THE PUPPIES ARE COMING

A good Vet who enjoys working with breeders and who is aggressive in providing you support in whelping your litter is the most important ingredient for a successful delivery. Your Vet should be experienced in whelping problems and available to provide you support. You may not need his help, but if you experience problems, your Vet can be the difference between live or dead pups not to mention the health of your bitch.

Make sure your Vet is notified when the bitch's temperature drops and that he is available to provide you support even when your bitch decides to deliver in the middle of the night. It is a well-known fact that all self-respecting mothers wait until after midnight before they get down to business.

The next task is to read carefully one of the many excellent books on whelping your puppies. Two suggestions are "Breeding Your Poodle" by Margaret Rothery Sheldon and Barbara Lockwood and "Joy of Breeding Your Own Show Dog" by Ann Seranne.

As you progress through the stages of whelping, contact your Vet for help when:

24 hours has passed since your bitch's temperature dropped from 101 degrees to under 99 degrees without going into labor. Take your bitch in for an examination if necessary;

if straining continues for more than 2 hours before the water bag appears or for more than 30 minutes after the water breaks, call for assistance;

After a bitch has started labor and is actually straining, she should produce the water bag within 2 to 3 hours at the very most. After the first water bag has been produced, your bitch should have her first puppy within 30 minutes. If a puppy has not arrived, it is a matter of urgency to get in contact with your Vet;

While your bitch is straining, she will have periods of rest. Do not disturb her or be concerned. Relaxing is good for her and is necessary to rest the uterine muscles. If she rests for over 2 hours, however, call your Vet;

If the bitch commences strong labor straining and after some time this straining is obviously becoming less vigorous and the intervals between straining are becoming longer instead of shorter, it is time to notify your Vet;

If the mother is straining hard enough to get the puppy to the vulva but not hard enough to produce the puppy after trying for 30 minutes, firmly but gently press on her abdomen close to the tuck up area each time she strains. Or, if you see the pups head but she still isn't pushing hard enough to produce the pup, try to get a gentle grip on the pup and provide assistance. If this doesn't produce a puppy, call your Vet without delay. You could lose this pup without immediate assistance.

2 to 3 hours may go by between puppies, Keep your Vet informed if the time goes over 3 hours and follow his advice. Don't allow your bitch to strain unproductively for over this time without assistance.

It is essential that the newborn puppies be kept warm. They need a temperature of 80 degrees for the first 2 weeks. After that, the temperature in the whelping box can be lowered gradually. Use an electric heater or infrared lamp to keep the box warm. Do NOT lay the pups on a heating pad or let the temperature go above 80 degrees.

If the Mom becomes aggitated while whelping, it is best to back off and let her care for the pups until she calms down. Sometimes a Mom will pick up the first or second pup and hold it in her mouth. Do NOT take the pup away. Just let her hold it. Once she calms down she will let the puppy nurse. We can cause this aggitation in some Moms during the whelping process by being too aggressive. Stay low, do not hover over her. Relax and she will relax.

Be sure to have the following: a tube feeder, a 4 ounce baby bottle, Esbilac (puppy milk), Gatorade for dehydrated pups, yarn in different colors, scales giving weights in ounces, heater, scissors, cotton thread, alcohol to clean hands and tools, cotton balls, old towels (one per pup), newspapers, whelping chart, thermometer for the whelping box, a thermometer for taking Mom's temperature, and of course a whelping box.

If you are getting ready to have your first litter, it is always best to have an experienced breeder on hand to show you the ropes and to help you spot an emergency.