greenish discharge
 

My Kissie is almost due. Yesterday she was restless. She is not eating much and I saw in her blanket a small greenish discharge. We took her temperature yesterday night, drop at 98.4 but this morning again went up to 99.4. Any advice?

that could be the spike and then the drop, if this gal does not go into labor in the next few hours, a visit to the vet is needed ASAP, greenish discharge before labor could mean a detached placenta, If she was mine I would give her 1/2 a cup of Red Rabsberry leaf tea and if she does not go into labor half an hour after that, a vet visit is in order ASAP..
best of luck..
hugs,

I would get her to the vet asap. Often if they have a greenish discharge before they start labor it is an indication of a dead puppy inside. I pray everything goes well.

I just came back from the vet. He told me that the water broke and she will start to be in labor tonight. He told me to wait and if I see her pushing 2 hours and no puppy to bring her back to him. He told me that no puppy in the birth canal for the moment and the cervix is still close. I am home with her but i feel very anxious.

She doesn't want to be in her whelping box. She wants to be in my bed close to me.

Awwww hope it all goes well

Good luck...I hope everything is ok....

Greenish discharge is very worrisome to me also...I would watch her temp and if it spikes back up, I would be at the vet!

Green discharge when a dog is not in active labor is a huge cause for concern. I sure hope things are okay

I am checking in to see how she is doing. I hope everything is ok. Good thoughts to you both

Green: Just A Color; Not A Danger Signal - Myra Savant Harris 11/12/2012

There is a great deal of misunderstanding about the color green in the field of the canine whelping experience. This failure to understand what the color green is, and what the color means, is widely misunderstood by everyone from the first time dog breeder eagerly awaiting the first litter, to the most experienced of all dog breeders. It extends into the veterinary community as well.
The reason for this misunderstanding is that in this area, as in so many other areas of animal husbandry, we have confused what happens in the human community with what happens in the canine community and have assumed that because the color green in a human delivery is a danger sign, it is a danger sign in the canine community as well. It isn’t. So first thing we need to do is find out what the color green means in a human delivery, why it is a danger signal and why that signal does not correlate with canine whelping. So let’s compare and contrast for few minute and see if we can’t begin to understand the complexities behind the color green and why it has very little impact in the life of the dog breeder.
The misunderstanding focuses on the words “meconium”, “placenta” and on the differences between births involving a single human infant being discharged from a single uterus versus a litter of multiples being discharged from two uterine horns. So, let’s look at the human situation first.
As a human baby grows within the uterus, he swallows his amniotic fluid and over time that, combined with the contents of his bowel (old sloughed off cells), form the material called “meconium”. In the human, it looks dark black on a diaper but is actually a dark, dark greenish brown. If the baby has a neurological event of some sort he can release the contents of his bowel (meconium) into his amniotic fluid and those contents will turn the amniotic fluid green. The baby has lost consciousness for a period of time. These episodes can range in severity from a mild, one-time event during delivery to severe with multiple episodes over the length of his gestation, often resulting in lifelong neurological deficits. Of course, when amniotic fluid is green in the human, the first question everyone asks is: What caused the baby to lose consciousness? What is wrong with his central nervous system? What is his prognosis? The presence of meconium (green) in a human delivery is a sign that at some time, to some degree, this baby has suffered from neurological stress or trauma. Serious questions arise as to his life, his death, his deficits, and the quality of his life…all serious issues.
Meanwhile as mom is in labor, the baby’s placenta has begun to deteriorate and her vaginal discharge is about the same color as the placenta. Human placentas look rather like liver with more of a venous structure. Mostly red, some pink. That is what a placenta looks like and this is what the vaginal discharge will be; pink to bright red. The ideal placement for the placenta within the uterus is at the top of the uterus. It is attached to the uterus and is only connected to the baby by the umbilical cord. In summary: Human placentas/vaginal discharge is pink to bright red. When the baby is finally delivered, his body may have some blood, some pinkish or red fluids on it. Human meconium is light green to pea soup green and is not present at all in the majority of human deliveries. We do not see that color in every delivery. Now let’s look at the canine system in order to compare and contrast.

