Pippin is in Labor!!! Advice Needed!!

[Little Bit]

Pippin has been in labor having contractions and has a water bubble for about the last two hours. She has been actively pushing off and on for the last hour. Still no puppy. The bubble is big and dangling down. How long should I wait before calling the vet about a C section?

[Little Bit]

Anyone out there???

[KitKatJam]

Sorry I have no clue because I'm not a breeder, but I will bump this for you

[Judy in Waco]

Oh no, let me see who I can find for you. Brb!

[Judy in Waco]

Bump!

[Judy in Waco]

We're praying for you, Pippin and the babies. I wish I knew more and could help.

[jencar98]

I see several on line that could possibly help, hopefully one will have an answer soon!

[Jeri Cunningham]

You may have to help deliver the baby. It is not good to just let the sac come part way out and go back in. If it happens again you may want to help her deliver. If you are not comfortable helping you need to get to the vet.

[Jeri Cunningham]

Is this her first litter?
Does she seem tired?
Did you have xrays to see how many puppies?

All this comes into play, if it is the first litter helping with the first one is normally all you need and they come on their own after that.

[Sunnie]

How are things going? I would not let her push for more than a hour without producing a puppy. That is the guidline I was taught although everyone has different opinions

[Jeri Cunningham]

Each puppy is in its own sac so that is what you are seeing.

[cesar49]

whelping

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It is so easy to be a Monday morning quarterback...

SOMETIMES..the sac stays intact, comes out and the dam or breeder tears it open, PERFECT all is well!!!!!! SOMETIMES the dam rips the sac open as she is whelping...puppy still inside dam..and there is no way to stop a dam unless you duct tape her mouth shut...I do not panic if the dam chooses to open the sac, head first puppy is ususally out fairly fast...if it is feet first, you must take a dry cloth and gently pull out the puppy...as long as the placenta is attached, the pups are fairly safe, once the placenta tears away, the puppy needs to be out of the mom asap...
BUT if you see dry feet sticking out...unless your vet lives in your basement, you do not have time to go to them..you must deliver the pup asap...

I had a recent email from a first time breeder asking me how long the puppies head could safely remain in the mom..sac was torn off and placenta was already out...it has been out for 20 mins...which was about 19 mins too long...in that case a live pup would have resulted with a gently pull...that was the breeders fault and the pup died.

In your case...you had the bad luck of a small bitch and one large puppy, backwards and dry.....even that gives me sweat beads..I know things can and mostly will be tough.

PS....everyone knows there is a "water bubble" that comes first..THEN the actualy sac the puppy is in? Breaking a water bubble is not like breaking the sac with umbical cord attached to it... RIGHT....bitches break water bubbles all the time...
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Pat, Kate and Emee
Prim

[Woogie Man]

What I've read says the same.....after an hour of hard contractions and no puppy, see the vet. You could try doing traction on her belly timed with a contraction. What you do is firmly stroke downward (toward the rear legs) as she has a contraction to help her deliver. If that doesn't work, the vet is likely your next option.

[Jeri Cunningham]

Birth of Puppies: What to Look For veterinary medicine advice info from pet veterinarian


This is from Dr. Larry a vet on the web:
What To Look For During the Birth of Puppies

OK, the puppies are now coming. What do you watch for? When do I think there is trouble? Should we call the veterinarian? Take them to the emergency center (since it invariably is 2am.)? Here are some tips:

1) If you see a brown, black or green discharge from the vaginal area BEFORE any puppies have come out, call the veterinarian. Once even the first puppy has been born, you can ignore the discharge. You will often see these dark liquids after and between puppies.

2) If the mom is straining with labor, actually pushing with no puppies coming out, for a period of one hour with no success, call your veterinarian. If she strains a little, then rests for an hour, then strains a little more with no success, this doesn't count. If you see her actively trying for an hour without success, then call the veterinarian.

3) There are no rules for how much time there is in between puppies. I have seen bitches have puppies every ten minutes and some have them one every 24 hours. Each dog's pattern will be different. If you do not see her straining as noted in number 2, don't worry about the time between the puppies.

Hopefully, the mother will do the rest. The puppies do come out in a sac, but the bitch will remove them, eat the sac and chew off the umbilical cord. The puppies will all find their way to the mom's nipples. Don't worry about puppies wandering around the whelping box. They will find their way.

It is difficult to list and describe every possible complication that can occur. Most of the times, things go perfectly fine (especially if we humans don't mess things up). And if you follow the tips above and have one of the 99% of the dog breeds that have no complications, you will do just fine.

One last bit of advice. It is very important for the mom and the puppies to be seen by your veterinarian within 48 hours of whelping. This allows the veterinarian to be sure all the puppies are ok and we often will give the bitch an injection of oxytocin which will stimulate any other uterine material that is left to be pushed out.

Dr. Larry

[Woogie Man]

I see she's off-line. Hope everything's alright