is my dog ready to deliver

how do i tell if my dog is ready to have her puppies? she has been acting very strange and i am worried :sad: :confused:

Please take your dog to the vet. She may be having complications due to the pregnancy or pending delivery.

When was she bred? Acting strange how? Age of dog? Type of dog? What was she bred to? Details help but a vet visit would be the best start.

i am just not sure how to tell when she is ready. i know the day is coming but i dont know if she could go sooner than her due date.

she is a pit bull 1 yr old she was bred with another pit and her due date is sept 3. she is just laying around and she wont leave my side

Well, as she is close to her due date she is most likely uncomfortable. Have you searched the net for information on signs of labour in dogs, etc? Has she seen a vet during her pregnancy? As there are 98 Pitbulls in Indiana alone needing homes listed on petfinder, I'm not sure why you bred her to begin with?

She will be pregnant for 63 days. Dogs tend to deliver very close to or on their due date. She will begin nesting behaviour near to date of delivery.
? Why with everything that is going on with this breed and all the ones who are now in shelters would you produce puppies into this life.

we bred her because we allready have homes for the majority of the puppies. people saw or dog and wanted to know if we were going to breed her so we did. and now the puppies will have very good homes. but as for her breed there is absolutely nothing wrong with a pit bull they are wonderful dogs. the only problem is the owners that want to do nothing but fight them and treat them like crap. we have 3 pitbulls and a mixed breed and to tell the truth i trust the pits more than the mixed breed. plus living where i live we need some kind of protection and we dont like guns.

I really hope none of your puppies end up here, http://www.petfinder.org/pet.cgi. Or worse (dead, dumped, abused, used in lab experiments or used for fighting)
As you can see, there is no shortage of pit bulls in your area!
I am not trying to anger you, but if you really love pit bulls, you should consider having your dog spayed after this litter.

No one is questioning the breed of dog but rather the breeding of said breed. There are many on this board who own pits, rescue pits and clean up after irresponsible pit owners. We haven't said you fall into that category but must admit it's hard to fathom why one of the 98 in shelters in Indiana would not have been just as suitable as these pups about to arrive.

Pit bulls are wonderful dogs. I have one myself - a beautiful purebred blue fawn female. She's spayed, since I don't want to add to the 7,365homeless/dumped pit bulls, Amstaffs and Staffy bulls listed on Petfinder. That's not counting the thousands being killed and never offered for adoption.

plus living where i live we need some kind of protection and we dont like guns.

Either you are unaware of the proper temperament of this breed, or your dogs are atypical. Pit bulls are NOT guard dogs, and will not protect territory. A pit bull with proper temperament is way too friendly and submissive to people to ever be used as a guard dog. My own dog would welcome any stranger into my home.

I suggest you get an alarm system, or a dog with suitable temperament, and get your girl spayed. IF you have a pit bull who is aggressive to people in any way, this dog should never be bred.

but as for her breed there is absolutely nothing wrong with a pit bull they are wonderful dogs. the only problem is the owners.


I completely agree but to bring more into this world the way it is right now is just not fair to them. There are so many that are going to lose their life because there are not enough homes for them. Who is to say that these homes that your puppies are going to are going to be responsible and fix them. What happens when they have litters because someone said they were cute. Also a dog, any dog should not be having puppies at 1 yr. She isn't finished growing yet herself. This can cause developmental problems from her, her puppies and it is quite possible that she has complications during delivery. She also may not be able to teach her puppies social cues. When do you plan on sending these puppies to their homes. Are they going to be vet checked and vaccinated.

Can anybody tell me if pitties have trouble in birth like bulldogs do? It just seems to me that they have the big heads too- obviously not as big as bulldog heads, but bigger than most...

Not that I know of.

to tell you the truth i agree with the fact that to many pits are in trouble. and we would not have bred her except for the fact that it is very hard for ppl to find pits around here. we had so many people looking that we decided to breed her for that reason. and as for people fighting them we are doing a very good check to make sure that will not happen. as for any thing else happening every one we sell or give them to knows that if for some reason they dont want them they come back to us and that is signed in an agreement. and as for prtecting our home our pit bulls will attack if told too, but we can control them if we tell them to do something they do it and they are very protective so you can not tell me they are not protective. Any dog will protect the people they love and that love them back. and i do not get angered by anything any one says everyone is intitled to their own opinion.

When her rectal temp falls below 100 degrees you can expect labor.

Because of her age please call your vet and/or having someone experienced with whelping assist you. My main concern is for mom & pups, other issues can be addressed later. It's past time to undo a deed but time to see a healthy start for puppies that are going to be born.But please consult your vet, most will whelp for a small fee barring any emergency like a c-section. They may allow you to attend and help for education and extra hands needed for the pups. Mom will need attention too of course. At her age I do advise against free whelping.

