Hi my bitch is on day 63

we have a kennel in the garden that my older rottie bitch uses in the hot summer nights (my dogs live in the house)
the kennel is 14x6 feet (kennel & run.

my bitch wants to be out side i have tried to get her in but she keeps going back in the kennel

she has temperature drop today 37.1 and has been panting nesting and restless last night and this morning.

she has also been shivering on and off since 3am no visible contractions.

would you let her stay out in the kennel where she seems happier or should i make her come in the house to the whelping box.

should i leaver there until she starts labor properly?

we have set up cctv cameras in the kennel and run so i can see her at all times.

what would you advise i want her to bee happy leading up to the birth.

p.s we also have three other dogs and she does not want them near her.

I think that the problem outside is that you can't keep her under proper control.  You can see her shivering for example but you can't see what's happening at the other end.  Also you don't know what her reaction is going to be after giving birth.  What would happen if she doesn't let you near the kennel and you can't get her to come back inside with the pups.  I'm thinking about the cold for example.  Also normally if she is shivering then she is having contractions and her labour has started properly.  I would bring her back in immediately.

i am watching her constantly on the tv and i am checking her by hand every 10 mins every time she moves i go in there.

i do not plan to leave her to deliver by herself and would off course take her back in hopefully before birth or very soon after.

if she does not deliver during the day i will bring her in late afternoon or when she asks to come in if before.

i meant if she is happy should i leave her for now?

is the shivering any thing to worry about?  or just the starting of contractions?

Shivering is normally a sign of Labour, Contractions, are her eyes Dilated?

Not having kennels myself, and not seeing your set up that you have explained, which sounds good having CCTV around etc;

But I in my own opinion would bring her indoors, maybe she does want to be alone while she is going trhough the first stages, but maybe she wants to keep away from the other dogs (I think you said you had other dogs at home?) and feels that going into the kennel is the only way to keep away from them.

I know that some dogs that live together, may get on really well, share everything, but when it comes to a bitch feeling vunerable when pups are on the way then some feel they have to keep the other dogs away from their new babies.

This is only my own opinion, but I would perhaps bring her indoors, make her comfy and maybe have the other dogs away from her, I personnally don't think she would be happy being moved after delivering her pups, I know my girl would not xx
Good luck and keep us posted xx

Personally I would get her inside the house and put the other dogs in the kennel and run, she is unlikely to want them anywhere near (inside the house or even in the garden when she needs to go there) at least until her babies are mobile and why add to her stress? 

Just what I would (have) done tho ;)  I would rather keep them separate until the mum is ready than risk them falling out permanently ;)

Mine have ignored the whelping box until ready to deliver, then when reminded, dived straight in as if only then realising what it was for :)

Hope all goes OK

thanks for all you replies the sun has moved off the whelping room now and is on the kennel so she is now inside.

still resting in between panting and nesting episodes.

I have had my bitches show the same choice (also have a kennel outside that some of them choose to sleep in).

I simply shut access to this the last days of pregnancy and make the bitch come inside.  If she doesn't want to stay in the whelping box then I let her wander about until the birth of first pup is imminent.  Once a pup is on it's way I get her into whelping box where after first pups she stays of her own volition.

I know of a bitch that wanted to have her pups underneath their caravan, so be careful where she does decide to nest ;-) If she is happier outside, in this weather, then I would let her stay outside, but keep an eye on her and bring her back in when she does start to give birth, even if she has the first one outside. Sometimes it's best to let them have them where they want, if it is at all possible. They are more relaxed. Though I don't think I'd like to sleep outside in the kennels :-)

Another friend came home to find her 'not' pregnant bitch outside with a puppy once, so they will give birth where they can :-D It didn't phase her at all. She was showing the pup off to the other dogs who were all bemused ;-)

Think I would put the other dogs out in the kennel and bring your girl inside then she will feel less threatened and more relaxed . She may then decide she does like the whelping box after all, my girl didn,t like the box so she decided for each pup she would get out onto the floor to give birth but was quite happy to use the box when they were all delivered.
You,ll be much more comfortable inside as well and your other dogs will soon settle in the kennel for a while.

she is inside on the sofa when not pacing round the garden the other dogs have been in the kennel since lunch time
not happy but tough.

she is not shivering any more or digging/nesting but does seem to be in early labour so i think its going to be a very long night.

ahh hope everything goes well..my girl wouldnt go near her whelping box but asoon as it all kicked off she ran into it! like another post said she knew what it was for weird eh! ha..

