Dog breeders and vets alike have gotten into the habit of identifying an event that is completely normal and natural during the whelping process for many bitches as “uterine inertia”. The bitch has delivered one or more puppies and then she has stopped contracting. She is no longer in labor. She is in a “Whelping Pause”, a completely naturally occurring event. This has been viewed as an emergency that requires the use of oxytocin and when that doesn’t work (and it doesn’t) it is followed by a c-section. This has been happening for so many years that it is a near insurmountable task to re-educate the dog breeder and change this practice. During my seminars in the last year or so I’ve been asking for a show of hands of how many breeders have experienced this event; a cessation of contractions in an otherwise free whelp and I’ve been keeping statistics. I see hundreds of dog breeders a year and here is what I have found: 60-75% of all dog breeders have experienced the whelping pause. Most of them have gone in for c-sections and some of them have lost their bitches. Many of them have lost puppies. The rest of them simply didn’t know that their bitch was carrying another puppy or two and so they happily went to bed after the free whelp and the next morning they woke up to an extra puppy or so in with mom. The first thing I would like to teach you is that anything that happens 60-75% of the time is not a medical emergency; it is a normal event.
What happens when a bitch experiences a temporary cessation of contractions is not uterine inertia and it is not a medical emergency. I call it the “whelping pause” and it is nothing more complex than Mother Nature stepping in to give mom time to either replenish her supplies of oxytocin or parathyroid hormone, or time to bond with or feed the puppies that she has already whelped. Perhaps the puppies left behind need a lot more time to work their way down the uterine horns and out the birth canal. Perhaps they need a few more hours to develop surfactant in their lungs. Perhaps they were some of the last eggs that were ovulated.
This cessation of contractions can last up to 24 hours without harm to the bitch for a certainty and probably even as long as 48. This “pause” in the whelping of a litter is a normal occurrence; it is a natural event. It can last easily as long as 24 hours and I’ve talked with breeders who have had healthy happy puppies born as much as 48 hours after the rest of the litter.
Litters are not delivered in the same way that a single human baby is delivered and the human terminology that we are accustomed to using is not appropriate when viewed from the prospective of the canine. Dogs have two uterine horns and several young and human moms have a single uterus and usually a single fetus. Weirdly enough, those differences are also why fetal monitoring is so inappropriate for the canine. Oddly enough, however, there was often a lengthy period of time between twins when a mom was allowed to deliver her twins vaginally. It was common for 2-4 hours to elapse between delivery of the first twin and deliver of the second twin. Now multiples are so routinely sectioned that everyone seems to have forgotten that a pause between twins was once viewed as normal when it occurred and it occurred a good portion of the time with no harm to mom or babies.
There are signs and symptoms that will let you know the difference between a completely normal and natural “whelping pause” and “uterine inertia” which is actually quite rare. You may have to rethink your priorities and begin to embrace new terms, new opinions and release some of your fears and panic before you can accept that what we have been viewing as a medical emergency is actually a normal part of the canine whelping condition. Here is an outline of what is happening in the canine reproduction world now. This is what is happening now with great regularity:
The bitch has whelped one or more puppies but has other puppies still in utero.
She has stopped contracting completely and totally.
She is comfortable, sleeping, and nursing her babies and caring for them just as if the whelping is completed.
She will happily eat a snack and usually an entire meal.
She will pee, poop, and drink large amounts of fluid.
She does not show signs of distress, pain, discomfort or anxiety.
Repeated calls to the vet result in instructions that if a puppy is not delivered every 2-3 hours it is an emergency situation requiring a c-section.
Often breeders, vets, or God forbid, both of them inject oxytocin (in shockingly large quantities) in an effort to re-start the contractions but the oxytocin will not create contractions during a whelping pause. Mom’s body has dictated the terms of the pause and nothing you do will restart them until mom’s body says: “Go”!
An “emergency” C-section is performed and sometimes the bitch or her puppies die. Breeders are often told that they waited too long to call for help.
Here is the problem that I have with this whole scenario: Only in the veterinary world is a patient who is eating, sleeping, caring for her young and completely comfortable considered to be a medical emergency. That would not happen in human medicine. Period.
