1.
Vulva will stay slightly swollen
2.
Nipples will be more pronounced and firm
3.
Change of temperament. She may get quiet or lazy or go sit off by
herself.
4.
She can get morning sickness usually about two weeks into the pregnancy.
5.
Her appetite will increase
6.
After a month you can see that her sides are getting thicker, between her
ribs and hips.
7.
She will start to show anytime between five and seven weeks
8.
Now you should be able to feel the puppies kick and move and if you own
a stethoscope in this eight week period, you can hear the puppies heart
beat. When you get really good at this you can even tell the sex
of the puppies. The sound is a rapid TIC TIC TIC with the males being
faster than the females. " good luck on this "
9.
After the eighth week you can have your vet do an x-ray. This is
not only to see how many puppies she is going to have but, also, to make
sure she does not have a small birth canal. Some breeds are prone
for this problem. I would do an x-ray only if you think there will
be a problem, wait to be surprised on how many puppies there are.
Patience!!
10.
These last weeks takes forever to come. You should have all your
whelping supplies ready.
a. her whelping box
b. clean, throw away, towels
c. gentle iodine
11.
You can take her temperature starting on the 50th day of pregnancy and
keep a record of it. Do this twice a day. The most accurate
thermometer is the glass rectal thermometer. Use the same one each
time you take her temperature. If you feel that the glass one
would be a hazard with possibly breaking, use the digital kind. If
using a glass thermometer, shake it down below 98 degrees. Coat the
end with a lubricant, such as Vaseline. Have your bitch lie down,
if she will not do this, have someone hold her. You want to prevent
her from sitting when the thermometer is inserted. |
Hold the thermometer firmly and insert into her rectum about 2 inches.
If you meet any resistance rotate the thermometer as you continue to insert.
Keep it
in about two (2) minutes or if it is a digital unit it beeps (usually two
(2) minutes) Take it out, wipe it off and chart the temperature as
to degree and time of day.A dog's normal temperature is about 101.5 but
in the last trimester of pregnancy the bitch's temperature will be around
100.
You
will notice a huge increase in temperature right before it drops.
Any temperature recorded at 99.2 or lower indicates that the birthing should
start in 24 hours. If your bitch goes past that point and labor has
not begun, CALL your veterinarian.
This
is 99% sure way of telling when a bitch will go into labor.
Whelping
can start as early as the 58th day and go as long as the 64th day without
there being a problem. It is the before and the after, that you have
to consider as a problem.
GETTING CLOSER
Here
are the signs that the big day has come.
1. Temperature has dropped to between 98 to 99 degrees
2. Pupils will dilate
3. She will hide in dark places (under the bed, behind the couch,
in the closet)
4. She will dig, sometimes a lot
5. Start panting
6. She will keep looking at her rear, sometimes licking her vulva.
If
you had made the whelping box available to her the last few weeks, she
should feel comfortable with it and be ready to go into the box.
Some
bitches will want to be off by themselves, others will want you to sit
and hold their paw. It is up to you to figure out which way she wants
to be.
DON'T
let everyone be around her at this time. She needs privacy not a
public display. You want to keep her calm and concentrating on what
she is doing, not worrying about people around her and her puppies. |