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Elly Mae is going into labor! Help!

Posted : 8/13/2007 4:12:07 PM

Elly Mae is going into labor. It started around 12:50 today. We are pretty well prepared for this because of your information you gave us before, but we do have a few questions.
Do dogs have false alarms?
What are signs of near delievery?
How do we know it's the "real thing"?

Elly Mae was panting extremely hard and having abnormal, extreme shaking. She has not dug or tried to make a nest. We have her in a baby pool with towels. Did we get a false alarm if she is not digging to make a nest, or do dogs sometimes not dig? She is 58-70 days into pregnancy. Those are the days she was bred with a Labrador, and one of the days she got stuck with a stray. Please help us!

rwbeagles

Posted : 8/13/2007 4:17:36 PM

No...no false alarms. Once the temp drop occurs labor MUST progress within a reasonable timeframe. Have you been taking her temp BTW?

Panting/shivering are normal signs of labor..she may progress in 6 hours...or take as long as 24 or even 48.

The danger comes when strong, meaningful contractions/pushing occur and continue for several hours with no puppy presenting itself. That is an EMERGENCY...as is any strange discharge that is extremely foul smelling, sometimes green can be bad...if no puppies have come yet green discharge is typically a trip to the vet to be sure all is well. Copious bleeding is obviously an emergency, esp when no puppies are yet on the ground. Extremely serious pain in the bitch like SHRIEKING or attempting to bite themselves is also a trip to the vet.

Now she should become more interested in shredding paper/nesting as she goes along...walk her...this helps move things along. Make sure she has water if she wants it...other than that...until she decides to get busy...you just sit and wait!

neapolitanpitbull

Posted : 8/13/2007 4:54:38 PM

No, we have not taken her temperature. My uncle is coming home with a thermometer. He should be here anytime.

What's wierd is she has stop shaking dramatically, and is not panting nearly as hard. Is this normal or should she be the same as she was earlier?

Anonymous

Posted : 8/13/2007 5:14:15 PM

Everything you are describing is what Reesee did when she was in labor. Crazy thing is I had no clue. I can tell you from what I recall she did pant on and off. She would occasionally squat and nothing would come out. Towards the evening she was shivering occasionally. The labor, it lasted all day and peaked at about midnight before she gave birth to her puppies. Sending healthy puppy vibes your way!

rwbeagles

Posted : 8/13/2007 5:16:04 PM

it will come and go...the shivering occurs due to the temp drop mainly...the shivering brings the temp back up...and the panting varies in intensity as they go along....trembling from the pain of contractions can occur later.

I have some clips of Nonnie in first stage labor...would it help you to see them? Let me know and I will upload them to youtube for you...the look in their eyes when they pant is the dead giveaway...they look "distant" far away...and they stop for half seconds seeming to 'listen' to something inside them lol...

Be aware some bitches CAN call off the whole thing until they are comfortable...if something in the environment is off...there are too many distractions...or they do not feel safe to whelp there for some reason (other animals/dogs visible, people they don't know well, etc)

neapolitanpitbull

Posted : 8/13/2007 5:20:12 PM

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

it will come and go...the shivering occurs due to the temp drop mainly...the shivering brings the temp back up...and the panting varies in intensity as they go along....trembling from the pain of contractions can occur later.

I have some clips of Nonnie in first stage labor...would it help you to see them? Let me know and I will upload them to youtube for you...the look in their eyes when they pant is the dead giveaway...they look "distant" far away...and they stop for half seconds seeming to 'listen' to something inside them lol...

Be aware some bitches CAN call off the whole thing until they are comfortable...if something in the environment is off...there are too many distractions...or they do not feel safe to whelp there for some reason (other animals/dogs visible, people they don't know well, etc)

Thank you rwbeagles! You are being a ton of help! I'm sure my aunt and I would love to see the videos, I'm sure they'd be a big help as well!

Everything you are describing is what Reesee did when she was in labor. Crazy thing is I had no clue. I can tell you from what I recall she did pant on and off. She would occasionally squat and nothing would come out. Towards the evening she was shivering occasionally. The labor, it lasted all day and peaked at about midnight before she gave birth to her puppies. Sending healthy puppy vibes your way!

Thank you! [

]

neapolitanpitbull

Posted : 8/13/2007 5:20:46 PM

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

it will come and go...the shivering occurs due to the temp drop mainly...the shivering brings the temp back up...and the panting varies in intensity as they go along....trembling from the pain of contractions can occur later.

I have some clips of Nonnie in first stage labor...would it help you to see them? Let me know and I will upload them to youtube for you...the look in their eyes when they pant is the dead giveaway...they look "distant" far away...and they stop for half seconds seeming to 'listen' to something inside them lol...

Be aware some bitches CAN call off the whole thing until they are comfortable...if something in the environment is off...there are too many distractions...or they do not feel safe to whelp there for some reason (other animals/dogs visible, people they don't know well, etc)

Thank you rwbeagles! You are being a ton of help! I'm sure my aunt and I would love to see the videos, I'm sure they'd be a big help as well!

Everything you are describing is what Reesee did when she was in labor. Crazy thing is I had no clue. I can tell you from what I recall she did pant on and off. She would occasionally squat and nothing would come out. Towards the evening she was shivering occasionally. The labor, it lasted all day and peaked at about midnight before she gave birth to her puppies. Sending healthy puppy vibes your way!

Thank you! [

]

neapolitanpitbull

Posted : 8/13/2007 5:21:05 PM

Whoops, sorry, this was a triple post.

Pat Cook

Posted : 8/13/2007 5:36:41 PM

Taking temp now won't do you any good
you start taking there temp a week before the due date twice aday
the same time each day tell her temp drops to 98 .
Good luck hope all goes well Katy

rwbeagles

Posted : 8/13/2007 5:58:34 PM

Early labor...just panting and sitting [

]

[linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL8a4FG9WOo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL8a4FG9WOo[/link]

Anonymous

Posted : 8/13/2007 6:03:57 PM

the look in their eyes when they pant is the dead giveaway...they look "distant" far away...

So true about the distant look in their eyes! Nothing, not even their favorite treat can bring them out of that.

rwbeagles

Posted : 8/13/2007 6:16:29 PM

[linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7-ugwego2Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7-ugwego2Y[/link]

Intense nesting....those are fleece throws she is trying to rip apart lol.

She will NOT push if bedding is present to rip....but once I remove bedding she immediately begins active pushing. Silly girl!

neapolitanpitbull

Posted : 8/13/2007 7:16:19 PM

Elly Mae's temperature is 99.9 when we took it with a digital rectal/oral thermometer. We took the temperature rectally. Is 99.9 a normal temperature for a dog in labor? Should we continue taking it? If so, how often? With a temperature at this heigth, when do you think she will give birth?

Also, Elly Mae is acting 100% normal as of now and the past hour. When my uncle got home she ran, trotted and walked around normally. She played with the kids and fetched a cop can holder...are you sure there are no false alarms? She seems to be acting perfectly normal with no outbreaks of shivering or tightened up legs. Since she ran we wouldn't know if she is panting because of running or because she is in labor.

Is it normal for her to be running around outside in stage 1 after shaking & being lethergic?

Thank you!!

neapolitanpitbull

Posted : 8/13/2007 8:05:07 PM

She's 98.6*F now!

neapolitanpitbull

Posted : 8/13/2007 8:05:32 PM

She's 98.6*F now!