If any of this sounds familiar to you, this information may be of interest. My opinions will not agree with those of your vet and I am sincerely sorry for that, but over time I have become convinced that my real job here is to be an advocate for dogs and this information, probably more than any I have ever taught, is a direct result of my strong desire to be the dog’s advocate in every possible way. I’m not disagreeing with vets for any reason other than to recognize that we often put them in a very bad position. We are pleading for them to fix a non-existent and the only solution they have is a c-section. They have been getting phone calls from the breeder all night and they know that the next day, they have to get up and have office hours and care for their families. What other choice do they have?
The choice is actually yours. Learn. Have faith in the fact that is your bitch is not acting like an animal who requires emergency care (which often takes three hours to even get started), chances are really good that she doesn’t require it. She is fine. You are afraid and fearful and worried but she is trying to show you by eating, napping, caring for her puppies that she is just fine.
Bitches and other mammals that deliver in litters have always taken “pauses” in the process. It happened often to my parents (who bred cockers and Chihuahuas). In my parent’s case, they ignored it, accepted it and woke up to new puppies the next morning. In my case when I began breeding my cavaliers, I panicked and practically begged for c-sections because I had simply forgotten how things worked during my childhood as the child of dog breeders. I ran on a full tank of pure, unadulterated fear. I lost my mind in so many ways and on so many levels. I forgot my childhood. I forgot my decades working as a labor-delivery nurse. I forgot that the most important assessment tool we have is our patient. I forgot that I had never lost a bitch in a free whelp. I forgot that the human moms who died in OB were c-sections. I forgot that it would be my life’s instinct to put mom’s life and safety above that of her young in all cases. I forgot that my real treasure was my bitch that trusted me to make good decisions based on her health and well-being instead of that of her puppies. I forgot my priorities.
The best way to know if there is a problem with your bitch is to WATCH YOUR BITCH AND THROW AWAY THE CLOCK! If a bitch is sleeping and nursing her puppies, comfortable and willing to eat something, she is perfectly fine. This is clearly not a bitch that is experiencing a medical emergency. Leave her along to do the work that she has to do. Uterine inertia almost never occurs in women who are in the process of delivering their baby. It never happened at all with any of the hundreds of women who were my patients when I worked labor/delivery. So, it is extremely uncommon in humans but happens to 60-75% of all dogs breeders? It has been identified as an emergency event even though it is extremely common. What do you think is wrong with this picture?
Somewhere, somehow, a perfectly normal situation in a whelp that involves a litter has been mislabeled as an emergency requiring major surgery and we breeders have hopped all over it and are having c-sections right and left with sometimes sad and disastrous consequences. The end result 100 years from now is that we will have created a species that is incapable of free whelping. Honestly, is that what you want? Is that how you want to see this species end up? Crippled by the inability to delivery their young? How can any of us call ourselves advocates of the dog if we end up allowing our fear and panic to rob our dogs of their ability to reproduce, whelp and care for their puppies?
Here is a little primer on how a bitch actually whelps. Reviewing this and comparing it to what you have seen and experienced may help to give you courage to begin a more hands off kind of whelp and give you the strength to begin to do important things.
Put the welfare of your bitch ahead of the welfare of your puppies.
Put the welfare of the species as a whole ahead of your fear and panic.
The bitch may take as long as two full days before she actually kicks into labor. She may be alternating digging, sleeping, pacing, just generally acting uncomfortable for as long as 48 hours before she is actually in labor. These “wind up” behaviors are usually due to “Braxton Hicks” contractions, a normal part of gestation and occurring more and more frequently as whelping day approaches. The key things for you to observe are:
A) Does she sleep after she’s done some digging and panting?
B) Does she eat something offered to her?
C) Does she consume fluids?
D) Are there periods of time when she is not doing anything but normal activities?
If the answer to these questions is yes…she is not in labor. Once she starts into active labor, she will usually (not always but usually) refuse food, often refuse to drink and until her “whelping pause” she will be awake, clingy and panting. Active visually apparent labor may last easily as long as 12 hours before she pushes out a puppy. This is normal. A human who is delivering her first baby can easily be in labor for 18-24 hours. Why have dog breeders started to consider any labor over an hour or two to be an emergency? It takes time for her cervix to thin (efface) and open (dilate)…..12 hours is not at all unusual.
