hi
my bitch whelped in the early hours of this morning on her 63ed day. the first signs of labour didn't start last night until 9.30pm when she started to tremble a little, then at 10pm she then started to pant briefly for a few seconds. she has been sleeping in her whelping box for the past three Weeks's and has two one up stairs and one in her normal bed in a utility room off my living room (this room has a baby gate on it ).so she had the choice i thought to choose which one she felt most comfortable with ,she didn't nest at all, she just sat beside me on the sofa ...... a few minutes later she gave a push "looking like she was howling at the moon" at that point i decided to lift her and put her into her whelping box. at that point i noticed that she had a sac that had started to come out. i was shocked that it all seem to be moving along at this pace. i placed her into the whelping box and took my other dog upstairs  but she was refusing to say in it so i sat with her comforting her as she was having contractions an hour later she still hadn't passed this fluid sac and was still determined to get out of the whelping box so i moved the whelping box to the living room where things seem to be progressing a lot better.myself and my OH just keep talking to her but if one of us got up and sat on the sofa she wanted up on the sofa or  wanting the two of us together. i never seen it taken this long before i decided to ring my vet thinking the passing of this fluid was talking a long time she suggested that i just went and left her to it on her own. so i took the advise of the vet and left her there around 12 am i didn't want to move her or the whelping box again.so i left them in the living room. only to return 45 minutes later and find  that she had two puppies on my sofa (thankfully i have covered them with thick sheets during the week just in case) i returned her to the "whelping room" . with me just peeking in every now and then with out disturbing her until. she was having a little problem with puppy number 4 i decided to step in and help her get him out of the sac. i discovered that he was in two sacs.. does this happen often? , he also had quiet a bit of fluid in his mouth and nostrils which i drained. she went on to have her 5th and final puppy with no problems... after she had given them all a good clean and they fed she got out of the whelping box and again started to cry at the baby gate.then this morning when i was talking my other dog out she came out and stood at the front door i let her out for a few minute to relieve her self but she was refusing to go back into the puppies on the return. she got up on my sofa again and this time started to scratch at the sofa and pant .. she was scanned and i was told there was five a possible six so i was concerned that maybe there was a dead one inside her so i phoned the vet who suggested i brought her down. everything was fine and we where sent home with a clean bill of health. only for the fact that she doesnt seem to want to spend time with her babies the vet suggested i moved her again , to a much quieter place because she thinks that shes thinking what is going on in the living room is more important and she might be missing something .so i moved her to the spare room up stairs where she cant hear any noises, and things seem to be going a lot better.. i heard her a few times this evening popping in and out of the whelping box. all puppies are getting fed. going to the toilet and seem contented. should i let her out away from the puppies for a time during the day and let her spend time with us and her companion at this early stage  ,or will this make matters worse.  She is very clingy to me (her breed is known for getting very attached to one member of the family) ..but i was expecting these puppies to be all she could think about. she has never been away from me and my OH and i was hoping that she would have been able to stay close to us either in the living room or her whelping room.. i dont want her to stress out or feel punished on her own.  letting her settle down only to be annoyed when i leave after checking on her and the puppies. i was thinking leaving her up there for a few days to help her bond with her babies with out our interference,and then introduce her back into the living area in a few days...
Has any one any suggestions as to the best way to deal with this situation.
 
Many Thanks

My pups are born in my bedroom, away from all other dogs and household living, and I stay with them for 10 days, which is very different from the scene that you are describing.  You are expecting a bitch who is used to living with other dogs and family, to be shut away on her own .......  Maybe some are happy with that, but it's not what I would expect by girls to be content with.

I am gob-smacked that the vet would suggest leaving her alone to get on with it.

I would certainly have had any number of dead pups in various litters if I took that advice.  My last litter the bitch hadn't a clue until after the birth of the 6th pup, and if I wasn't with her fled the whelping box trying to hide in a corner.

I sleep next to the whelping box for the first four or five days and in the same room for 2 weeks.

Yes they should be encouraged to stay with the pups constantly for at least the first 3 to 5 days, even if that means one of you constantly with her. 

She will not want to be anywhere near the other dogs until after pups eyes are open and then she won't allow the others near her pups for some time after.

