My wee girl gave birth on Sunday to 5 puppies, everything went well, all placentas acounted for.  She is eating and drinking well, has passed urine and had a bowel movement my only worry is that she is panting heavy on and off. Her temp is 38.1-38.6 over the course of the last few days, puppies are active and feeding well.  Apart from the panting nothing to worry about.  I can't remember my other girls doing this, any similar experiences?

Perfectly normal.

Thank goodness for that, such a worrying time

Congratulation on your new additions! Well done to mum.  I know when my girl had her litter she done a fair bit o panting.  She really felt the heat, having all those little hot water bottles beside her. Do you have a heat lamp on the pups? that would make mum feel fairly hot. If she is eating well and pooing I wouldnt worry too much but if you are worried then why not give the vet a ring and have him put your mind at rest?

I don't  have a heat lamp on the pups as they are in our bedroom in their whelping box which has vetbed on the floor and the room is quite warm, they really are little hot waterbottles (great description) I contacted my vet today and he reassured me over the phone that by all accounts nothing sounded amiss,  but you just can't help worry. Thanks for replies

I appreciate that you can't help but worry Jake, but her body is working real hard right now.  The panting goes on longer in some bitches than others, and nobody can tell you what is right for your bitch.  As long as nothing is obviously amiss, try not to worry too much (hard I know.)  Her uterus is contracting, she will have pain from that, and her hormones are up in the air.  Try not to let your girl pick up on your worry, she will be relying on you for encouragement and reassurance.  Boy - it is so much easier giving advice when you don't currently have a litter yourself!!  :-)    Wait till my girl starts in another 4 weeks ! 

They also pant when their milk is coming in - my girl panted like a steam train which was most disconcerting as it was both her and my first litter and I thought something was wrong.  I was advised to give her Calcium & Vitamin D Supplement (Collo Cal D) which helped and the panting soon subsided.