The bitch may have to urinate and even defecate frequently due to pressure on her bladder and bowel. She will often present with an amniotic sac visible at the vulva, and sometimes what appear to be 2 or more sacs will be visible at her vulva. The fluid in the amniotic sack may be clear or green tinged. (Remember each puppy is in its own amniotic sac) She may not be having frequent or intense contractions at that point in time but once you can see a bag of fluid, you will know she is at least starting the process to one degree or another. Try to remember that the first sign of a human delivery is frequently the bag of water breaking and yet mom has an easy 12-24 hours of labor ahead of her before she has even one contraction. The bag of water at the vulva is pretty much the same thing. The bag of water at the vulva, no matter what color it is does not constitute an emergency. It is an indication that she is beginning labor. Her cervix has opened enough to allow the slippery little sac of amniotic fluid to slip through and begin to “hour glass” into the birth canal. No big deal. Green color? Nothing.
You can feel contractions by putting your hands on her abdomen, along the left and right sides until you feel the tightening of the uterine horns. You time them from the beginning of one contraction until the beginning of the next one. The sacs may come in and out and may remain at her vulva for a number of hours…..watch her to get an idea as to what is happening.
If she is biting at her rear end, squatting frequently like she has to urinate, pacing, crying, whining or pushing for an hour or two without results that is the time you need to consult your vet. Without the pushing behaviors, leave her be to do what she is designed to do.
Do not administer oxytocin. It will separate the placentas from the wall of the uterus and you will put your puppies at risk. that is all it has ever been okayed by the FDA to do. If, as is most frequently the case, she is just having regular contractions, panting but acting normal between contractions, this is just a normal whelping. The fluid in the visible sac/sacs may be clear or it may be green tinged. It may even be dark green. This too is normal, not a sign of anything but a whelping. It is not meconium, it is but a bilirubin based green fluid from the placenta where puppy’s dead red blood cells were cleared out of his body as he matured. It is the normal greenish/blackish color of the interior portion of the placenta as the puppies begin to loosen from their placentas and get into position for delivery. (Canine meconium is mustard yellow and puppies that are born alive with that mustard yellow color surrounding them should be watched carefully for the first few days of their lives in case they have aspirated the meconium.) So please remember: Green means nothing. Mustard yellow may well indicate a puppy with a problem.
After she has delivered one or more puppies, she may stop contracting altogether, nap, nurse her baby/babies, eat and want to go outside to void. (Take her out on a leash, with a flashlight and wash clothes in your pocket. Once the bladder has emptied, she may suddenly be able to pass the puppy that she has been working to whelp. This is common. Be prepared.) A full bladder acts like a big water balloon that has been blocking the exit for the puppy. These outdoor deliveries are not about the walking part. They are due to the good effects of an empty bladder freeing up the space inside the birth canal.
A whelping pause may last….hang onto your hat…. easily as long as 12-24 hours. Her behavior is going to tell you everything you need to know. Watch her. Here is what you will observe in a whelping pause:
All contractions have stopped. Nothing makes them start up again. Burning sage, doing a rain dance, calcium, oxytocin, frantic phone calls to the vet…nothing will start a whelping pause. She needs it and she is taking it.
Mom is comfortable, happy,napping, nursing and caring for her puppies
Mom will eat if offered food often a lot of food, and will drink fluids.
There may be vaginal discharge of any color from green to black, to pink to possibly small amounts of red, resulting from the birth of the puppies who have been whelped.
As these puppies are nursing, short, mild contractions are occurring which are so mild as to render them impossible to monitor. She is silently “laboring down” as those puppies who were high in the horns gently work their way downward. She is fine.
Once the whelping pause is over and mom has “labored down” (the puppies remaining in the uterus have moved into position for whelping) mom will resume whelping with none of the signs that were apparent prior to the whelping pause.
No panting, no clinging, no pacing no drama. Mom will grunt once and push out each of the remaining puppies with no fanfare and no displays.
That is the nature of the whelping pause and, as long as you don’t give oxytocin, there is no reason not to believe that the remaining puppies will be healthy.
Give her small amounts of vanilla ice cream during the whelping process to replace fluids lost while panting, glucose to jump start the babies and as a bonus, it gives the mom calcium which is used to strengthen contractions. If one of the puppies has died in utero, it will often take a good long while for that dead puppy to be delivered. It can be a full day. No worries. Puppy’s dead body will go into rigor for 12 hours and take another 12 hours to pass out of rigor. Why subject her to a major surgery to retrieve a dead puppy? And sometimes they are born as long as 48 hours after the last puppy, kicking and and screaming. As long as your bitch is not showing the signs of distress that I listed above she is fine. Bitches very, very rarely die in free whelps but they die with some regularity in c-sections.