Agree with Val.  My girls want to be with me, and if they don't want to be in the whelping box, I don't move to another room.  I lay bath towels on the floor, so pups can be born on something clean, and I actually lie on the floor next to the whelping box.  I have had girls curl up with me, and lean against me when they get a contraction.  Even with a straightforward whelping, I know how easy it is for pups to get sat on, so the whelping room is where I live, sleep and eat until eyes are open.  I don't start socialisation with the rest of the gang until Mum has stopped being all growly and protective.  No point in distressing her for no good reason..  If that means no dogs say hello for 6 weeks, so be it.  Mum is given the privacy and quiet that she needs.  Whelping box is left in a large open puppy crate, because I can cover it with blankets, and make it like a den for them.  It has always been a good idea for my girls.  Although I realise that I am fortunate to have a room specifically for whelping, which I had built onto the side of  my kitchen.   I have literally everything to hand, from Dopram to infra red lamp, from obstetric gel to Colostrum, and I am so pleased that I went for it.  Centrally heated, I also have air conditioning for the Summer, as I once had a bitch bothered by the hot weather (haven't even got air con in my own rooms!)  Still can't help but smile at the comment I had from a gentleman enquiring about prices of pups.  He commented that he didn't begrudge me my PROFITS!!!!   My bank manager would really be pleased if the £15,000 loan for the whelping room was going to be paid for from all my dog sale profits!!  I can't believe that there are still folk around that think you can rear dogs properly without having an outside job to pay for your hobby!

this has exahausted me reading it, so you must be dead on your feet !!! i wouldve stayed with my girl throughout the labour & births, in a quiete room , away from people & other pet traffic . i definitely wouldnt leave her unattended except for a quick trip to the loo !!! i too sleep next to mum & pups for up to 2 weeks . i wouldnt mess about moving her around, this will probably stress her out more than she already is! get a blanket , lie near to her , especially if she is so clingy with you ! calm down !! :D congratulations on your new babies lol !! :)

I set up a whelping box for my bitch in the workshop (quiet, heated, spacious) but she was having none of it, the day before the pups were born I cleared out the understairs cupboard(in the living room)  and fixed a whelping box there for her, that was much more to her liking, she's a house dog after all ;)    I slept on the couch for 8 weeks LOL  she wanted me near so thats what she got :)

I know they are dogs first, but vets are so misguided thinking that a maiden bitch will always prefer to be on her own :rolleyes:

Hi

My bitch had her pups in the sitting room and she stayed there the whole time I stayed with her and she was never alone. Our other dog was also in the room and she was ok with this. If I had put her in another room she would of been totally stressed out would have not settled even with her pups. I slept on the settee beside her and she would climb up with me for a cuddle, the min the pups squeeked she rushed back. When I thought it was ok to go back to bed I think it was about 3 and a halfs weeks later she actually chose to come up with me and leave the pups. she would nip down to check them and then come back again. This isnt ideal for every bitch but it is what worked for mine. She is a part of our family and she saw no reason having pups was going to stop that.

There is no way I would of left her while she was in welp and definatly not for 45 mins I just cant understand  vet suggesting it. Did he actually mean go out of the room and leave her. I can see him thinking keep back because the fussing could be upsetting her but still be in the room to keep a eye on things

when i was in the living room with her , she wasnt going to the puppies at all ..just getting up on the sofa and sitting on my knee , they cried and she was torn running to and from them she didnt seem to be able to sit still for 2 minutes.
the vet said to turn out all the lights and make sure that there was complete silence she said to leave her for an hour or so .. made me feel that i was causing her too hold back by being a little too fussy .. so i listened to the advise that i was given ...i know now that i shouldnt have. (should have gone back alot sooner)
then after the advise that i got today at the vets to leave her on her own .. i wasnt happy with that either and know that is wasnt fair and mum wouldnt be happy with it too.
i want to watch them every second. but was finding this hard with mums eailer behavour and my concern too for the out come of her bond with the puppies. thats why i decided to post the orignal post. because i didnt want to leave her at all.. but things have changed for the better, and am able to keep my eye on mum while she now tends to her babies..without leaving them and staying on my knee the whole time.
thanks again :)

sorry my thread was soo long
thank you for your help. she is in the spare room where i have a spare bed and am sleeping . ive decided that i will spend as much time with her as i possibly can this seems to be making her more contented too.
i am keeping  my other girl from her but she came into the room this evening when the door was opended mum had no problem with it and was rather quite please to see her ... my other girl on the other hand didnt want to be there she took a quick look in and left.

when the vet suggested to leave her on her own ..i really didnt want to but was scared too that i was also holding her back looking back on hinsight now i should not have left her..
thankfully mum and puppies where ok and doing well now , but i wont take that risk again.

