Ok , i think my girl has started , her temp last night was 99.o and she was restless all night and lots of heavy panting , this morning she has refused food or water , had an upset tum and her temp was 98.4 , just took it again and it is 98.3 , she is now in her box , digging franticly and panting like crazy. She keeps looking at her back end and is doing a strange staring , almost like she is in a trance so i am hopeful that this is the real thing and not just a practice run.
I am in the room with her and suddenly feel quite useless!!! . Should i be doing anything apart from just being here for her ? Obviously when pups start arriving i will be there to help if needed but at this stage is there anything useful i could be doing , as this is her first i have no idea how long this is likely to go on for so am just playing it by ear.
Lucy

Sounds like the real thing to me!!  Just reassure her if she needs it, keep calm, have your kit to hand, let your vet know, as well as the kettle handy!
Good luck - I just love these girls who whelp during the day.

Thanks , i have everything i need here with me , i have been preparing for this for well over a year now , hubby is on his way home too.  i am so excited but very nervous at the same time , i just want it to go well.

Sounds like she's on her way :) Not much you can do at the moment, but I'd stay with her. I'd have a small box ready with a heat pad or hot water bottle in, covered with bedding or a soft towel. My girl was petrified when she had her 1st litter, she looked at the 1st puppy like it was some kind of alien being. We had to pop the 1st 3 pups on a heated blanket till mum would let them nurse. Vanilla ice-cream is good for a little energy boost & to refresh mum if she won't drink. Good luck :) Oh I do love puppy news!!

Good luck!

Thank you , i have a box ready with a heat pad in and probably a whole host of things i will never use but at least i am prepared lol! I have notified the vet that she has started , they were very disinterested , i s'pose its pretty routine for them!. I have coffee , my book of the bitch and lap top to occupy me so i don't concentrate on her too much in this early stage , god i am so excited . . . . .

ok , seems my girl hasn't been reading the same book as me , i was expecting this stage to last all day but she just had a small gush of water come out so i am now awaiting our first baby, wish us luck.
Lucy

Eeeeeeeeeeeeee! Eargerly awaiting news!

ha ha, none of mine have read the right books either :)

Good luck...keep us informed..love puppies:)

Good luck,what a terrifying and yet wonderful time for you.Hope it goes well.

Nope, mine hadn't read the books last time either - she was a bit restless during the day, but the first definite contraction was only an hour before the puppy appeared! Good luck!

3 boys so far , they are the most beautiful things i have ever seen! it is all going a lot faster than i expected but is just amazing.
Lucy

wow..thats fast.....well done mum:)

Wow that is rather quick!

Just switched on for the first time today, brilliant news. 

thank you all , well i spoke too soon about it going quickly , the 3 boys were all born in the space of 80 minutes but nothing since then. My girl is looking like she is in shock , bless her , there are definitely a fair few more to come yet.
Lucy

She's probably just having a rest, keep an eye on her though

Congratulations, I hope all goes smoothly with the rest of the whelping..

Is it just me, or does anyone else find themselves wishing they knew what the breed was on threads like this ? (I fully appreciate why not of course, it is just that I am always dying to know lol).

:) well done you and your girl .i hope all is well? x

yes same here cavlover :)

i do believe we have the same breed white lily.
Lucy

thats great lucy :) anymore babys yet? x

no we are still waiting , the boys are just so beautiful i can't stop looking at them , she made a bit of a pigs ear with the cords so think i might help with the next one , god i didn't expect her to be so rough with them when they were born , had to sit on my hands as i was so tempted to try and do it all for her . Should i be worried its over 2 hours since last pup was born?

If she's not contracting I wouldn't worry yet.. I would ring the vets though.

Yes I find it frustrating too not knowing the breeds, but I have on occasion sent a PM to find out, but I guess I'm just nosey!

no she is ok ,have you taken her outside on the garden ,get her moving abit if you can ,ive waited 3hours from 1 to next pup being born and all was fine ,good look let us know ,will keep checking x

no she is not contracting , she is very calm in fact , mind you she had only just started contracting when the first boy literally flew out!

she won't leave the room White Lily , i have tried to get her moving but she doesn't want to!

put her lead on ,i know she will try and get back to them but if u can get her moving she should start contrating again ....make sure you take a towel with you just incase she has pup outside x

Just signed in.....all sounds really exciting....my bitch is expecting her first litter after four attempts at mating.......cant wait.....

i wish we could say what breed they are aswell...
Good luck tho Lucy.

Congrats and good luck to you too mikandros:)

she is contracting again , was just getting worried then , here we go again!

glad to hear all back on track :) x

any news yet?

Hope all ok.

I wouldn't take her outside in the dark..  you don't want her to slip one outside.

Hope everything is going ok?

Been up a few times through the night and kept having a look to see is there was anymore news.  Hope all is well and you are getting some rest. 

Thank you all so much , we have 10 beautiful babies - 7 boys and 3 girls , they are just adorable. Last pup was born at 3.40 this morning so she did so very well. Mum is doing a great job so far , feeding and cleaning them. She is still panting really heavily though , should i be worried? The vet is going to check her over this morning.
Lucy

Well done.

Congrats!

It's quite normal for them to carry on panting for some time.  Just keep a close eye on her until she's checked over by the vet, but if she's settled she should be fine.

well done and congrats:)

WOW lucy :) well done you and your girl ,she will pant shes shatterd bless her ,whats she like thismorning? im sooo jelous ,we still have no puppies yet :( ,but im sure its not going to be long now well it carnt be she only got 5days lol

i wish all the best for your babies and mum xx

Part of the panting could be dehydration please ensure she is drinking well we always give a special honey, milk, oil and egg drink

Ooh congratulations on the 10 babies, well done to their Mum !

I'll close this now the litter has safely arrived but of course the OP can start a new thread with any further questions.