C-sections ARE NOT SAFER than a free whelp for mom or babies.
Only in the canine world is a patient who is asleep, comfortable, caring for her infant/infants and snacking considered to be a patient who requires a major surgery.
Change requires courage. Oddly enough a lot of breeders have found this courage after the loss of a beloved bitch to the complications of surgery. A lot of us have found this courage after a bitch has surprised us with an extra puppy or two the morning after her whelping because we had no idea how many puppies were present to begin with. However it has to happen, please begin the process of allowing it to happen. When I am home, I am on my computer often, my phone much less often and facebook off and on during the day. Please feel free to reach out to me. No matter where you are, what breed you have, purebred, mutt or designer dog…I am only an advocate for the bitch, the dog, the puppies and the breeders. Reach out to me and if I catch the email and I am home, I will respond to you in as timely a manner as possible.
Myra Savant Harris: myrasavant@hotmail.com
and web site: www.myrasavantharris.com
Please consult with your veterinarians regarding all health cares and concerns, particularly those involving medications. My books and seminars are not intended to replace the services of your own personal vets. My advice is fully intended to give you more information, based on experience and the experiences of thousands of other breeders who have shared their experiences with me. My intentions are to help you override the fear that haunts us all, become more empowered and more relaxed and save your bitches from unnecessary major surgeries.
Just to thank you for a very good article about welping…
Regards
Tatjana Kreco
Thank you so much for this article. We had puppies for the very first time. We had 2 puppies and waited for the third. Our dog was in no distress and we could feel the third puppy still moving inside her. It made us super nervous as we neared the 48hr. But everything seemed good. The third puppy delivered 54hrs after the second. Healthy as can be.
Very interesting article and I experienced this some years ago with my German shepherd. Good to see another slant rather than rushing to my vets at 3 this morning with my Border
Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge.
My dog has given birth to a still born overnight and unfortunately I couldn’t revive it. I missed the birth and woke to the sound if her cleaning him. I left him with her so she wouldn’t fret but eventually had to remove him because she started to eat him. It’s been 12hrs and no more pups but I still feel like she has more as she is happy to lay in the bed and not try and jump on mine. She has eaten and has been out to the toilet but goes straight back to her bed. Every so often she moves around then locks herself as if she’s going to pass another one. She is calm and no contractions. I was a Vet nurse for 20yrs and might first thought was she needs Oxyticin. I’m so glad I found your article as I feel less worried now and can let nature take its course
Please update us to let us know if she had more pups, please?
Can I just say thanks very much for this. My first ever litter a few years ago was delivered at the vets because of all that you described above. I refused a c section, despite of being pushed by the vet, just trusted my gut. I’ve learned so much with time and experience. I 100% agree with every word you wrote and wish more people understood that vet is not always right, mother nature is. One of my dog is currently in the whelping pause after having 3 pups and reading this has really just reassured me when I started to doubt myself and my dog. So thank you again!
What great info. I am currently watching my 2nd free whelp of my sheepdoodles. I found this article during the first litter and,hard as it was,I embraced the info and was patient during the “pause” The ice cream trick was great! Fed her some and shortly after whelping resumed.
Just went through a 31/2 hr pause and it was textbook. Mild contractions to bring the next batch down the horn while she nursed and enjoyed her babies.
Wonderful to watch. Thank you!
Wow! This information has soothed the fear monger in me. We have been in the “whelping pause” going on hour 12 hrs. She is eating, drinking, and nursing as normal. She isn’t in distress at all. She will go out to potty but can’t focus long enough to use it. She is more worried for her pups than voiding. First pup was born with intestines outside body and not viable. Other 3 after, were healthy. I worry about this last one but I’m trying to let nature take its course. This article really helped with that.
