Hi im not sure if anyone can help, I think my bitch may be in labour. She has been out to poop about 4 times today, she usually goes once or twice a day, when she had a wee earlier I saw clear mucus stuff come from her, then after another wee she had stringy mucus I had to wipe away. Shes slept all day yesterday and the day before and today shes stayed in her bed but been restless at times
I have been taking her temp and its been 37.4for a good few days, it dropped day before yesterday to 37.0 and now its at 37.2. Shes sleeping at them moment and the pups are quite active. She hasnt eaten much today, a mothful or 2, this morning and just a mouthful about 20 mins ago

Sounds like she is in labour,please dont let her go out with out you being there with her and use a torch as she could deliver a pup
in the dark and it wont survive.
Real labour starts when she is straining its almost as if she is constipated,if after straining for an hour (max)
she hasnt delivered a pup give your vet a ring.

Try not to panic as she will pick up on your worry.

Thankyou, she has been out and had another poo, it was loose so im guessing thats her clearing herself out, shes just sleeping in her box at the moment but her temp is back up to 37.7

Sounds like your in for a longgggggggg night lol.

Good luck.

So is it normal for her temp to go back up ??

my bitch is also in labour, her temps been 37.5 all week, then peaked at 38.8 + fell slowly to 36.3 over night, this was 56 hours ago ish + she is only just having small contractions about 10 minutes apart, like yours apart from toileting alot we have had no signs at all.
good luck + plz keep us posted. jo x

my dogs temp hasnt really dropped really low, it went to 37.0 2 days ago, Im not sure if it peeked but then I Was only taking i twice a day. Shes just been digging her bed but not sure if that was to hide the bit of crusty roll I gave her lol

How many days along is your bitch ?? Mine is 57 or 59 today, long story lol but im going with the 59

I used to go by temps (well to give me an idea) but I found them to be unreliable.

How come you found them unreliable ?

I actually found them helpful to let you know they are starting labour but then I found it to be a pain as I was expecting too much too soon.
Could be (but not always ) 24 hours or more before she starts labour fully. Stay close and sleep next to her .

Yes i too found most people expect pups within 24hrs of the temp drop + as i said, ive been waiting since thursday morning for these puppies haha.

We each know our own bitches better than anyone else + so long as their comfortable i say go with it.

My bitch is due depending on which mating she took sun, tues or wed although we think she took on the sunday making her due tomoz.

meant to say suzzycoo, i was taking her temp 3x a day, i have been told most people miss the peak as its only for a short while + only catch the fall.
i was told anything in the 36 region is a true fall in temp + if your not sure wait 1/2 hour to an hour + retake to make sure it was a true reading.
having said that i was also told when it dropped it would stay low throughout labour but my bitch's went back upto 37.5 the following morning - hope this helps someone. jo x

just took her temp and its at 36.7 shes resting at the moment in the whelping area, so do you think I can expect pups soon ?

yes i would def say thats her drop, some say 24 hours, some say 24-48 hours till labour starts.
our bitch started this arvo + dropped wed night 7pm was her high + 10.30pm her low, thurs morning she was back at 37.5 at 8.30am.
yes stay with her coz she is starting but be aware it could still be 2-3 days - aslong as she isnt pushing + straining for more than an hour enjoy your labour. jo x

it could still be 2-3 days omg im too impatient for that lol

Sounds like you're going to be awake all night watching suzzypoo!!  Boy you're going to have a tired Christmas!  Good luck though, hope everything goes smoothly and you have a litter of lovely healthy puppies soon.

I used to go by temps (well to give me an idea) but I found them to be unreliable.

Not ment disrespectfully Carolyn but they are only unreliable if not done regularly and acurately.  All bitches have the temperature drop same as humans.

I took my bitches temperature (first litter, so wasn't sure what to expect although had done lots of reading and talking to people!). I took it three times a day and it was up and down like a yo yo, anything between 36.5 and 38 over a week. On day 60 it then dropped from 36.9 at 8am to 36.1 at 12pm. her waters broke at 3.30pm and the first pup was born at 7.10pm.

