hand as when they start `scratching up ` it dosen`t take them long to discover that is the ideal place to do it. In no time at all they have newspaper flying everywhere as they get down to businesss!

thanks for the reassurance,greatly appreaciated,she has been wrenching a few times tonight bringing up white froth,could this just be down to the fact that she is off her food at the mo and not eaten much.

Hi Debs,

Things could well be on the go very soon - just like pregnant women in the last stages she will have a lot of excess internal pressure and be feeling a bit sickly and basically not herself :(   I'm sure you are already, but keep a close eye on her - don't let her into the garden for loo breaks unsupervised - in fact if she will *perform* on the lead it is better to keep her attached to you - although I know some bitches won't go on lead!

Have you been monitoring her temperature?

Will keep everything crossed that all goes well - do let us know when the babes arrive :)
Best wishes, Teri

Think your probably right teri,her temp has dropped she had very sloppy poo[diarrohea] during the night and was and still is extremely restless,she keeps looking at her back end,she sleeps for ten mins or so then up,wont eat her breakfast,but hasnt been digging or nesting.ps thanks for the reply,so good to know any advice is at hand,thanks again, debs 

By the sounds of things she won't be long now, good luck keep us posted!

most certainly will,thanks all,much appreciated,.thanks again, debs

hi,just to let everyone know,my little minnie y/t gave birth to the most georgous babies on weds,first pup born at 1.15pm,then having a long agonising wait of 5 hours for the next one[bless her]she did so well,the pup was quite lge so with the vets advice we had to help her out with it,she was so so brave,next one arriving at 6.55pm,and the next one at 7.20pm so in total she had 3 fantastic boys and a beautiful little girl all fit and healthy all been with minnie for check up today,and she is the most loving mum im so proud of her.debs

Congratulations to Mom and her babies- and to you of course!! Now the fun begins:-)

Cheers,

Megan, from Idaho