Birthing puppies how long between

In the first stage of labour the body is getting ready to start passing out puppies. The first stage usually lasts for hours.

Your dog may be seen to be restless, panting, shivering, pacing, nesting and wanting to go to a quiet area. Some dogs do not show any behavioural changes in the first stage. The second stage of labour is the fun part — giving birth to puppies! It usually lasts 3 to 12 hours. In this stage abdominal contractions can be seen. In normal labour, your dog may show weak and infrequent straining for up to 2 hours or at the most 4 hours before giving birth to her first puppy.

Normally the mother will break the membrane that still covers the puppy, lick the puppy all over and chew through the umbilical cord. Sometimes the mother might need help to open the membranes so that the puppy can breathe.

Please consult your veterinarian as soon as possible if you see any of these behaviors. Mastitis , or inflammation of the breast tissue, occurs when the breasts become hard, red, and painful due to infection. The mother will likely be sore while nursing, but it is important for the puppies to keep suckling to help reduce swelling and promote excretion of the infected material.

If you are concerned that your dog may have developed mastitis, please contact your veterinarian, as your dog will likely need treatment. If they do not get these essential substances during the first few days of life, they may need to receive additional veterinary care.

Your dog should be kept on a higher calorie pregnancy or puppy diet for as long as she is lactating nursing her puppies. Make sure she has food and fresh water readily available at all times. Keep the mother dog and her puppies in a clean, quiet, low-traffic area of the house. If there is too much commotion around her, she may become stressed and neglect her puppies.

Newborn puppies should be nursing every one to two hours, so your dog will likely be with them constantly for the first week or two. If your dog becomes ill, call your veterinarian immediately and let them know that she is nursing so that they can prescribe safe medications if needed. If your dog stops eating, vomits, or becomes very lethargic weak and tired , or if you notice redness and swelling in any of her mammary glands, contact your veterinarian.

To help with the serious problem of overpopulation, talk to your veterinarian about spaying or neutering your dog. This is the only birth control for dogs. The cost of an unwanted pregnancy can be very high. Giving a litter of up to 14 puppies proper veterinary care adds up quickly, and emergency cesarean sections can cost thousands of dollars. In general, small breed dogs should be spayed at a younger age, while large and giant breed dog spays may be delayed until they are a bit older. Small breed dogs tend to go into heat sooner than large and giant breeds, and there is recent evidence that allowing some large breed dogs to become skeletally mature before spaying or neutering may reduce the risk of joint problems later in life.

Because there is no one-size-fits-all recommendation of when to spay or neuter your dog, ask your veterinarian for their specific recommendation.

Most dogs are spayed or neutered around 4 to 6 months of age. It is also important to consider the risk of pyometra infection in the uterus , which is a life-threatening condition that can happen in intact not spayed dogs. The best way to prevent this serious and expensive medical condition is to have your dog spayed. Spaying before the first heat cycle which can occur as early as 6 months of age can also reduce the risk of mammary cancer in your dog.

Although you may want to pet and hold the puppies constantly, it is important not to intervene too much in the first week or two of their lives, as they are very susceptible to disease, and it can be stressful to mom and babies. Use caution when approaching the puppies, as some mothers may show aggression to humans or other household pets if they perceive a threat. As the puppies get older and more rambunctious, your dog will want more and more time to get away and sleep, exercise, or socialize with members of the household.

Give your dog space to get away from the puppies, but make sure that she is returning often to check on them. Puppies are unable to regulate their own body temperature until they are 3 to 4 weeks old. For the first four weeks of their lives, you should provide a warm, clean box or bedding for the mother and puppies to share. Use a heating pad below the whelping box, or a heating lamp above it to keep the puppies warm.

Ensure that there are unheated areas as well, as the puppies will need to be able to move away from the heat source if they become too warm. At this point, if the mother dog will allow it, you can get the puppies used to your presence. Socializing them at an early age can help ensure that they fit well into a household. If you notice that one of your puppies is smaller or has less energy than the others, consult your veterinarian.

Puppies should not be taken away from their mother and sent to their new homes too quickly, as they learn very important social rules and behavior from their mother and siblings.

Although you might see a clear and watery discharge from the vulva around the back end of the bitch no visible abdominal contractions are evident.

Stage II: begins when you can see the bitch starting to strain. These contractions will eventually result in the delivery of a puppy. Typically, there should not be more than hours between puppies although great variation exists. The delivery of an entire litter of puppies can take between 1 and 24 hours. Increased puppy survival is associated with shorter total delivery time less than 12 hours and an interval of less than 2 hours between puppies.

Discharge from the vulva during this time may be clear or bloody and this would be normal. Typically bitches continue to nest between deliveries and may nurse and groom puppies intermittently. As the next puppy starts to arrive panting and trembling are common.

Stage III: this is the delivery of the placenta. Bitches often deliver puppies and placenta alternatively until the delivery is complete but sometimes 2 puppies will be born and then 2 placentae.

Try to keep a check that the same numbers of placentas and puppies have been delivered at the end. What if no puppies are being born? How do I know if my bitch is having problems? The diagnosis of dystocia can be based on the presence of any of the following criteria: Prolonged gestation If the pregnancy lasts longer than days from the first mating, days of dioestrus metoestrus or 66 days from the day of the LH surge or initial rise in progesterone during oestrus known if ovulation timing was performed then this is abnormal.

Failure of delivery of all puppies in a timely fashion Delivery should occur within 1 hour of active parturition visible abdominal efforts or hours of intermittent parturition. Call your vet for advice if there is: 30 minutes of strong contractions with no puppy born.

Obvious problem pup hanging out etc. Foetal distress If stillborn puppies are delivered then concerns must be raised for the remainder of the litter as yet unborn. Maternal distress The puppies are also at risk if their mother becomes ill before delivery. Causes and treatment of dystocia. As a general rule, the goal with whelping puppies, especially large litters, is to finish in under 12 hours, and calcium plays an important role.

The second stage of labor is when strong contractions begin and the puppies are born - this is called the active labor stage. A common question during this state is how long between puppies you should expect to wait. In general, you should average delivering a puppy every 30 minutes following the first one. Once a pup is born, your priority is helping them begin to breathe and nurse on their mother.

Your dog is capable of doing this on her own, but you can save her time and stress by following these steps as each puppy is delivered:. On average, a dog will be in labor roughly 6 to 12 hours. The best way to know when she is done whelping is to have a puppy count x-ray taken a few days before her due date.

When whelping is over, she will relax and begin resting while taking care of her puppies. This will happen briefly between puppies, but she is likely done if there have been no more pups after two hours. You can always check her abdomen area and see if you feel another puppy as well.

As we mentioned above, most dogs can handle whelping without issue beyond some discomfort. However, there are exceptions, and it's important to look out for the following signs as your dog is giving birth and consider calling or visiting your veterinarian if any are occurring:.

To ensure you're best prepared for dog whelping, we've compiled a list of the supplements, tools, and other products mentioned above that may be helpful.