whelping *****

[cesara]

Hi guys....

warning: post may be a little graphic for anyone with a weak stomach!

I have an english mastiff who is due any day now.

Yesterday morning she had a gush of clear liquid followed by some stringy opaque discharge in the afternoon, and then some smaller gushes of the clear liquid again in the evening. I thought for sure she would start labor any time....last night I set up my futon mattress beside her whelping box and slept with her....but, nothing!

She's not uncomfortable, she's not in pain, she's not ancy...she's still got an appetite from **** and she's acting totally normal! All we have as far as a thermometer is a digital 'ear' one....not exactly workable for checking her temp...lol.

We had a litter of boxers about 10 years ago, but, well...it's been TEN years and I don't remember how the whole process went down...haha.

If any of you have any experience with a whelping ***** I'd be most grateful for any insight you can give!

I'm a little concerned about it being over 24 hours since the initial gush of clear liquid...

Thanks!

me

[cajunthunder]

Re: whelping *****

Is she having contractions, pushing, anything?

I'd take her to your vet. There could be a puppy that is stuck, blocking the way for others, and they could all die.

[BadToTheBone]

Re: whelping *****

I would take her to the vet just as Monica said... She may need some help delivering those pups... Let us know how it is going? And good luck!

[cesara]

Re: whelping *****

I just called the vet....he says she still has a high chance of delivering naturally and to just wait it out.

There are no signs of labor as of yet...no contractions...she's happy and contently laying here beside me.

The vet said to call/bring her in if the following occur:

- contractions start and after 4 hours no pups are produced
- smelly discharge
- she becomes lethargic and 'not herself'
- goes to the end of the week with no signs of labor (they will induce at this point)

Until then, it's a waiting game. I hate the waiting part! haha

I'll definitely keep you all posted!

Thanks!

[cesara]

Re: whelping *****

Just a quick update...no puppies yet.

She's perfectly happy and content laying at my feet. No signs of labor, no contractions, no further discharge.

Apparently the initial 'gush' was a 'sac' of sorts that breaks to lubricate the birth canal....NOT a puppy sac....so, that's good news. (I guess I should have said that earlier when I found that out...lolol)

She's not very interested in her food today...although she had no problem chowing down my leftover cheese and eggs from my dinner tonight...

I guess it's still a waiting game.

My hubby is away on business for a week now...he left this morning...so basically, I'm all by myself with this! Soooooo, I've recruited my friend to come up and help me out....she's a 3.5 hour drive from here and she can't come until early thursday morning.....so let's hope she makes it here in time!

[cesara]

Re: whelping *****

Morning everyone!

Zoe is now having her puppies!!!

So far:

puppy 1: boy, fawn
puppy 2: girl, apricot
puppy 3: girl, apricot
puppy 4: boy, dark brindle

Puppy 3 was pretty much dead when she came out. Thank gawd for my weeks of research!! I tried to stimulate her with a brisk towel scrub, I swung her from arms length to between my legs a few times...the centrifugal force helps move the liquid in the lungs outward....somewhat successful, but still not enough...soooooooo, I had to...get ready now....put my mouth over the pups nose and mouth and.....SUCK...ewwwwwwe. It was gross but all I could think was if I didn't do it and she died, I would have felt so guilty for being too chicken to do it....sucked away....slowly but surely SHE'S BACK! squakin' away and determined as ****.

Pretty sure there's more....break time right now....so far, so good!

I'll keep you all posted!

[BadToTheBone]

Re: whelping *****

YAY!!!! PUPPIES!!!!

[cesara]

Re: whelping *****

puppy 5: boy, apricot
puppy 6: boy, fawn
puppy 7: girl, apricot

We thought she was done after these....1.5 hour break...and now she's starting to push AGAIN. ....so, at least 1 more on the way...maybe more...lol.

everything is still going well....

[BadToTheBone]

Re: whelping *****

GO ZOE! GO ZOE!!!!!

[cesara]

Re: whelping *****

Well, my fears have come to fruition....Zoe wasn't moving the 8th pup....sooo, took her to the vet. They xrayed and there were still 4 more puppies (at least...sometimes they hide). So, they gave her a shot of oxytocin to get her going...5 minutes later on the way home she had 2 one right after the other in the truck. One was lifeless...so, here I am driving with one hand and trying to resuscitate a pup in the other. Pup was okay.

Got home and she had 1 more shortly after....now, nothing.

If she doesn't move the last (well, maybe 2nd last..haha) one within the next 10 minutes I'll be heading back to the vet for one more shot of oxy...if that doesn't work it's c-section time...sigh.

Sooooooooo, that's what's up....

On the plus side:

puppy 8: boy, fawn
puppy 9: girl, apricot
puppy 10: boy, brindle

Some 'zoe have that last puppy!' vibes would be most appreciated right now!!

[BadToTheBone]

Re: whelping *****

Puupy vibes coming your way.... GO ZOE! GO ZOE!!!

[cesara]

Re: whelping *****

Thanks for the well wishes!!

Zoe FINALLY had her last puppy (we hope..haha) She went into labor again like 3 minutes before I called the vet...haha...had the pup about 45 minutes later....he's the biggest and he's a beaut!

So,

Puppy 11: boy, fawn

Yaaaah! Now just to pass the next few hours with no other signs of yet another, and we're set.

[mrslee44]

Re: whelping *****

Good job on the delivery and the mouth to mouth. I would have done it just like you.

But WOW...11 babies congrats to the Mother and Grandmother! LOL...


Robin

[BadToTheBone]

Re: whelping *****

Congradulations on the new babuews... I bet both momma and grandma are both tired today....

[cesara]

Re: whelping *****

Thank you sooo much guys!!

Everyone is doing well. Zoe is being an awesome mom...I couldn't have hoped for better!

I'm soooo thrilled that out of a litter of 11 we didn't lose a single pup. They all seem extremely healthy, happy and of COURSE hungry..hehe.

As for me...I didn't think it was possible for someone to be sooooooooo tired! 11 hours of delivering puppies certainly isn't easy...haha. By 11pm last night I could barely keep my eyes open....had a good sleep and now I feel much better....although my butt muscles are sure feeling it today....I guess I didn't realize how much I was doing the 'up and down', 'up and down' yesterday! I think I've had enough exercise for a week! haha

As for my extended induction....I didn't eat a THING until about 10pm last night...not good...just didn't have the time with all the action. I hope this doesn't mess up my body and put it into starvation mode....I did manage to wolf down 1/2 can of tuna salad and one slice of watermelon at 10pm. (I realize watermelon isn't on the induction list....but at that point, I thought, 10g carbs would certainly help my energy levels at that point, and it's alot better than a snickers bar...haha) I did manage to drink all my water yesterday though.

All in all, an extremely busy, stressful yet also very happy day.

Now it's on to worry about the pups and make sure everyone stays nice and healthy. Vet check for both pups and mom is set for Saturday.

Thanks again for the support you guys....without the board, it would have been very lonely!

ps - my friend DID get here on time...2am yesterday...pups started coming at 10am so, perfect timing!