Assistency for giving birth of your dog

Are you ready?

Cirneco dell'Etna pregnant female in 8 weeks of pregnancy

Waiting for puppies it is the most exciting period for owners. Not depend if it the first litter at home or you get it time after time. Pregnancy of a dog wants from you attention, keeping an eye and taking care of the future mama. You have only 63 days to do your best, to learn all that you still dont know about her pregnancy, qbout feeding, all processes and about giving birth.

We raise our dogs with raw food (BARF)  so we keep a female during pregnancy in special schema of natural feeding for pregnant dogs.

Pregnancy of your dog gives you responsability not only to take care of a female,  being able to support dog and to help during giving birth if it is necessary, but also in correct raising of puppies and finding for them best home. Are you ready for that?​

Signs of dog's pregnancy

Pregnancy of dogs lasts 62-63 days. 
The most important period in pregnancy it is implantation of embrions (16-19 days of pregnancy) and placentation (ends until 35 days of pregnancy). In this periods some % of embrions die and specially in these periods your female dog needs the most attention and taking care.

Until implantation period quantity of embtion's cells grow without growing of his size. In this period is difficult to understand if female is pregnant or not.

• ​The first and the most early sign of pregnancy is toksicose (female refuses food, vomits) in implantation period. 
• In the same period 18-22 days after matind you can see small amount of bloody-chocolate liquids that comes from vagina. Embrions fix in uterus by this way they damage the layer of uterus, and small amount of blood is normal in this period. But it happen not always.
• In 26-27 days of dog's pregnancy you can feel fruits. Size of fruits depend on size of a dog. If it is a medium size dog, fruits are walnote size. Later baarmoeder fiils by liquid that makes not possible to touch and to feel fruits.
• Since 5 weeks of pregnancy buik starts to grow. Nipples become bigger and pink. In the same time possible snot from vagina.
• Since 32 days ultrasound diagnostick is possible.

What to prepare for dog's giving birth

​1 week before giving birth prepare a place. It must be a quiet place in your bedroom, for example, or living room, where is optimal temperature, enough light and no wind. Optimal temperature for giving birth female 20-25 degrees.
Important this place is also comfortable for you to observe a dog during giving birth.

For giving birth you should prepare all necessary things:

• phone number of your veterinarian, in case if something will go wrong;
• a lot of blankets and old soft hoeslakens who absorbs water good;
• small size (size of kitchen towel) pieces of stof, who also absorbs liquid good, for catching or pulling of puppies from mama;
• sterile scissors, to cut puppy's cord if necessary;
• kitchen balance, to check the weight of newborn;

• cotton sterile wire to fix cord of puppies after you cut it;
• a box with heating bag, to separate puppies if necessary from mama, who is busy to give birth of a new one;
• puppystim- the product to stimulate weak puppies;
• different colors of wool wires (or special newborn puppy's collars), to put collars on puppies for identification;
• stilo and paper, to write time and weight of newborn puppies;
• bowl with water for mama, to offer her to drink sometimes. Dogs drink a lot during giving birth;
• a cup of tea for yourself, just to sit and to relax sometimes :-)

Dog's giving birth

How to understand that giving birth is soon?
There are some physiological signs:

• buik goes down, takes oval form;
• many females start to produce milk 1-3 days before giving birth;
• 24 hours before giving birth can be liquids from vagina, white or grey color, consistency of glue;
• 48 hours before giving birth a female heavy breathing;
• before giving birth a female can refuse the meal;
• dog drinks a lot;
• she runs to do pipi more and more often;
• if to measure rectal temperature since 55 days after mating it will show when giving birth starts. You should measure it 3 times in a day. Temperature makes a significant drop down 24 hours before giving birth  Then the temperature suddenly goes high to 39. The temperature drop tells she will give birth after 24 hours. 
  

Behaviour signs:

• может бродить из угла в угол, из комнаты в комнату;
• часто утомляется и лежит;
• может внезапно вскакивать и опять ходить;
• избегает общения с домочадцами или, наоборот, постоянно ходит за хозяином;
• скребёт полы;
• произносит укающие звуки;
• прячется – в эти моменты ей надо показать подготовленное для родов место и никому, кроме неё, туда не подходить.