my  bitch is on day 56 of pregnancy on her 2nd litter.
the last litter she had her pups on day 54 and other than small they were healthy, she has gone over this date (thank god) but has been showing labour signs then stopping for a couple of days now.
ive been taking her temp 3x daily from day 50 and she has ranged high 99's to low 100's, then on sat (2 days ago) her temp went highest its been to 101.6 then within 1 hour dropped to 98.7 then back upto 99.3 about an hour or so after this she lost quite abit of really guey clear discharge, she has been losing this discharge for about a week but not in this amount.
ive been told from another site this was her mucus plug and she should go into labour in about 24 hrs.
Well we're nearly 48 hrs on and still no signs shes pretty normal in all other aspects shes eating, drinking, not really restless other than shifting about coz her bellys huge and shes not panting, ive carried on with her temp and its normal again shes also hardly losing any of the discharge too so whats going on?
We were fine with the last whelp but im A) new to temps and B) ive done a little too much reading up and found 54 days was WAY too early for the last pups to arrive and it was a miracle they survived, im in touch with a breeder also but she in the middle of her bitch whelping so i dont want to worry her and due to it being bank holiday my vets are closed. (i had her at the vets when the claer discharge started and he said its normal in a dog this far.)
Ive spent the last 2 nights with hardly any sleep so was wondering has anybody seen this before or do you have any advice for me?
thanks in advance for any replies and help xx

ps i dont want to phone the emergency vets unless im sure it is an emergency as last time she went into labour she said it was too early so she was suffering with pre-eclampsia (because of the clear discharge) and id have to take her there (an hours drive away) otherwise she'd die and as i said they were born healthy, luckily my breeder friend was called (3am) and she told me to ignore them it was completely normal and they just heard an inexperianced breeder and were out for money. (they made no effort to hide the fact it would cost me £700 as they'd keep her there)

Don`t worry the mucus plug can go days before the birth .The temp is still ok so no sign there,it will drop as low as 36 my girls went to 36.1 just before birth.Like you my girls first litter came early her second came on day61 her mucus plug came away 5-6 days before.

Hi Claire
If I were you I wouldn't worry. The mucus you've seen is her mucus plug, which can often "spill over" in large quantities without it meaning labour is starting. From what you're telling us, I think your girl is happily awaiting the right time. The temperature can go down, and then up again, on and off for a week or so, before it's actually time. Go with how your girl is behaving. I'm sure she'll let you know when it's time. When she won't eat, and starts panting and gets restless, and starts digging and nesting, that's when the time has come to watch over her until labour starts. Until then, try getting as much rest and sleep as you can. (comes from someone who's just sent the last pup off to it's new family at eight weeks, and who's tired!!!) I wouldn't leave her alone at home, but I'd be happy to lay down for a good sleep with her :-)
Good Luck! And let us know how you're getting on.
Karen

thank you and i deffo will let you know how things go, im like a new mum myself "is she isnt she" lol think im causing myself most of the worry she just keeps staring as if to say "will you stop im the one having them" lol thanks again xx

Hi Claire, thought I'd say I'm fairly new to this too. ANd my girlie has been v ery much like yours, she's been losing clear discharge for a few days now and her temp has been up and down. This is Tess' 2nd litter too (1st with me tho). Hope all goes well for you, and it is nice to know someone else is in a similar situation. Goodluck xx

hi everybody im a little confused AGAIN lol i went to my vets today as he told me to supplement her calcium when she starts labour lastime i took her (1/05/08) BUT even tho she hasnt shown any signs of imminent labour (shes now 57 days) he has told me to start giving her 2x 108g calcium tablets per day til labour begins, 6 tablets each day shes in labour, 3 tablets per day for 3 days after whelping finishes then 2 tablets per day til box finished (108 tablets).
Reason im confused is i have read many different sites and they have said supplementing calcium before whelp can be dangerous, i know hes a vet and REALLY i should listen to him but after reading that im abit dubious about giving them to her.
I didnt take kuma with me to the vet as not to stress her so she has no medical reason i no of for this to be supplemented before labour and she had a calcium injection alongside a oxytocin injection when in labour lasttime due to resting for 2-4 hours inbetween pups (8 pups), but nothing was given before or afterwards and she was perfectly fine.
Like i say i no i should listen to him but what do you think from experiance etc?
thanks

I don't give calcium until they're whelping.  Once they've started I give 1 tsp of Calci-boost every hour as it is easily absorbed (along with nutri-drops)  After they've finished whelping I give 1 tsp twice a day. Depending on how many pups as to how long I continue.  This time my girl had 8 live pups, I continued until the bottle was finished and once they were 6 weeks put her on Calcium tablets (6 per day).

I hope this helps. 

thanks she gone in her whelping box and lay down now so hopefully we're starting to move along lol not gonna give calcium till im 100% she in labour thanks again xx