If the Puppy Is Stuck in the Birth Canal Half Exposed Step 1: Grasp the puppy with a clean towel. Step 2: Applying steady traction, gently pull the puppy at a slight downward angle. Continue pulling gently and steadily until the pup is delivered.
Puppies can live in the uterus for up to 24 hours after labor starts. Dogs in labor for 3 hours without delivery of the first pup should be examined for evidence of complications. If you are comfortable with this, you may don a glove and do a vaginal examination to assess position of the puppy.
Steady strong contractions have continued for over 1 hour without producing a pup. Prolonged resting phase continues over 4 hours when there are more pups to be delivered. There is a foul smelling vaginal discharge. Mother-to-be has excessive vomiting or is extremely lethargic.
Dog labour complications
Dystocia requires emergency veterinary treatment. You should contact your vet or, out of hours, your nearest Vets Now, if your dog's labour lasts more than 24 hours, or if more than two hours pass in between puppies.
In most breeds puppies can be born normally in either anterior (head first) or posterior (back feet first) presentation. It is only a transverse (sideways) presentation that is associated with dystocia and this is rare. Deformed puppies may also become stuck in the birth canal.
Treatment of Stalled Labor and Delivery Problems in Dogs
Your vet may recommend oxytocin injections to stimulate contractions, although one vet notes most dogs with primary uterine inertia don't respond to them. In the case of secondary uterine inertia, the veterinarian may try to restart the labor and contractions.
On average, giving birth to an entire litter takes 3-12 hours from the start of contractions/straining. Exact timing varies, but most dogs give birth to their whole litter with 6 hours. The process should never take longer than 24 hours – any longer and the risk of a problem becomes very high.
Step 1: Grasp the puppy with a clean towel. Step 2: Applying steady traction, gently pull the puppy at a slight downward angle. Continue pulling gently and steadily until the pup is delivered. Step 3: If you are unable to remove the puppy, contact the veterinarian immediately.
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.
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.
When everything appears to be in place for a normal healthy birth, he may inject her with a dose of oxytocin. Dosages range from 2 to 20 units, which the vet can administer in 30-minute intervals. This drug will help to speed up and increase the strength of her contractions to facilitate the birthing process.
Puppies may be passed stillborn, either before their due date or on their due date. In some cases, a deceased fetus may become mummified within the uterus. Mummification occurs when the body creates a protective membrane around the fetus, allowing it to remain encased and walled off within the uterus.
Puppies normally enter the birth canal with the puppies back against the top of the birth canal. Puppies can be born head or tail first. About 40% are born tail first, and this "breech" position is considered normal in the dog.
It's called a “copulatory tie”. Don't do anything to try to separate the dogs, especially pull them apart by force, which could hurt them! Stay calm and wait for the dogs to unstick themselves. If they're still stuck together after an hour (which is unlikely to happen), call your vet to get advice.
Not all have the instinct to nose the puppies to the center of the whelping box for safety. Smothering, crushing, and laying down on the puppies can be prevented by installing railings that help prevent the dog from accidentally lying on a puppy that may have slipped behind her.
Look for signs that the dog is calming down.
If the dog is no longer whimpering, moaning, or panting, it may be a sign that it has finished whelping. Count the puppies just to make sure that you have the right number.
Doctors sometimes use assistive birth devices to dislodge infants who are stuck in the birth canal or to pull them through. These devices include vacuum extractors and forceps. Both of these types of devices increase the risk of birth injuries but might be safer than leaving the baby in the birth canal for too long.
Labor that lasts for 18 to 24 hours or more increases the risk of cerebral palsy developing in the baby. It is a significant risk factor for this condition.
This could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours, depending on age. Check out this article on how to crate train your puppy for guidelines on how long your puppy should be in their crate. Puppies need regular potty breaks and can't handle being crated for a long time.
There's potential health risks associated with forcing your dog to hold its pee for too long. Although he physically might be able to do so, extended periods of holding it in can lead to urinary tract infections or urinary crystals and stones. The inability to urine can also lead to behavioral issues.
Limit Meal Time
Leaving your dog's food out all day can cause them to ignore it altogether. To break this habit, leave their food down at meal times for 10 minutes and even if they don't touch it, take the bowl away until the next meal. This will teach your pup to eat when the bowl is on the ground.
Contractions in the first stage can last up to 12 hours. Puppies are usually born 30-60 minutes apart, but the mother dog may take a break of 2 hours between puppies.
If the mother is still trying to care for any dead pups after a few days, be sure to remove them even if it causes the mother distress. Parasites from the decaying carcasses can be passed on to the mother and the remaining pups. If the mother or surviving pups seem ill in any way, remove the dead puppies immediately.
Giving birth can be a frightening, confusing and painful experience for both the dog and the owner. Knowing and understanding normal labor and delivery, as well as proper pregnancy care, can help make the process go more smoothly and help you know what is normal and when it is time to get the veterinarian involved.
"Canine parvovirus, adenovirus, and canine distemper have all been implicated as causes of fading puppy syndrome." Many common bacteria can cause overwhelming septicemia and death in a vulnerable puppy in a very short amount of time.