first pup born 11.43 boy

Hi Benson67
All my dogs live in the house too, but I think it's only fair that a bitch has privacy for whelping and rearing her young.  I would be a little too concerned that I couldn't get her back in, if she started to whelp outside.  I have a whelping room built onto the side of my kitchen, where other dogs are not allowed. I do find that most bitches will avoid the whelping box for some reason.  Once  a bitch has started I won't leave her alone, and throw a duvet on the floor in the whelping room, where most will cuddle up to me for reassurance.  I find that once the first pup has been born, and I transfer it to the whelping box, the bitch will follow, and finish giving birth in there.  Okay, I know it was my choice to have the whelping room built, and I do realise that not everyone has this.  But lots of breeders on here will use a separate room, be it lounge, bedroom, spare room etc.  Most of my girls suddenly become aggressive towards dogs that they normally play with - and I find this totally normal maternal behaviour.  Although they don't snarl at me when I'm handling and weighing pup, you can see that the agitation for them is very strong, and they can't wait to be given pups back to nurse.

Wow, while I was typing, you posted again.  Congratulations, and let us know how many more!  You're right about the long night, but oh so worth it!

I always have the girls in a bedroom where other dogs are not allowed for first two weeks.

she is whelping in the conservatory we had to move her box as she wouldnt go in the whelping room

pup no 2 born 12.43 another boy 533gr

Well done!  I can't sleep now I know she's started.  Conservatory is better than outside though - for you as well!!  Funny how they ignore all our plans.  Keep up the good work.

she is whelping in the conservatory we had to move her box as she wouldnt go in the whelping room

There goes all the best laid plans then :) she wants em where she wants em ;)

Fingers crossed all keeps going well :) :)

how will i know if she has finished?

the scan only showed 2 and that what she has had so far no more for 1hr 50 mins

I've heard of bitches having an extra bitch 12 hours or more after supposedly finishing and having a nap. Having said that my bitch's scan also said 2, and as she had settled down 2 or 3 hours after the second, I thought she was finished, and she was. I slept downstairs with her and set my alarm to check her every hour just in case she looked like starting again though. I slept downstairs for a couple of weeks actually, then moved back upstairs but we had the Puppycam on so I could check her whenever I woke during the night (I'm always a poor sleeper!)

update

she was still panting at 2.45am with some contractions but not pushing so i called the vet and was told that if she settled down in 1hr then she was finished,   she settled at 3.50  took her to the vet this morning and they could feel something so x-rayed her there are still two pups high up under her ribs they gave her oxiticin (sp)

no contractions so she is back in having c-section i feel gutted as i new deep down there could be more and listened to the vet now i could have two dead pups.

feeling very negative at the moment i really wanted a girl and so far have two live boys.

Keeping fingers crossed for 2 remaining pups. I had  4 pups born live with same timescale .

thanks that gives me some hope i think i may be prepairing myself for the worst and if they live its a bonud (miricle) 

please please give me my girl

Lets just hope mum is ok. Keeping everything crossed for you.

OMG i cant stop crying

we have two born by c-section live 1 boy and my much wanted girl the vet said they are huge

I am so pleased I have been checking the web every 15 mins. Glad you have your girlie!!

So pleased for you I knew there was hope as I thought the pups left inside my girl were dead and was shocked when they told me on phone mum and 4 puppies are ok.

Aww thats great! Hope mums recovering quickly and is taking to motherhood well. Lets us know how she goes :)

WOW....fantastic news.....i can see thrilled dosent cover it :) :) :)

Have been checking this thread all day.... Benson I'm so pleased for you.  4 live puppies and the girly you wanted.  I hope Mum recovers from the c-section well.  Best of luck with raising them x

A friend had a surprise pup born 36 hours after the last one.

Just a question...obviously benson got mum to vet in quick time and all was well.....but how long is to long to wait, and what signs would there be that a puppy was still there? How soon do you have the vet out to see if whelping has ended?  What signs would mum show and how soon if a puppy was still there and not coming out of its own accord would there be a problem?

A friend had a surprise pup born 36 hours after the last one.

