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OMG.. not ready for this .. little rat terrior type dog is having puppies right now and I am so unready for them .. she went outside several times and strains but alls that shows is the bag of water and she is trying to have them in the yard ... no no no .. thats not clean or safe .. .. what to do and somebody talk me thru this .. ..
she showed up coupla days ago big as a house and real hungry .. so I fed her.. and looked her over .. very pregant and ..geezze .. so I posted the lost dog thing.. the shelter would put her down soon as she came in so I didnt take her there .. I have a vet for my dog but omg this little gal is sooo tiny and its sunday no vet handy close by .. .. help help help
she has a water bag showing right now so I stuck her in the travel kennel and am just watching for the moment but she is straining and nothing is happening here .. .. yes very tiny little dog .. should I do anything right yet or just see if she is fine alone ( with me watching )
Did the water bag break? I've never had little dogs that had babies, so I'm not much help there. You may have to call a Animal ER and see if they can give you some phone advice. If she strains too long, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that she and or the puppies could pass.
well.. now that I am calmer .. so far three very large pups.. and seems she is got more in there .. I was scared never had a small dog like this and puppies .. omg omg omg .. seems she is doing what she has to but it did scare me .. ok puppy #4.. coming now .. sheesh .. its smaller .. and she is still huge .. .. yup nurse /midwife kicked in drying the pup and she is eating the afterbirth.. yanno not one whimper so far just this "look".... poor girl ..
pups are very large for such a small dog and .. very quiet .. most pups would be screaming .. I got them on warm towels and have a heat lamp on them she is doing the mom thing it seems
Ok, first take a deep breath. 'OMG OMG OMG' isn't helping, so take a breath and relax before you freak her out. Dogs do this in the wild every day, she'll be fine most likely.
Give her a clean room to have them in. I used a closet for mine when she had hers. Put down tons of thick warm blanket and put her and the puppies there. Most likely between having them, possibly even until she has the last one, she'll want nothing to do with them. If this is the case, once she's cleaned them up, put them in a storage container with warm blankets and keep them in a warm area. Be careful with the heat lamp so you don't over heat them. A thick blanket under and over them is usually plenty unless your house is mega cold.
Have you ever palpated a non-pregnant dogs stomach? If not she'll need to see a vet after she has the last one to make sure she's not stopped labor before they've all been whelped.
If you're very familiar with what it should feel like - I"m guessing you're not but just in case - check and make sure there aren't any fetuses left inside.
After she has them leave them in the closet with the blankets and mom. Keep it warm and quiet. If you've got kids keep them completely away and as quiet as possible in the house. Same with other pets - they can't be near her. If you've got a way to barricade the closet so they don't crawl out and off the blanket (baby gate?) that's very helpful. Leave a small bowl of food and water in the corner, away from the area the puppies are in. Some dogs are pretty hungry / thirsty, others just want to settle into mother hood and be left alone.
The birth is easy. It the next 8 weeks that will be a nightmare for you. Puppies are dirty and stinky and take a ton of energy. You'll need to check on them constantly, especially the first couple weeks. After that they should start moving around. Eyes open at 7-10 days or so. Once those eyes are open, the moving will start and they'll be everywhere if you don't have them contained.
Feed mom a very high quality food while she's nursing. She'll be wicked thin for quite some time and it takes a while to get weight on them when they've got all those little leeches sucking the nutrients literally right out of her! So lots of food and water, and a good high quality. I add canned food as well just to help get that weight on.
Aside from that, just keep an eye on everyone. I've got a nursing momma and her 3 babies at home that I just pulled out of the shelter. It's fun to watch them grow, but by the time they're 8 weeks old and can start looking for homes, you'll be thrilled to see them go!
I am calmer .. just wow I was not ready .. She showed up friday night at the house .. no one around here knows her so no idea where her people are .. I had planned to take her into my vet on monday for a check up and to see when and how many pups she was carring .. .. suprise .. she wasnt waiting for that .. but I am MUCH calmer now .. it scared me she was trying to have them in the yard .. she is in the larger travel kennel right now and the pups are in a small box with warm towels and I took the lamp out ..
she seems to be ok with doing her thing.. I know to dry the pups asap so they are warmed and such but anything else I should know? nope no puppy starter .. ( that was on the monday to do list ..)
I am calmer .. just wow I was not ready .. She showed up friday night at the house .. no one around here knows her so no idea where her people are .. I had planned to take her into my vet on monday for a check up and to see when and how many pups she was carring .. .. suprise .. she wasnt waiting for that .. but I am MUCH calmer now .. it scared me she was trying to have them in the yard .. she is in the larger travel kennel right now and the pups are in a small box with warm towels and I took the lamp out ..
she seems to be ok with doing her thing.. I know to dry the pups asap so they are warmed and such but anything else I should know? nope no puppy starter .. ( that was on the monday to do list ..)
LOL. So she didn't consult you on her birthing date? Ya know, that's just rude! LOL
No, you're doing fine honey. Keep them warm and dry and they're fine. They do this all the time. Mother Nature is amazing.
I sent you a DM with my number. Call if you need. I've been in your shoes!
so far theres 6 pups and looks like she is trying for a coupla more ..
these pups are very large ..for such a small dog..
Quite possible she was impregnated by a larger breed. That always scares me as the chance of complication sky rockets. Keep an eye on her. If she seems like she's trying and pushing and nothing is happening, get her in. If anything feels 'off', rush her to a clinic. Aside from that just keep monitoring.
So, are you doing what I did, telling her 'ok, 3 is a good number. You can stop at 3. 3 is fine. Stop pushing. Cut it out! Ok, that's alright. 4 is a good number. We can handle 4. Nice even round number. We can......... what are you doing? Stop it! No more! 5? Why? 4 was good. We were fine with 4. Why 5? Hey - what's - NO!! Maggie, stop it this instant. I order it!'
If so, stop doing that. Maggie taught me a lesson that night by having eight!!! LOL About the time I threw my hands in the air and was ready to cry she stopped. Brat. Almost like she knew.
Faworki1947,
I don't know anything about puppies being born but I want to thank you for what you've done/are doing. If you could post a picture of the puppies at some point when it is possible, I'd love to see them. What are you going to do? Try to adopt them out?
Bless you,
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