I understand that this may be stressful, but if you want to get through it in a way that is best for your girl, you need to buck-up, read, and read fast. The article that BHJ gave you a link to is excellent and explains a lot. Read it multiple times.
You may have to help with getting the puppies from inside mom to outside mom-- this is where surgical gloves come in handy. Regardless of presentation you will want to pull out but also down towards mom's stomach, because that is the direction the birth canal takes. Make sure you have as much of the puppy in your hand as possible, otherwise you risk injury to the puppy. I also advise having KY Jelly along with a fairly big syringe (no needle) and a feeding tube (you can get that from your vet). If a puppy is stuck you can fill the syringe with KY, attache the feeding tube to the syringe, then place the tube along side the puppy in the canal, squeeze out some lubricant, and sometimes that in combination with your pulling will help get the puppy out. It has to come out or it will suffocate at some point, so do what you have to to help it if it becomes stuck.
You will tear the sac with your hands (sometimes fingernails are helpful here!). You will then need to make sure it is breathing-- clean out the mouth, use a bulb syringe to clear out mucus, rub the puppy, keep at it, they can look unresponsive for a long, long time but still make it if you work hard. Worry about the cord after the puppy is breathing well. Before you cut the cord, tie it off about an inch from the puppy with dental floss. I like to use hemostats to gently tear the cord but I am guessing you don't have those, if you can get them great, if not, if you have fingernails you can try cutting the cord by crushing it with your nails. A dull cut bleeds less, which is why I prefer not to use scissors. Cut on the placenta side of the cord, not the puppy side. Better to leave the cords to long and have to shorten them than vice versa (mom might fuss at them if they are really too long and you may have to adjust the length or she might cause a umbilical hernia through her fussing). Make sure that if the placenta is still in mom that you keep part of it out until it is delivered-- you have to make sure you have placentas delivered for all puppies. Again, I usually use a hemostat to hold the placenta outside of mom so you will have to play that by ear if you don't go out and get some.
I do not let my moms eat the placentas, I just get too grossed out by it and so far no harm to anyone from just tossing them in a the trash.
You will need a place to whelp the puppies that is quiet but well lit, you can probably make due with a shallow under the bed storage box that has been disinfected. You will want lots of towels. You will want a garbage bag for dirty laundry (I like white towels since I can bleach them) and another garbage bag for things like placentas. You will need something to keep the puppies warm, like a heating pad that won't turn off (set on low and covered in blankets). Have a crate available right there so if you are off to the vet you are not searching for stuff-- if I have trouble with a bitch and there are already puppies whelped they go along in the crate so make sure there is good warm bedding and a hot water bottle in case you need to keep them warm if mom is in surgery.
It is a very stressful thing to go through, and frankly, I HATE the actual birthing process, it is scary for me and usually painful for the mom and my husband gets irritated by the fact that I am always slightly freaked out. But one way or the other, the puppies have to come out, you have to try your very best to protect your mom first and puppies second and yes, it will be over soon and if all goes well (or even semi-well) you will have the fun of the puppy raising part. Of course, that can lead to other sorts of stresses... |