My Twinkle (Maltese/shitzu/bichon) had her first litter and had 2 pups and then about 3.5 hrs later had 3 more within about an hour and a half then 2 hours later had 3 more pups after about 3 hrs and then took 8 hrs in between the last 2 puppies being delivered. It was both of our very first litters. Now on her 2nd litter her delivery has been completely night and day different she labored for about 12 hrs before the first was delivered and they came steadily one after another about 30 minutes apart shes delivered 10 pups thus far and after the 10th her contractions stopped. She has slept and nursed all 10 and even has eaten 2 full meals and drank tons of water and has taken a few potty breaks as well. It’s been about 12 hrs of her acting totally normal no stress or pain or discomfort but I think she still has a puppy in there that needs to be delivered. I do not want to take her for a c section and or a shot of oxytocin especially when she doesnt seem to be in any kind of emergency situation or painful discomfort what so ever. Since the deliveries of the 2 litters have been so different I’m thinking this 12 hrs is her pause like the 8 hr pause she had the 1st time. I’m conflicted, I would personally be devastated and dont know what I would do if I lost her for whatever the reason but I really feel like shes totally ok and will deliver another pup with no problems at some point soon.
Great article full of common sense.
My French bulldog delivered 5 puppies yesterday and almost 24 hours after the last pup she had another one this afternoon. I wasn’t present so don’t know if it was born alive but within 10 minutes of its birth, when I discovered it, it was lifeless and unable to be revived. My girl has started panting so I’m waiting patiently to see if there’s one more to come.
This sweet little mommy had the easiest delivery of her first 5, no panting, no distress and after whelping she rested, ate, drank, and tended to her puppies.
As long as my dog is not in pain I am happy to let Nature run its course.
My dog had a breach puppy stuck in the canal for almost a full day. She was severely stressed so we called around asking for emergency c section, oxytocin etc. We were told the SAME from each hospital and clinic. Here in Hawaii, vets are quick to tack on unnecessary bills and give very poor care. Basically the care you get depends on how much you’re willing to spend and they don’t advocate natural remedies for any reasons. I don’t like to put my trust into any veteranrian here. It would have costed an easy 8,000 and up for any procedure, payment plans take a few business days to actually be approved so that wasn’t going to work. None of them could give any medical advice other than to have her cut open, but they’d refuse her if we didn’t have the money up front since it was considered an emergency which doesn’t make sense. So eventually we got it unstuck by night time but it was already dead. An hour later she pushed another out silently, stillborn. I was crying the entire day because no one could help us and I thought for sure I was going to lose my best friend. I don’t feel any more movement in her tummy, and it pains me to say that they might be deceased but I have a newfound hope that she will be able to pass what’s left and she will remain with us. Thanks so much, this was a particularly delectable and informative read.
Wow, thank you for this article.
I’ve been worrying over here because I’m completely against C-sections. And it’s been 8 hours since her last puppy but she’s perfectly fine and she so happy taking care of her 3 puppies. She’s just napping and eating.
I opted for a homebirth for myself because I can’t stand how labor is forced in hospitals. So why would I want that for my dog.
She is happy and I’ll let her be.
Thank you for this post.
I found your article today in a moment of desperation. It had been nearly 35 hours since the last of 12 puppies had been born and our first time mom black lab was having intense, frequent contractions again. I am also a nurse, so am very skeptical of medical intervention. Reading helped me relax some, then barely 30 minutes later, I helped her give birth to a large, contorted stillborn. When I could finally see it and the birth didn’t progress for several contractions, I was fortified by your well-stated philosophy of protect the mother’s life and helped gently pull with the next couple of contractions. She is very relieved and so am I!
I too just experienced this pause with our English Mastiff. She delivered 2 puppies within 2 hours and then nothing at all for 16 hours. Then she delivered another healthy puppy. I am now thinking she may have more to deliver. Very glad I found this post.
My Kelpie is having an “unexpected” litter so we don’t have a due date etc. She started nesting a few days ago and because we don’t have a due date I took her to the vet yesterday for a scan. The vet examined three of the pups and couldn’t find a heartbeat on any of them.
Yesterday afternoon at 4.30pm she delivered a stillborn pup that appears to be full term, but is starting to decompose. Since then she has barely done anything as far as active labour goes. Very occasional painting, but no pushing. Just relaxed. Though she did pass a placenta a couple of hours ago, we couldn’t tell if it was fresh or decomposing as she gobbled it up. She’s eating small amounts, drinking well, weeing and pooping and seems bright enough. I’m also giving her honey and raw milk. Is there anything else I should do? How long do I wait?