As the canine baby grows within the two uterine horns of his mother, he swallows amniotic fluid and old intestinal cells that have sloughed off. He too forms meconium in his bowel. His meconium is not green. There is not even a tinge of green associated with canine meconium. It is, in fact, yellow/brown and looks almost exactly like mustard. It is usually contained within the amniotic sac as the baby is whelped. It will sometimes stain the puppy a yellow, mustard like color, but this is fairly unusual. As in the human delivery, it is fairly unusual to see meconium. In the puppy pen when the puppy has his first poops, the meconium looks black to brown but it is actually a deep brownish color with a lot of yellow in it. If you have a puppy with stuff that looks like mustard in his amniotic sac, this puppy will require close observation because he may not be neurologically intact and healthy. He may also have only experienced a brief, one-time event and be perfectly fine, but you will want to use your best observation skills with any puppy who has mustard looking stuff in his amniotic sac.
The canine placenta, on the other hand, has a great deal of green on it. There is actually a name for that green color. It is called “uteroverdin” and is a reference to the color of the canine placenta. The actual placenta of the canine is a deep shade of green. As whelping time approaches the placentas begin their process of deterioration and begin to loosen from their location. Just as in the human delivery, the vaginal discharge of mom is most closely aligned with the color of the placentas, which in the case of the canine…is green. Each puppy has his own individual placenta, which he wears like a wide, thick belt around his mid section. As his delivery approaches, he begins to loosen from the placenta and the placenta begins to deteriorate and release its color: green. This is an exact counter part of the human delivery with the primary difference being the difference in the color of the placenta, which leads to the difference in the color of the vaginal discharge. In humans: pink to red; in the canine light green to dark green.
In summary: Vaginal discharge in the canine is always green to one degree or another. Always. It is normal. It is to be expected. It is a sign that delivery is to be expected within 24-48 hours, usually sooner. It is not a dangerous thing. It is not a danger signal. It is normal. It is business as usual. It should be expected in each delivery sooner or later.

Just checking in to see how your lady is progressing.....please update when possible....

Checking for updates. Hope all is well

Specially for Maggismom,
Thank you so much. I feel relieved because when i read all the replies that possibly a puppy dead inside my baby, I took her immediately to the emergency and the Vet told this green stuff is because the water began to break. He didn't pay attention to that at all. He told me to be vigilant if there are hard contractions for 2 hours and no puppy to take her again to him.
Last night, she was panting, vomiting and a diahrrea. She was also peing frequently. I think she is in the phase 1, panting nesting... We have to wait. Any advice.
Thank you to all of you. I am very relieved to have your support and your concern because I know a lot of experience in this matter here:animal36:thumbup:

Thanks so much for the update. Sounds like puppies soon :). Keep us posted

I have a few books by Myra, and I know she is a very good EXPERT on the subject,but two years ago, I had a bitch pregnant with one puppy and she started discharging green stuff, I thought , i knew better and thought it was odd but by reading her book it seems it was not an emergency situation and I waited 24 hours, in which my bitch temperature was going up and down, the next day I took her to the vet and found out the baby had died and she needed an emergency spay to save her life, and I lost the puppy, so since then I am very, very weary of green stuff before labor. it could be nothing but it could be something bad, only a good vet can determine what the cause is..
Best of luck with your girl..
hugs,

Thanks for the update. Good thoughts to you and kissie for and easy and uneventful labor.

Carmen I understand why most would be unsettled by seeing the green discharge. Heck I have been on both sides of the spectrum with it. One litter was totally lost , and the other all came out beautifully. I don't think it is just the green discharge that the article is referring to it is more about the color and amount. With the litter I lost it was a dark green to almost black discharge that was oozing out continuosly. With the more recent litter it was just a very small amount and it was more greenish in color. With the most recent litter she also whelped within the 24 hour time. Was I scared you betcha because of my previous dealing with the green discharge. A friend I was talking to told me about the article and shared it with me and I took on a different perspective. This same bitch also had 4 pups one right after the other then went to sleep and an hour later out pops the 5th pup. Surprised both of us. After she had the 4th pup I was ready to head to the vet because I knew from the xray there were 5 in their. But that same friend pointed me to another article from Myra called the whelping pause. I had never experienced it so I was all set for having a c section done for the last pup. But my girl was not in distress.
I believe that this is another reason breeding should not be done unless you have done all the necessary health testing, have a mentor, watched a whelping and helped, and you know your dogs.

