I think taking her in sounds like a great plan. Although I recognize the raspy breathing sounds like she just has a baby full belly- and I have grown a few myself, I can commiserate- I think it would be wise to have an experienced vet give a listen to her lungs and make sure she isn't having a seperate problem.
If she did have a lower number of puppies, those puppies can tend to grow larger then the pups of a standard size litter and be unable to pass safely through the birth canal- she could require a c section.
Also- and please correct me if I am wrong, there are many clever ladies on this site hat surely have a better understanding than I- my understanding of gestation period in regard to dogs is that the day you start counting from (0-63) is actually the day the egg drops and that is what causes the variance in delivery dates. So although it may have been fertilized on oct X the egg began its journey to the uterine horn on oct X and because of the development being divided into certain stages wherever along that pathway on the first stage the egg actually becomes fertilized does not change that day one of sixty three began the day the egg dropped- so she could be, only by a small number of days, a bit farther on in her prenatal development than it would seem if the sperm fertilized the egg later in the journey. Anywho, if she were human at her age I think she would definitely be in the 34 or later high risk category, so I think you should listen to your gut and get her in early to confer with your vet. I hope all goes well and would love to hear the updates!
__________________ Alyssa and Lilah    |