Hi
My bitch whelped on Saturday morning...3 lovely girls.

Shes got quite a heavy loss and its quite smelly, I have had to bath her twice since saturday as she gets quite clagged up!!. Simply wiping down with a flannel isnt working!!

She is at the vet today for a good checkup, I did inform them of the loss, so we are going at 2pm when there is noone else there.
Her temp is normal, shes eating if I hand feed her and Im haveing to get fluids into her via a syringe.
She is a wonderful mum, very attentive and pups are doing well, although on is a bit smaller that the other 2.

Any advice before the vets would be great.
Thanx:)

Depends what you consider smelly.

The birth fluids have a destinctive smell and can be quite strong but I think of smelly as in unususual, offensive and bacterially caused.
The amount of fluids they lose post delivery varies tremendously.

I'd let the vet advise you on that one, he/she will have smelt lots of post whelp bitches ( I hope).

How did you get on at the vets today?

Well..got to the vet...gave her a good check over...shes in lovely condition despite having just given birth....he gave her an internal, she wasnt too pleased about that...he seems to think she might have some bits of placenta left behind..her temp is normal...shes on antibiotics just to make sure there isnt an infection brewing. I just need to make sure she drinks plenty...at the moment I am having to syringe water and lactol into her every 30 mins or so, she will take it that way, just wont drink from the bowl. Apart from that all is good...Im a bit tired though...lol, but thats to be expected.

Thats good news, hope she starts to feel abit better soon. My bitch had pups 3 months ago, she was drinking a big bowl of water dry every 2 hours! Has she got water in or near whelping box as new mums don't like leaving the pups, you could also try some glucose added to her water if you think she needs it. Is she eating? Try adding water to her wet food or soaking her kibble!

Hi LoisLane
She has water and food in the whelping box with her but she not drinking anything like your girl did!! Im adding water to her food, but having to hand feed her aswell...I dont mind doing any of this as long as I get something into her.

> but she not drinking anything like your girl did!!

toffeecrisp - how about holding a bowl right under her nose?  I usually boil some water, let it cool off to lukewarm, and add a little evaporated milk.  I find the milk makes them drink far more than they would of ordinary water.  It's certainly worth a try.

By the way, I find the smell of the discharge quite metallic, so strong, but not offensive.  I don't bathe mine until at least day 3, even if they're very bloody, mine get far too distressed about being moved from pups.

I just tried holding the bowl under her nose...she got up and moved away...filled the syringe and she took it no bother. Im worried about her milk drying up!..The pups are pulling at her nipples and sucking like they've never been fed, they are more vocal tonight aswell, does this mean they are possibly not getting enough milk? I've just weighed them and they have put on between 1/2 and 3/4 of an ounce since I weighed them at 9 this morning...birth weight was
pup 1.. 11 3/8ozs now weighs 14 1/8
pup 2.. 11 3/8ozs now weighs 13 1/4
pup 3.. 10 1/8ozs now weighs 12ozs

They are a toy breed.
I might be worrying about nothing, but I dont want anything to happen to them!

The smell is very metallic and very offensive.

> I might be worrying about nothing

:-)  But worrying is what we do best!

It looks to me as if your weight gains are satisfactory!   And all that pulling and sucking is what brought the milk in on my bitch that had a C-section.  I remember feeling so sorry for her, and whether it was fair after a section, but you really need those hungry little beggars drawing at her.

Just keep on giving her that TLC :-)  :-)

Just to add - that metallic smell is perfectly normal to me.  I don't like it much, but some are worse than others.

Is the drinks you are offering warm?  mine won' touch anything cool or cold for the first week.

Just make sure her food is really soaked so she will get quite a bit of fluid that way.

My bitch was a bit reluctant to drink when she first had her pups. We added some glucose to the water for energy and only got her drinking by dipping my clean fingers in the water bowl and letting her lick the water off. I slowly moved my fingers closer to the water until they were in the bowl and she was lapping a good amount up. Or as others have said maybe try watered down condensed milk, this is sweet so should help her with her energy levels. With our last bitches litter, the only thing she would drink to begin with was warm sweet tea.

You could also try a recipe a friend of ours swears by. Cook a large joint of beef (such a shin of beef) in a casserole dish, with enough water to cover the beef completely. To the water add any vegetables you like (obviously apart from onions, leeks..). Cook this on a low heat until the beef is falling off the bone. You can then give the broth to the bitch, adding a little water if needed. The meat and the vegetables can also be given to her as part of a meal :)

Many Thanks for all your advice..mum is eating a bit better and has had quite a bit of water today...tried warm tea..no chance.
Shes doing ok at last and 2 of the pups are piling on the weight.

try goats milk warmish mainly milk than water if she takes it next time ease of the milk until its just a touch of milk and more water.

Once she is on the water add a llittle glucose for energy.

Hope everthing goes well

> tried warm tea..no chance.

:-D Lol nothing more frustrating than lovingly preparing a delicious drink or a nice meal , only for the bitch to then go 'Errr no thanks!' 

Glad to hear things are picking up :)