My girl is on day 54. Today she has been sitting in her whelping box a lot and panting uncomfortably. When i looked at her this mornng her vulva is open, puffy and soft, more swollen than before.

I dont think she is labour, she hasnt her milk in yet but she has started digging her bed and vomited her breakfast but ate lunch and dinner.

When is the soonest she can safely deliver......i just want her to cross her legs a bit longer!!!!

Generally its 59 to 63 days but she could be whelping early these are classic signs if you are worried you could ask the Vet for advice. are you counting from  first mating? also they can be in labour  a while  could just be early stages.

Thanks for that, i am counting from the first mating. i have spoken to my mentor, her breeder, she says i need to keep an eye out. She seems to think it will be another couple of days but even then it will only be day 56. I hope she is just heat intolerant at the moment (explaining the panting) tired (explaining the sitting in whelping box) and full of puppies (explaining the vomiting after a meal).

I could just be wishful thinking but will they be viable if this early?

Mine were due on Dec 4th from first mating and born Nov 26th.  All healthy and bouncing around now at 6 weeks.  Be prepared especially to keep them all warm as the rest of the litter are being born.  Good luck

I would think its quite ok to come a little early  especially if its her first litter just keep a careful eye on her but dont let her think you are anxous  do you have the book of the bitch? its a good guide.

Alos keep a written record of the proceedings  times etc.. in case you breed again in the future you can look back on that.
We recently bred a ltter after 10 years its amazing what you forget think it will be ten years again before we breed again :) good luck

Echo, is my maths correct that that was day 55?

Did she have milk already? That is my last hope she won't be too early. She hasnt got her milk in yet.

Yes i have my records ready for note taking and i can recite the book of the bitch!!! She is snoring on the floor right now, my anxiety is not bothering her as yet but appreciate what you are saying :)

One last thing! i just took her temp although for the first time as was going to start recording it from tomorrow. She is currently at 37.7 which is below 100. should i worry some more!?!?

If this is her first litter you may very well not see any signs of milk at all, full milk does not present itself until approx 2 weeks post whelping that is when her teats will fill up properly, so don't even worry about that, the pups will suckle the colostrum her body will make firstly and then demand will eventually fill her teats.

Don't worry, stay calm and just keep an eye on her, she may be early, it may be a faulse alarm, if worried take her for a vet check, always go with your instincts, I know a first litter can be scary and you may get things wrong , but it is best to be safe than sorry. :-)

Thanks Carrington, i just checked her and there is some milk there, not a lot but it wasnt there this morning!

I think i will sleep with her tonight. she seems ok. She has stopped panting and is sleeping.

Appreciate everyones help and opinions. As my first litter i am very anxious that if she has them too early they wont survive! It will be devastating for her, me and all the owners waiting for their new babies. :(

Hi Peppapug

No she didn't have milk it didn't come down until a couple of hours after the birth, but the babies were okay.  They grumbled a bit but settled by day 2.  Just stick with it and stick by her.  Keep posting and good luck.

We all remember what it was like first time and every time after.The temp can go up and down in the last week .It`s the the big drop to 36.4 or 5 or lower you are looking for .By that time you will probably know something is going on too ,so don`t just depend on temp.

Good morning, her temp was 36.5 this morning although she was a fidget so will take it again later. She was sick with some foam in the night. She has flatly refused breakfast or her biscuit this morning.

Apart from a sorry look on her face seems ok this morning. Still very worried as 9 days early!

i had two litter born at 54 and 56
the 56 litter would have been ok if mum didnt have kennel cough ?
54 litter faded over 24 hours.

Just by way of reassurance, Poppy's mum always delivered early as well.  Seems the smaller the breed the more likely it is to happen.

Sorry to hear about your problems briedog, seems like you girl is destined not to have puppies or is there a happy ending to your story?

Hi Echo,

I am holding onto your words. You had a litter at day 55 and they were fine. Day 55 tomorrow so just got to get through another day......

Keep calm, keep her close and relaxed, plenty of water and dont worry too much about her eating.  You could try a little cooked chicken to get her interest.  My girls tend to stop eating entirely the day before.  Give her calming signals - yawn, lick your lips (yes I know I am crazy but my dogs watch my face all the time and it works for me). 

Hang on in there.

no happy ending we could put her though that again she was stress out to bye lost her litter so she was spayed.

she 9 years old just loving life

my last litter Mum started showing all the signs of beginning labour her temperature was up and down digging, panting  and clinging to me this began on around day 54 she held on until the day before the were due so dont panic to much although it is very worrying you just long for the days to pass until its safe.

finger crossed for you and Mum

R~

Keeping my fingers crossed for you Peppapug :-)

hi peppapug when my auntie had her 1st litter of poodles they were born 8 days early with no problems, so try not to worry hope everything goes ok with you and your girl

Good luck :)

Well i think she is faking! She is now temp 100 and just eaten her lunch. Very slimey from the rear and lethargic but no further signs of labour. Fingers crossed she holds on a couple more days.

At least she has accepted the temperature taking now.

Being a drama queen lol, its her first litter so i bet she doesnt know whats going on herself. Lets hope she holds on for a few days. Fingers crossed

Louise

I've had a number of dogs have pups a week early and all have survived, hope she holds on for another couple of days.

Well we seem to be back pedalling, not a bad thing though.

