Hi!

Just need a few opinions on this. I've been reading many of the posts and find them very informative!

My bitch is due and last night finally was showing signs of being in whelp (heavy panting, restless, shivering, etc)
This is her second litter, last year, she started her contractions a few hours after we noticed her starting to show
signs of whelping. Well... we've been up since 2:00am and it's now 11:00am, she is still very very restless and doesn't stop
for one minute, .. On to my question.. how many hours is it "normal" to be in the first stages or labor? When should someone
get worried?

Thanks!!

I have had them go from 0 to 24 hours in teh panitng stage.  You only need to worry if they go too long after the appearance of the waterbag more than an hour and I would be ringing the vet.

I wouls be concerned if the restlessness stops and they go to sleep this could be the sign of inertia. Just keep an eye on her I am sure all will be OK

My girls first stage of labour went on for 34 hours recently, vet kept telling me she was fine, ended up first pup was well and truly stuck!  With a lot of assistance the pup was manually delivered by my vet and she whelped the rest of the litter no problems.

Your girl will probably deliver over night tonight, but if you are concerned then speak to your vet.

Good luck

My bitch was panting etc for over 30 hours this time. The crunch question is whether she is trying to push or not -if not, she's probably fine and things will happen in due course. If she pushes and nothing happens then you do need a vet asap.

Marianne