in the short time that i posted this message things seem to be going really well. and am a lot more settled and so is mum.. thanks to u all for your help. shes happy for me to be there and her now stay in her whelping box and not wanting to be on my knee the whole time, it just needed a little time for her to settle down. Thanks AGAIN ...

i sleep next to mum and pups until their eyes open. in fact, everytime mum gets back in with the pups i jump up to count them and check she hasn't laid on any- this was day and night and its exhausting. i wouldnt have left her alone for any amount of time especially not in labour- so many things can go wrong. im glad she has settled now. mine continued to dig under my bed on and off for a few days after they were born.

lisacur77, may i suggest you get a copy of "THE BOOK OF THE BITCH " this is packed with nearly all the info you need for caring for your bitch & puppies. good luck :)
caron

thanks misstyko.. i have the book of bitch.
everything went fine last mum and puppys happy and well ..

Lisa

Remember none of this is normal for your bitch either!!

She has gone from mum and dad's cuddly pet, to segregation and a whole load of little ones who now need her.

Her whelping experience behaviour is perfectly normal, an awful lot of bitches deliver their first pup certainly not in the whelping area, first time mum's are scared and don't really know what is happening to an extent, they need their mum, (you) and so of course getting her to sit in a whelping area is just not what she wanted, she wanted to sit with you on the sofa be cuddled and told it is ok, and many bitches will want to run up and down and pop out the first pup basically anywhere. All bitches are different, books should only be used as references and ideas of average whelpings, it is always a case of going with the flow of things in reality.

Bitches need a quiet dark place away from other household dogs, but they also want their mum close to hand, I practically live with my girl in our whelping area as she is very clingy too.  She likes to know I am around in sight and able to stroke her and tend to her every need.

I always use a super large crate for whelping as it can be covered with a blanket to make it nice and cave like, that way your bitch can be in a kitchen or bedroom, (or as mine is in the coservatory) and you can also be in that room whilst she is still in a private solitude of her own.

She needs peace and quite so no I would not mix her with your other dog or allow her to come in the room or integrate yet on your sofa, she is feeding and cleaning her pups so is bonding with them, you just need to change your life a little so that you can be with her in the room you choose to keep her in as much as possible.

Move a tv in there to watch quietly, move your computer, chair, table whatever you need, but with a clingy bitch for her to be happy with her pups and emotionally happy you need to be there. Also remember you should be there to keep an eye that none of the pups are in trouble, mum's love to accidently sit on their newborns, you need to be in ear shot of every squeak for iminent rescue.

As the pups are older of course things can then change, she can integrate into normal life and be allowed to mix with your other dog and sit on the sofa watching tv with you and then toddle off back to her pups whenever she likes.  Personally I feel that for the first 2 weeks she needs to really be with the pups as much as she can be, they need feeding extremely frequently and of course constant cleaning and their mum for warmth. :-)

My mother in law always advised me to put the bitch in a quiet place, away from all noises and certainly away from the other dogs and people. For the first couple times with our girls (over period of years), I tried this and found that after couple weeks the girls were desperate to get to us, so much so they would leave their pups.

This last time, I threw caution to the wind ( i was cacking myself tho!) and had whelping box in the lounge. She had the pups there in front of us, needed no help and was completly settled and happy. I must say I was ready to have them moved to a quieter area if needed.

What I would say is, keep calm, there is no right and wrong way and if your bitch is happy, then will be make happy and contended pups.

I must say I am engrossed in this thread because I'm thinking along the lines of quiet,low lights and candles (lol) for my bitch to whelp, but I'm expecting her to want to be with me as she too is clingy, I'm very interested in what Ebonydawn said, making me think in possibly  me being in the lounge with her (or her being with me - depends how you see it!)instead of the room I'm thinking of using....that room will come into it's own when puppies are lively anyway, it's an extension onto my kitchen with an exit to the garden. We can always change to that room later on.
How are mum and puppies now Lisacur?

So I shall carry on reading.

hi mum-of many
mum and puppies are doing really well, i had two rooms each with a whelping box set up for her . it came down to her deciding where she wanted to be. ideally i would have wanted her in the utility room. but she is happy in my spare room so that is where i now live.(LOL) she still is clingy, but it has really settled down and shes happy to be in the whelping box with her puppies and me close by.

thanks to everyone for there help and advise..

Lisa