I am sorry to have bothered you all with what i have said. i guess i was coming on here expecting some advice on the signs i should be looking for, but i was fooled. i am sorry to have bothered you all. we were just looking to help some friends with getting pits. And we know that they will not be fought. Also to answer the ?about them being vet checked and vac. of course they will be. they will also be wormed and they will not leave our home until they are 8 weeks or more. as for mating her so young it was an accident. we didnt realize that she could get our bedroom door open and we left for a little while when we came home patches and king were locked together. we could not stop it. plus the vet told us she would be okay because she is very healthy and very intelligent. She is very well behaved if she trusts you. and all our pits are wonderful dogs and would not hurt a soul unless told to. but i am sorry to have upset anyone.

Welcome to the forum,
Good luck with pittie puppies hope everything goes well and the new owners are going to be happy with their new pets. As the breeding as already taken place theres not much you can do about it now. I hope you seriously consider spaying the mom and all the pups just ensure that the four or so puppies they have dont end up each having puppies. You know the ol' saying dogs can't add but they sure can multiply

Thank you. We have been to the vet 1 month ago. He said she was doing great and that if we need his help during delivery he will make a house call. He is also a pit bull lover. So i know i can trust him.

we will request that they be spayed and nuetered. as for patches she is being spayed after the puppies have gone to their new homes.

Thats wonderful to hear hope all goes well. My sister dog had puppies way back when I was sixteen. I was the only one there she had her pups no problem (luckily) I would have no clue what to do if anything went wrong. I do remember though she went into her house where she was going to have puppies and scratched the straw and turned in circles for a long time in the end she had made a perfect bed. She had the puppies then ate the sacs afterwards. Thats my only experience with puppies. She got the dog spayed after too all 10 puppies found homes mostly to relatives and friends.

That is great, no more accidents. You may want to add the charge of a spay/ neuter into your agreement. Your vet would probably give you a voucher that can go with the puppies to ensure they are done, prepay the vet.
We can only go by what has been written. If you check through all the posts just for the past few weeks you will notice that there have been many accidents taking place and seeing as many here are involved some way in rescue it is very frustrating to here that there are so many even if you had the best of intentions.
Your dogs behaviour is quite normal for a dog about to deliver in a few days time.
Is King also getting fixed.

Can anybody tell me if pitties have trouble in birth like bulldogs do?

No, they do not as a rule. However they can - and often do - have very large litters, and since this dog is just a puppy herself, there could be problems of various sorts.

we will request that they be spayed and nuetered.

Please don't "request" it. Charge an adoption fee for each puppy that is enough so that spay/neutering can be included and prepaid at your vet. And please make sure it's done.

We're telling you all this not to be mean, but because we love and care about dogs and don't want to see any more killed in shelters than already are being.

THANK YOU ALL. and no there will not be any more accidents. We are even trying to find out what we need to become a pit bull rescue. Because there are none in fort wayne or even close to.

TO Stacey B no king is our cousins dog. He was living with us at the time, but now he has moved and he refuses to get him fixed. But our other dogs are fixed. including the little mix breed i found in our trash 1 month ago. He is a german shepard and husky mix. He is only 11 weeks old so he is not yet fixed but will be as soon as he is old enough. We know the problems with pit bulls and being killed and or fought. that is why we want to get our license to become a rescue. We love our pits and take in all we can. We just took in a pure bred red nose female because the other people decided they no longer wanted her and were starving her. We take care of our pets and if for some reason we cant we find someone who can.

Does he want to breed him again, or whats his reasons. Can you send him here maybe reading this forum will give him so info so he will reconsider. :)

Dogs in shelters who are fixed as less likely to be put down than those who are not.
I hope you do get into rescue. You will definitely understand more of where everyone here is coming from.

Whew! I wish I could be there to help whelp myself...puppies will be there within a few days.

Try and get some sleep, over the next few days you will wish you had some.
You are going to be busy.

Please keep us posted....I want a puppy count & report...Please!

Our cousin is just a jerk and wont listen, but soon we will have King back and he will be fixed. And dont worry their will be a puppy count posted, and hopefully we will get a camera soon and there will be pics. And THANK YOU ALL AGAIN for the help. Also I do understand what you are saying and that is why we want to be a rescue.

If you want to rescue, that's wonderful!!:)

After you raise, vet, wean, socialize and successfully adopt out this litter, making sure all are spay/neutered and gone to responsible, lifetime homes, then you could start rescuing. Just one dog would be a good start, since there ARE many dumped pit bulls in Indiana, including tiny puppies who may die if not saved.

Or you could start out by helping another pit bull rescue, by fostering, transporting, etc and see how things are done before you do it on your own.