Was this missed by the vet, or was it thought all had finished and no vet required?

calstorm i will leave this to the experts but i would never leave it that long again if this happen on another litter in the future i would go with my gut instinct and insist that the vet came out to me or take her to the vet defiantly quicker than i did this was my first litter and i was concerned that although the scan had shown only two pups i thought i could still feel hard lumpy bits in her tummy but was not sure if it was the whom contracting down so i called the vet and was told that if she did not stop panting and calm down for a rest and feed in 1hr then i should call back if she was calm and feeding then this would mean she had finished.

i could not feel these pups moving.

now i know i would not wait but would insist they came out.

when they x-rayed her today there was one pup right up under her ribs and the other had not started to make its way up to the cervix she had two contractions after delivering the second but the placenta had not been delivered so i thought that was what the contractions were for then nothing till i had her checked first thing this morning so glad i did as i have heard some people don't get them checked so soon (fine for a very experienced breeder) not for us less experienced

Even vets get it wrong. Years ago, when my Mum's dog had pups, we called out the vet a couple of hours after the bitch had produced 3 healthy puppies, she was contracting and not producing anything. The vet felt her and said she had finished and everything was settling down. I wasn't convinced and sure enough about an hour later no. 4 arrived!

Great to hear the outcome Benson AND a little girl for you.. :-)  Fingers crossed they all thrive now.  4 is a perfect litter for a bitch to rear.

In Response to calmstorm > Was this missed by the vet, or was it thought all had finished and no vet required?

Missed by the Vet on visiting the dam at the breeders.

I had the opposite problem with my Jozi's first litter.  The whelping was slow, 3 hours between pups.  Took her to vet as I thought there was another to come.  Vet gave oxytocin and on scan thought he could see heartbeat.  Got home few minutes later and she straight away whelped a pup that had obviously been dead a while so of course I thought there was still a live one up there.

By this time I had to go to emergency vet out of hours, a scan was inconclusive and then an x-ray showed nothing, except I had a hefty 3 figure bill.

brilliant, brilliant news benson, many congrats to you and new mum!

hi everyone i have a new problem

mum is very sleepy still from anesthetic and keep laying on them (not rolling on them but getting up and then laying on them.

do you think i should put them in a box with me and her very close by and when they wake i could then supervise feeding and return them to the box or will this affect her bonding.

we have a second whelping box in the bedroom so i will be sleeping in my bed tonight.

she is feeding happily and cleaning them but they are feeding every half hour or so as her milk is not in fully yet.

not sure what to  advice from the experienced breeder please.

is it just me or when it comes to whelping are most vets a bit rubbish? do they not spend long on this area at uni or something? just everyone seems to have trouble with them...

the vet that i usually see was not on call last night but she did do the c-section today and she is the best vet i have ever had i love her (sorry not that way lol) and i had horses before dogs so i have dealt with vets for 30yrs and this vet is not very old just very good.

i'm glad your vet was good today, but from what you said about last nights they don't sound that switched on, our vets misscanned my girl and sectioned her for a grand total of 0 pups, brainless mentioned a mess up earlier...it seems like usually perfectly competent or even very talented vets seem to go a bit haywire as soon as welping comes in to the picture.

i mention this as i am now very twitchy about breeding a litter of my own in the distant future- can anyone cite good examples of vets and whelping? please restore my faith!

astarte

did your mum & dad have any problems with the bitch laying on her pups i think she is just being a clumsy over protective girl.

do you have any advise on this

as i need to go to bed have not slept for days

i got my rottie at five weeks because the mum had killed three of her pups by laying on them

no kizzy was fine with the litter we had a couple of years ago. she did step on one once but thankfully didn't do any harm. i think that the litter they had when i was tiny they might have lost one that way, not certain though, but she was a much bigger, clumsier bitch and did not like being a mum. i know my aunts lost a couple that way though, bullies are notoriously clumsy.

because we were so scared of that mum, dad, my sis and i all took shifts staying with them 24/7 for the first couple of weeks (we'd do four hour watches so between the four of us everyone got to sleep), then later we'd take mum out if no one was with them (they all piled up on the heat pad and it's a toasty room they were in so didn't need her body heat). she wasn't a paranoid mum and was perfectly happy to leave them with one of her humans :) (nice to be trusted)

you do need to sleep though. if theres four of them and you;ve a heat pad they would probably be ok for a couple of hours without mum? can't say i'm an expert but i know i wasn't happy leaving my girl on her own with them and as i say she's not clumsy. have you roll bars? they helped a bit

If you have the bars along the sides of the box they shouldn't be able to be suffocated if she's lying partly on them, and I think they are sturdier than you would think considering how Ellie used to leap in and out of the box missing them by millimetres sometimes! But if they are sleeping rather than feeding they would be fine in a small box with heat pad for an hour or so if mum is still being sleepy and clumsy!