Hi everyone,
I had a stressfull night and day. After all night panting and nesting, she delivered this morning a dead puppy. I waited like 2 hours, she was pushing and having hard contraction but nothing. I didn't want to take any chance. We went to the emergency vet. She had a hard delivery of the second puppy because he came backwards and all the efforts of the vet couldn't revive him and sadly he couldn't make it. You cannot imagine how i was feeling, hoping for the best but thinking of the worst. Thank G-d, with all my prayers, the third was pushed out easily. She is a little girl and she seems healthy. But she didn't expell the 3rd placenta. The vet put 2 shot to help her. I'm still watching her until she does because I know it can be dangerous for mom. Any advice? Until I don't see the placenta out, I'm still worry.:animal36:animal36

Kissie and baby
 

She has to be exhausted. So sorry about the two. Hopefully she will pass that soon so she can rest and take care of her baby She is a beautiful girl

my condolences on the loss of the two puppies, and happy she has a little girl. Green discharge is my worse nightmare.
your girl is gorgeous and her little girl too..
hugs,

I'm sorry for your loss but glad that you were able to save the one puppy....

Green discharge BEFORE labor starts is almost always indicitive of a dead puppy.....AFTER labor starts and you start delivering, it isnt unusual to get some greenish discharge between puppies, but green discharge as a precursor to labor, is more times than not, a bad sign. I was not feeling good about that for you and your little lady. She is a beautiful little lady and she has a healthy little girl....she wont miss the other babies....Congratulations!

:thumbup: :thumbup::thumbup: My feelings exactly, I knew I should had gone to the Emergency Vet that night and not waited , but then again I guess I had to learn to to follow my gut and not a book.. that was the only pup I have lost to date and still bothers me..
hugs,

So sorry you lost the 2 pups.It's never easy.
I still stand by the document I posted. And Yorkimom1 we will have to agree to disagree on that. It all depends on the color of the green discharge and how much. Like I said in an earlier posted I lost a litter and the color of the discharge was greenish black and there was alot of it continuosly. and yes I did lose the entire litter. But the last litter I had there was a green discharge but it was alot lighter in color and 24 hours later she started hard labor. All pups were whelped and are healthy in their new homes. So it's one of those things that you have to be able to know the differences in amount and color. Also if there is hard labor for more than an hour with no results then it is best to get to a vet.

thank you
 

Thank you all for your big support and help. Thanks to you I learned a lot of things I never knew even if I had dogs all my life but this is the fist time that one of my dog is pregnant and i live all the miracle of life and also the sadness of death with her.
But I still have the problem of the third placenta. Yesterday the vet put her 2 shots to expell it but until now she didn't. Even if she looks good, she is eating and taking care of her baby, I will take her again to the vet. :animal36:animal-pa

I am sorry you lost two pups but I am so thankful that the one pup survived and that the mom is okay. I would not worry that much about the last placenta. Most likely it could of passed when you were not looking and the momma ate it. Just monitor the mommas temperature. As long as her temp is not over 102 everything should be fine. You also need to keep a close eye on the momma's teats. If the teats are red, hard or lumpy that means she is getting mastitis and she will need some antibiotics. I always give mine a little amoxicillin and the teats will go back to normal within 24 hours. You can also use a warm compress on the teats until they go back to normal. Hopefully you won't have to deal with that but often with only one pup nursing the momma might produce to much milk.

As for the green discharge, after having bred yorkies for 16 years, I can tell you from experience that it is not a good sign and it is not normal. I have a gut feeling the first puppy was probably already dead before the hard labor started. Of all the litters I have delivered I have rarely seen a green discharge prior to the first puppy being delivered. In almost every case where I did see a green discharge before the first puppy, the labor would start within hours and there would be a dead puppy in the bunch. Fortunately those cases have been rare.

I pray the momma and her baby do well.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
It has never been a "good sign" for ME....while it has only been my experience 3 times over the years I have been breeding, it has always been the forebearer of a dead baby, when it occured prior to whelping....and my mentor, who has bred for over 35 years, was the one that told me what I was about to face when it happened to me the first time. There are always exceptions to the rule, but my blood runs cold when I see green discharge.

For what it's worth, I've always been told a green discharge before the first puppy is a bad sign, AND my experience confirms it. When I see a green discharge before the birth of a puppy I go straight to the vet. In every case there has been a dead puppy holding up the normal progression of delivery.
I must have missed that paragraph in the Myra Savant book I read. I'll now happily ignore the rest of what she has to say, I guess.