Puppy Delivery – Ten Quick Steps
1. Keep calm
Giving birth to puppies can sometimes be easy, so don’t panic. Large breeds are particularly easy.
2. Confining the pregnant bitch to a good place.
The first concern when your bitch is giving birth to puppies is the location of the mother. A cold, drafty area out of arms reach is the worst place for a dog to have puppies. If your dog is currently in labor, confine her to a place that is draft-free, warm, and easily accessible to you.
3. Get the phone number of your vet or local emergency vet (for after hours).
See the end of the article for the national directory of emergency veterinarians.
4. Gather supplies
Items needed include scissors, dental floss (or hemostat), heating pad, petroleum jelly, hand towel, calcium (tumors, vanilla ice cream, or dog supplement) {FYI, calcium aids in labor contractions for dogs}
5. Keep calm mom
Limit the number of people and animals around the giving birth mother. The stress of a crowd can put your dog out of a job for hours. Threatened mothers have been known to kill their pups.
6. Once the mother begins to push or the pups begin to emerge, give her calcium
Calcium will help strengthen contractions; therefore, making the delivery faster. Crush one of the breasts and put it in the mother’s mouth or use a calcium paste supplement (recommended). or offer vanilla ice cream. If the mother gives birth to several puppies and then stables them, she can give him more calcium later.
7. Assist delivery
If the puppy comes out of the birth canal halfway and then gets stuck there for more than a few minutes, you may need to apply the Vaseline as high up the birth canal as your finger can reach. (if possible, use a syringe to introduce the gelatin into the birth canal). Using the hand towel, gently pull on the pup to aid delivery. If the pup does not fully emerge within 10 to 15 minutes, call your vet for advice, you may need to go to the vet.
Tip: If two puppy pouches appear in the birth canal at the same time and you can’t push one in, then you need to go to the vet, your dog may need a C-section.
8. Cut and fasten the cord.
Tie the floss as close to the pup’s body as possible or hold it with hemostats. Cut the cord within a half inch of the floss with scissors. If the floss comes loose, simply retie it. If you can’t tie the floss, don’t panic, the bleeding should stop on its own.
9. Keep puppies warm and dry.
Turn on your heating pad and place puppies on it. Keep the area as dry and draft-free as possible after the delivery is complete.
10. Supervise the pups and the mother.
Make sure all pups have started suckling within a few hours of birth. Maintain a warm, dry and stress-free environment. If the mother begins to shake and shake uncontrollably, she may have preeclampsia, extreme calcium shortage, she should contact her vet.