Pregnant and worried to death!

My little tiny female, Noelle, is gonna have babies. She is 16 months old, and is usually very small (about 4 lbs.). She was bred on November 23 and according to my whelping chart, is due Jan 25. This is her first (and only!) litter. I took her to the vets on Tuesday Jan 7, and he said he thought she would deliver before the weekend! He took a radiograph and determined that she was carrying 4, and they all were headed in the right direction. My concerns are many and I hope someone can ease my mind. ous substance from her vulva, what does this mean? If she doesn't deliver until her due date, will the babies move around and change direction? Is it typical in Malteses that the umbilical cord will have to be cut by me? DO I need to have the clamps on the umbilical cord in the event that I have to help her? Where can I find them, and what happens if I cut the cord without them? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Gail

• The situation you are in with your pregnant Maltese is the reason that many of us serious breeders strongly feel that breeding is not a casual thing to be approached lightly. But since your in a tough spot let's see if I can help.

  First, it is not unusual for a Maltese to deliver at 59 to 60 days following being bred -- but two weeks is vary rare. At that age they usually abort and absorb the puppies. So I would find it hard to believe that you will have puppies by this week-end. The mucus you are seeing is not unusual also -- this frequently starts happening within 10 to 14 days before whelping.

  Now -- some help. Immediately go to the following web site: http://www.adognet.com/4M/welcome.html this is a mail dog book seller that ships books world wide. Call them immediately and ask to have two or three good books on breeding Federal Expressed to you -- and read them well. This may help answer some of your questions. Last -- where is the owner of the stud dog and the breeder you bought your bitch from. These people surley have experience breeding and whelping Maltese and should be able to give your some help.Good luck .
  Bobbie Linden - Bhe Jei Maltese

• Gail--It is always scary delivering a precious litter. It seems even scarier helping a small bitch diliver a large litter of pups. I have found it helpful to start taking the bitches temperature a week or two before the expected delivery date. The bitches temperature is normally about 101.5 to 102 degrees will start hovering about 100.5 or even as low as 100 degrees. As whelping approaches, the temperature gradually drops to between 100 and 99.5. It may fluctuate during the day as much as a degree us ually being higher at night. About 24 hours before she goes in to labor the temperature will drop abruptly to between 98 and 99 degrees. It is necessary to take her temperature twice a day in the morning and evening and chart the results. It may rise slightly just before she whelps. When you see this temperature drop whelping is imminent. It should occur in 12-24 hours. If the bitch hasn't delivered by then you need to have her checked by a vet. I even had a vet tell me once not to worry after over 24 hours and no litter and I lost the entire litter, so insist that s/he check her. The bitch will ususally become restless as whelping draws near. She may lay in her box or whereever she has picked to have her litter and pant. She may lay quietly or she may scratch. I actually saw one bitch scratch and next so much she dug though the box and though the wall board. She may vomit, she will likely feel like she needs to go to the bathroom and want outside. ( watch her closely if you let her out.) She will start having visable contractions and her water will break. I have seen bitches break more than one bag of water before the first puppy appears. When the first puppy is delivered be on hand to help it out of the bag of water and wipe off its face and stimulate it. Some bitches do this fine, but I never take the chance that she will concentrate on the puppy more than herself, I always make myself available to help. You may need to help! Cut the cord, I use a hemostat and clamp it and then tear the cord.

  You can use dental floss to tie it off if necessary, but it is important that you make sure all afterbirths are delivered. They usually come after each puppy. It may take 1-2 hours between puppies, some bitches require pitocin to get them going with a large litter their uteruses are overdistended. Keep your vet close by when you know whelping is imminet. If you see a green discharge that is not a good sign, you need to consult your vet. I would be glad to answer more questions if you want, but I sugg est you contact someone that is experienced in pure bred dog breeding as vet are sometime not understanding of the process. I've seen good and not so good. In fact I have a neighbor that is a vet and he felt like breeders should just leave their dogs alone and let them whelp "naturally" until he started breeding pure bred dogs and found out what it was like to lose a litter or two. He started asking my advise and changed his tune. Sorry this is so long, hope some of it helped.
  Tricia