This article is so helpful to all of us dog breeders who have never experienced something like this… until we do. And then of course you worry. I’m not one to rush to the vet for anything just like I barely see a doctor for myself. I am a firm believer in Mother Nature and at home remedies for many minor things. My dog is going on hr 23 after whelping her first puppy. She acts like she’s no longer pregnant. Ever single thing you described is text book for my pug. She delivered 6 pups in 3 hrs during her first litter so this one had me mind boggled until I read this. Other than me getting no sleep while she’s snoring, everything seems fine. Now we wait some more. Also, I feel movement so I’m assuming the remaining puppies are alive. I just wish I could go to sleep like she is but pugs don’t pull sacks off that well so I have to be awake. Going on about 35 hrs for me with no sleep.
Update. Today is Oct 30th. Her due date. Her first pup was Oct 28th, just before midnight. She went back into labor at around 7pm tonight. The (2nd puppy) came out at 7:45. That’s about 44 hours of “pause”! It’s a miracle! 3 more pups so far but one did come out dead. Very common in my pug litters. So including the pup born 2 days ago she has 3 so far. All the same size! She’s still contracting, more to come! How exciting! Thank you again for calming my nerves.
I knew my girl was having two pups as confirmed by xray which made me a little nervous about labour not starting without intervention.
Pup one arrived an hour and a half after her waters broke. She then had a 9.5hr labour pause, then gave birth to the second of her two pups with the only intervention being a big spoon full of vanilla icecream , some biscuits, small walk and toilet break.
The wait was excrutiating but my girl was not stressed and very attentive to her baby. There was no evidence of active pushing until our second walk and void. I resisted the temptation to see the vet and so glad I took your advice as it was well worth it.
Everytime I have a litter of puppies I read this article. Of course I already know what’s in it, but everytime it calms me, reassures me and sets my mind at rest. Kind of like a therapy book 🤣
Thank you so such a thought provoking and common sense piece of work. My bitches thank you for it….
I’ve been breeding dogs a decade and at the beginning was led by the vets ‘wisdom’ around whelping. Reality is vets know very little of whelping only what they have learnt in books. I was lucky enough to find a teacher that had been breeding 25+ years that explained this very same thing to me. Best advice I ever had and you have written it out and explained it perfectly.
Mother nature finds a way and has done for 100s of years, it’s only recently these practices have cone into play is it for the money or lack of experience on the vets part, who knows.
As you mention the bitch must be comfortable and not contracting heavily for a couple of hours without progress, this is something that takes experience to realise and I feel inexperienced breeders or ‘single time pet breeders’ air on the side of caution at least in their minds and get the puppies C sectioned. However I just wanted to agree with everything toy said while I might add an sitting with my bitch that delivered 8 pups in 2 hours yet I can still feel least one up under her ribs and it’s now 6 hours later since the 8th pup. She’s nursing, drinking and napping and showing real dedication to cleaning her pups to make them toilet. The last pup or pups will come when she’s ready only thing it damages is my eyes being sore as I refuse to sleep till it’s all over. Fingers crossed it’s not a 48 hour pause.
My dog is currently in labor I think, she’s panting and crying here and there. She delivered one puppy but it was not alive as she bite its head. Seems like she’s not trying to push anymore, idk what to do, is this a weeping pause or something else?
Do you know if the cervix remains open during the whelping pause or is there times where it can close and re-open?
This was perfect. I already knew about whelping pauses but this is so very well written, thanks so much!
Thanks so much for such a well written, thoughtful and experienced piece of advice!
Just what was needed!
Even after several Free Birth experiences, wonderful to have reassurance from other loving and experienced breeders.
Very best wishes 🤗
My dog Millie is whelping now, I noticed she was quite restless and crying most of the night 2 days ago, but no puppies that night, since then another night has passed, she has been digging panting and still eating ok snd drinking and going out to toilet. But she is carrying her orange squeaky dog which is long like a pup.
I worried that she thinks it is a puppy of hers. We are on the third night. She is quite clingy to me. What do I do. No puppies yet. Should I be patient and wait?
Thank you so much! This is how my instinct works and I am super grateful to come across this article in my current situation. Intuition and nursing background tell me she is fine, but this has really helped reassure the lingering fear.
As a breeder of 10 years , I find this to be absolutely true! In my first years, I would jump to the vet if no puppy for 2 hours, however sometimes they take 24 hours to come out and observing mom is the best signs!
Thank you so much for this information. I am as I type this in the pause with my Chi hua hua and this is her 4th litter. She never paused this long before so I had began to worry so I am glad I came across this.
