Can my dog safely deliver her puppies at home without a vet's help?

Hi, thabks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The size difference may or may not be a problem. If her litter is large the puppies will be smaller. If she only has one or two she’d be at more risk for needing a c-section. I would have your Vet take an X-ray at day 50 to confirm pregnancy and to count puppies. Write down the date she was bred. Dogs are pregnant 60-63 days. Starting at day 55 start taking her temperature daily rectally. Stage 1 labor tends to start 24 hrs once the temperature drops below 99 F. But your Vet can help you and go over concerns once we know she is pregnant and size of the litter. I hope this helps and good luck!

If Anastasia is having an issue giving birth (dystocia) then she needs to be seen by a vet as soon as possible. This is an emergency! This article may help you and answer more of your questions: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2109&aid=899 Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Yes, Uling should be fine to give birth. Hip dysplasia should not affect labor and delivery at all. Hip dysplasia affects the outer portion of the pelvis where the femur (leg bone) attaches to the pelvis. During birth, the puppies pass through the middle of the pelvis, or the pelvic canal. As long as Uling does not have a previous history of having a narrowed pelvis (usually caused from a trauma like being hit by a car) there is no indication to worry. Occasionally, dogs of any breed or size can experience dystocia, which is a term for the difficulty of delivering pups. Unfortunately you cannot be sure if this is going to happen or not until the dog is in labor. Once Uling is in labor, and having active contractions, she should have a pup about every 30 minutes. If more than 2 hours pass and she has not had a pup but is contracting she will need medical intervention. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Hello. You should really consider having Sweety evaluated by your veterinarian to make sure there are no more puppies inside. If there are, your veterinarian should ultrasound them to see if they are showing any signs of fetal distress. This will determine if an emergency C-section is necessary, We can see a bitch take up to 24 hours to deliver, but with such a small litter, & one non-viable pup, I would want to make sure all is well with Sweety. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Ahro. She will likely need another C-section in order to safely deliver another litter of puppies. I recommend discussing this risk with the veterinarian who did her surgery. I hope this information helps!

That depends....If she is in labor and puppies are already born then hopefully she can give birth to the last puppies as well. Usually there should be 30-45 minutes between puppies. If she stopped having contractions before all were born, or if she has been trying to give birth to a puppy but it appears that is cannot come easily, ie it may block the birth canal, then I suggest you take mama and puppies to a vet for assistance. If it looks like she does not have any problems, you do not need to involve a vet, and just let her have her babies until she is done.

Wow! That is unusual but hopefully everyone is doing well! As a veterinarian it is my duty to recommend the safest plan, which would be to have her evaluated by a veterinarian and an x-ray to make sure she does not have any more retained fetuses. Hopefully everyone is nursing well and mom is feeling good and eating well. I recommend weighing the pups daily to make sure they are gaining weight and thriving. If Mom is not eating or she seems to feel poorly then she should be evaluated as soon as possible. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.