So for me, temperature taking was reliable, I just wasn't sure what I was looking at really, until it really dropped, then I knew. It had been 36.9 from lunchtime on day 59, and I do believe she showed her first signs of early labour on the morning of day 59. (Slight panting and slightly restless) However, she showed no signs at all of digging, or no 'real' panting. She was off her food and wouldn't drink water at all on day 59, but resumed both on day 60. I even rang the emergency vet on the night of day 59, saying i thought she was in labour, but he told me she wasn't. he was obviusly wrong, but I guess we know our own bitches better than anyone.

just incase it helps sooz, my bitches waters just went after having mild contractions for about 4 hours. good luck with yours. jo x

We used to take them 3 times a day and again just before going to bed,I had 1 rottie
who took it upon herself to just stand in the living room and give birth on the carpet,no scratching no panting nothing.
We also had one who's temp was up and down like a yoyo.

Im not saying they dont work just I dont go by that.

That's fine :-) I am not saying it is for everyone :-)

Not honestly in anyway directed to you Carolyn but People often say " I never use it as I am always here " blah blah  that is fine.  I am always there when they are due or certainly someone is always here at home BUT for me I use it as a tool to gauge pending trouble. For me Any bitch that hasn't started to have their pups after 24 hours general is a potential sign of delays. Ie big pups, inertia etc

   It was one of our long members that explained it to me quite a number of years ago and one of the best bits of advice I think I have been given approaching my first litter, especially with a breed that often goes early unannounced. My first litter was 7 days early and I was on my way out the door to Argos to buy a set of scales thinking she would be fine.  I  took her temp "just in case" and it had dropped so I decided to stay at home.  First pup arrive 2 hours later when I was in the shower. :-)

I take it roughly in the last 5 days  8am, 1pm, 6pm and midnight and have had the trend with every litter.  Most of mine never show the normal signs or they have all be certainly different but all spot on with the temp trend.   It is often worth writing it down in a fashion that shows the trend off quite easily I think.

I swear my last litter I took it the night before and then in the morning and saw the nice big oprolonged dropped. I said to my freind ( who used to dismiss it) that I was not leaving the house for a minute that day even though puppies arriving that day meant the bitch  was going to be considerably early and she also had no outward signs of pending labour . I just knew that the prolonged drop for me would bring me puppies within 24 hours. They started to arrive 5 hours later at 2pm.

Well we still have no pups, shes been running round like crazy this morning :rolleyes: but her temp is still at 36.7 so im not a clue whats going on, shes not done any digging. at the moment shes lying down in her whelping box

Are you sure you Themometer is working ok :-D..#

36.6 is generally a real dip for me.  Bitches due vary from the start temp to the real dip that is why I don't like to quote the temp reading as have a starting point with each bitch then I record from there.

Good luck sounds like Santa's on his way though :-D

Sometime they don't settle too much as they get a bit confused they are all different.

Yeah shes been around 36.7 36.6 since yesterday, before that she was about 37.7

its now 36.5

If your themometer is right she hasn't long to go :-) Never heard of a bitch going below 37.7c ( 98F in old money) and not going into labour.

How long has it been down at 37.7 ish?

Sorry I suppose I'll get slated like Carolyn, I don't do the temperature either!  Like you're experiencing it can be up and down for quite a few days.

Good luck and hope that they come fairly soon.  I'll be in the same way as you in just over 2 weeks time.

i agree they can be up + down but also think it gives you an idea on just how early not to leave the house.
Our puppies arrived beetween 4am + 9.20am this morning so it does work, it just depends how you read the results + your bitch on how long it takes afterwards to push pups out. jo

Sorry I suppose I'll get slated like Carolyn  

Are you seeing something I am not  what a strange use of words.

Hi ok my bitch has been shaking this afternoon in her box and her temp was 35.8, is it normal for her to stop shaking, will it start again ??

my dogs temp has dropped to 96.4 and shes been shaking but the shakings stopped and shes gone to sleep. Is that normal in labour ? should she not keeping shaking ?

Ho long has her temp been down? It is normal but I`D give vet a call

Sounds like she is starting to go into labour. Thats what one of mine does, starts shivering and shaking before her contractions start, I would try and get her into her welping box and just keep soothing her quietly.

thanks so much everyone, shes slept all day and shes woke now and is shaking again, im assuming we are going to be seeing puppies tonight, I sure hope so lol

There on their way :-)

GOOD LUCK HUN XX

Good luck, looks like you are in for a busy evening!  You'll have to start thinking of Christmas names now :d

any news? ours are growing fine but we are now topping up the runt as he was losing a lil weight.