She was 36.5 this morning, 38 at lunch and 37.4 now. Heck her temp changes by the hour! She has been eating like a horse for the first time in ages and sleeping like the dead.

She is panting after any movement, bless her so heavy. Slime is dripping out of the rear, yuk!

So, what do we all think, sleeping on the sofa and hope for a few more days????

Definetely sleep on the sofa, dont think you'll want to leave her at the mo, I do hope she will hang on just a few more days.

I would now be sleeping in the whelping room with her .

I'm sure we are all thinking of you and hoping this little girl will deliver safely.

Well here we are at 1.50am! She has been panting non stop since 11pm. Strangely she appears to be scratching herself constantly, at her ears, her side, odd. she was sitting on the sofa with her bottom flat and her front two legs up against the back, in a kind of begging position. i am guessing we are moving into early labour?

She has eaten tonight, not really sure what she is doing just seems ultra anxious. Her tummy is very wriggly tonight too but she wont allow temperature taking now.

Hi peppapug
Are you and I the only ones up and about? I am working a night.
Hope thigs are OK I am here all night if you need a bit of moral support. Give the little girlie a hug from me. I shall be going through it all in a couple of weeks!!!
Aileen

Yet another thread to keep us on our toes and checking C.Ds frequently,hope all goes well.Good luck.

> Yet another thread to keep us on our toes and checking C.Ds frequently

:D :D :D

Good luck Peppapug, fingers crossed for you :)

you will know when labour starts, she will pant and not stop until at least 3 days after birth. there is really no mistaking it

Well here i am back at work with my girl at my feet. She stopped panting and fell asleep at 3am......boy is this exhausting. I bet this goes on for days. So sorry for all those watching this thread but every day takes us further into the safety zone. Day 55 today.

Omg you must be so knackered, I hope all is going well.

Yvonne.

Yes a little sleepy whilst lady muck is snoring under my desk!!!! Call that fair?????

Lol she is leading you a merry dance :-)

When they get quite full at the end they tend to be awfully restless. I think smaller breeds can be worse for unrestless behaviour.

I would be questioning or replacing your thermometer as they readings dont sound quite right.

Good luck on the new arrivals. :-)

Thanks, i think restless is the word. She has nibbled some food this morning but really not keen.

She has decided no thermometers should be up the rear so that luxury is gone and i agree the readings were obscure but it is a new digital thermometer.

So i guess we wait..........

unrestless  started saying one word and finished with another. Restless /restlessness .

Sorry Blue, wasnt correcting you, i got what you meant. just meant restless is definately her!!!

You must have thought me very rude there!!!

Sorry Blue, wasnt correcting you, i got what you meant. just meant restless is definately her!!!

You must have thought me very rude there!!!

No honestly I didn't think you were being rude :-) I caught my own post when reading your reply and couldnt believe what I had typed :-))  The reply just fell behind your post it should have fell behind mine :-)

Good luck.. fingers all crossed.

Oh goodness...another taggabags-type post to watch!
Will be thinking of you and hope she holds on a few more days.

ok, so todays symptoms -

Not eating, in fact my colleague always gives her a few cheerios with her breakfast, she spat them out. She is sleeping like the dead and barking at the slightest noise or just sitting and staring.

Got to take her temp and am confident in the result it was 37.4.

Does that sound like we could be getting there?

Hi peppapug,
The scratching of the ears etc is something my girl does as soon as they are born it stops I think it is a hormone thing like pregnant women get .Dont know if you read my other post but I went on for a week thinking my girl was going early but she left it to the day before her due date.Also the staring into space are her eyes pinky and glazed?
good luck.

Roni

Well i think we are very close now. Temp is 37.1, her shape has changed dramatically over night. She has gone from looking huge to looking narrower so i am assuming they are now lined up by the exit! My husband looked at her this morning and said she doesnt look pregnant from above now just like she has had a good meal. She is swinging low though!
She had me in the garden wanting to poop at 4am and did a couple then just kept assuming teh position but not actually doing anything. She kept going out the dog flap to try so i have shut that off so she doesnt start delivering without my knowledge in the garden.
She hasnt eaten at all today and is in her whelping box, sleeping so still and deeply.
We are on day 56 so all will be good now if they are born.

does this sound like we are getting there? I have decided to work from home today rather than take her to the office. It will be nice and quiet for her to perform then.

Sounds quite promising to me :-)

Temps of 99-100 degree Fahrenheit/37.2-37.7 degree Celsius is quite often the normal up and down temp.

Generally the real drop is lower than this I always say below the 99f or 37c  (IE 98. something  or 36.something)  and it should stay down there for around 12 hours. The shape changes in the last few days so this is all normal behaviour for your girl but I know it is awful waiting. :-)

I also wouldn't stop her going out, if you are there just keep going out with her, if in the dark take a torch, she will have an instinct to keep emptying her bowels, even if there is nothing there, otherwise she will be delivering more than just pups ;-) she may get distressed if she can't do what her instincts are asking of her, it is usually a sign that she is getting very close now,  not eating and needing to keep going outside are both classic signs.

Good luck, :-)

Thanks for that. She is going outside but only wth me not though the dog flap any more.
She has started destroyng her bed and scratching on the sofa i am just leavng her to it at the moment. She has eaten a couple of mouth fulls of food. They dont eat on the day of labour at all do they?  reckon she is faking, she got a day at home and out of the offce!!!