My cocker spaniel girls have been driving me nuts with their pauses. I was second guessing myself and almost ready to make those nighttime er calls to the vet. My girls and the pups they had this a.m. are all sound asleep. I am so glad to hear of your childhood experiences.
I found your post when I was looking for information in the midst of my papillon’s (and my) first whelping experience. I don’t know how many she has inside yet but she had two and then everything stopped. The babies started nursing and she fell asleep. I checked her tummy and I can tell there’s at least one more moving inside and maybe two. After an hour I started to worry. Thank goodness I found your post. My dog is resting with no sign of distress and now I’m feeling calm too. I don’t want any of my unnecessary anxiety to affect her.
Our lab had one puppy last night and nothing else since. How much vanilla ice cream would be given? 1/2 cups? I’m afraid to upset her stomach.
I’ve had a bitch delivery a dead pup then stop. Vet said another pup was in there and that it was dead and she was sepsis. They wanted to do surgery, but I didn’t feel right about it. The next morning she delivered a healthy little girl. They would have killed my puppy! She turned out to be a beautiful show dog. Thank you for this great article!
My girl showed nesting signs this morning, very restless, whining. However 10pm at night, resting and sleeping as if she wasn’t just stressing earlier today. No puppies, but have felt them moving around in her stomach. She was due yesterday. Gave the vet a ring this afternoon, they told me to take her in for a check & if need be csection, after hours $3500. Sort of felt like they were trying to scare me into going in, just for a money grab. Not even a day late then. Just as us humans can be a week overdue, so can our animals. Great read, really needed some reassurance.
My dog is on day 63 of her pregnancy – first litter. My last dog had four litters, all easy. I am a pet owner, not a breeder, but I like to send well-cared-for, good natured mini-schnauzer crosses into the world. My dog has been panting, uncomfortable and extremely clingy for 24 hours now. It began with expulsion of about half a cup of what looked like egg-white. I have been up with her all night. No sign of 2nd stage of labour. She has eaten during this time but not so far thus morning. I am giving her water off my hands. Taking her to the vet will stress her and probably end in a cesarean. No foul odour or discharge at this stage. I would really appreciate advice. How long should I leave her with no intervention? Thank you, janet
Vet here. I agree with you. There are instances C section is needed with certain breeds and they have come in on the edge if death. But , for the most part yes, whelping pause is very common and not to he alarming. As long as the mom is acting ok then all is OK
I want to thank you for this article. In a panic, I was searching the web, because my female whelped two puppies, but on the scan, it showed a minimum of 3 puppies. She was resting, had been to the toilet, and nothing, until 18 hours later, the next day. she started pushing again, and puppy number 3 was born alive! I had given up hope, but after reading your article and phoning the vet to be on standby, we gave her 24 hours before deciding to intervene.
Thank you so much Myra! Your article has given my wife and I so much confidence in the free whelp and put our fears so much at ease. At the time of this writing, my little baby girl is going through her final stages of whelping. She has pushed out 5 pups thus far, almost 16 hours, and two whelping pauses during this process, and we have indications that she may be just about done. After reading your article, and carefullly observing her, she responded as you had describe! She knew exactly what she was doing! She was in full control, knew when to take breaks, when to shift more focus on her pups, and when to hydrate and eat a little snack. When she was on her 5th pup, it was so incredible, as she was coming out of a 5 hour pause, she left the whelping box to go get my wife to be with her at the whelping box right before going into contraction again. She and my wife have a very special bond (as should all dogs and their owners), and it was as if she felt more comfortable that way and wanted my wife to be there with her for that special moment. This is our first experience, and you have helped us so much! I am truly grateful and so glad I found your article to help put our minds and emotions at ease. Thank you so much and god bless you!
Just wanted to say thank for this article. My cavalier (2nd litter) had 1 puppy last night at 5pm, with no prior warning signs of impending labour, she just walked in a circle and birthed it. By 9pm however there were no more puppies despite movement in her uterus and no signs of contractions either. I really didn’t want to have to call out of hours vets so this article reassured me that because she was settled, we shouldn’t interfere. Stayed with her all night and at 5am (12hrs after the 1st) she delivered a healthy boy, followed by another 3 pups on the hour each hour. I’m so glad I found this article. We’ve been to vets this evening for check up and they all seem to be doing well. Every other resource I read said contact vets if no 2nd puppy by 4hrs. I’m so glad I just let her be. My girl has 5 healthy little pups tonight and no massive vet bill or trauma from surgery.