If you have no adoption contract for the puppies, here's one from PBRC that you can print out and use. If anyone won't sign it, they shouldn't have a puppy.
Pit Bull Adoption Contract (http://www.pbrc.net/misc/contract.html)

Here are some pointers on how to start a rescue, when the time comes.
http://www.pbrc.net/startrescue.html

I have lost my manners.

Welcome to the board. Stick around and grind your heels into the sand.

Popcorn & Jello shots for everyone....I'm buying tonight.


You will find out in due time you just joined a new family.

Welcome!

mmmm, cherry jello shooters for me please!

Yes, we are a bit grumbly but we are also pretty fair. And definitely we want news on the arrival and how many and photos if you can borrow a digital camera. Nothing like little pit pups.

We all appreciate your ability to keep answering with civility when we were grilling you. Sometimes we forget the person and remember the cause.. it's nice to know the person first and a good thing to remember for all of us! :thumbs up

To all the other long time members on this forum I must say what a refreshing change to see some newbie getting answers instead of flamed. As it has already been said here, too late to do anything about the breeding now.
As for the whelping, I know that when an aquaintence of mine had her Danes, her female was bred on her first heat( accidentally, I know I know, how is it an accident when you have two unaltered dogs, water under the bridge) and ended up with puppies right around her first birthday. She was scared , confused and needed help to be sure she knew what to do with the puppies after she delivered them. The local vet tech attended the whelping, and ended up cleaning off most of her pups because she would try to run away and was scared of the pups. Getting her to nurse them took a while too, she was just very young and didn`t have a clue. ( almost like a 10 or 11 year old giving birth to a human child). Raising that litter took a lot out of this person, no sleep, supplementing feedings with puppy milk replacer, etc, etc etc, but unfortunately did not change the person`s mind about breeding her again every heat. The dog is just over 2 years old now and is having her third litter, she is still not a good mom, makes me wonder why she would continue to breed her but I guess the money is there or something.
From what has been posted, it sounds like normal behavior.
There are some sites on the net that will describe what to do when your dog whelps, just do a google search.( I did one just before posting here to see what is available and it is amazing how many "how to" pages popped up.)
Please keep us posted as to how things went, and yes, please post pics. I need a puppy face fix at least once a week.
:)

Popcorn & Jello shots for everyone....I'm buying tonight.
Does the bar have milk? :) 2%?

Today is Marvins Birthday and I think today might be the day hopefully. Patches has been pacing all night. she kept me awake. I am going to take her temp in a few. I just cant wait. We have a cage made up for her and everything she has made a nest in it, and still will not quit pacing. Om another note I understand were everyone was coming from about the lecturing and everything but you gotta understand that if we would have known she could get out of our bedroom when we left we would have done something else with them. But now we will have these puppies and correct our stupid mistakes so that it will not happen again. :pawprint: :pawprint:
hopefully i will be able to deliver goos news later today or early tomorrow. THANK YOU AGAIN. :fingerscr

I took her temp. and it was 99.6. so does that mean good news? How long should it be now?

You will see her panting and the contractions should be visible when she starts full blown labour.

I believe that she is definitely close to delivery. Keep an eye on her for any sign of distress. Do you have her whelping box ready? She will need a warm place with no drafts and that is easily accessible to you and anyone assisting.

WoW! I am proud of my fellow members... :love: and eager to hear about the puppies and of course pics.
What's done is done and I hope Patches will get through this with no complications and no more accidents... :D
I would love to hear more after the puppies are born,about their progress and also about your plans of becoming a rescue of these so very misunderstood dogs.

I believe that she will whelp within 24 hours after her temp drops below 100.
Did you check for info on whelping on the net? Some of the sites have very extensive information.
If you are worried about keeping the pups warm maybe a heating pad on the lowest setting placed under a blanket.
I would think that she would be spending a lot of time in the "cage" /whelping area. My vet told a friend of mine that a watched bitch never whelps. You will know because she will stay in her "nesting area. Keep an eye on her and hopefully she will do fine.
Good luck, I can`t wait to hear about the pups and mommy when all of them are here.

:pawprint:

I believe that she will whelp within 24 hours after her temp drops below 100.
Did you check for info on whelping on the net? Some of the sites have very extensive information.
If you are worried about keeping the pups warm maybe a heating pad on the lowest setting placed under a blanket.
I would think that she would be spending a lot of time in the "cage" /whelping area. My vet told a friend of mine that a watched bitch never whelps. You will know because she will stay in her "nesting area. Keep an eye on her and hopefully she will do fine.
Good luck, I can`t wait to hear about the pups and mommy when all of them are here.

:pawprint:
Don't use a heating pad, small pups can boil to death as they aren't able to move away from the heat source. It is best to fill up 1L pop bottles with hot tap water and slide them around the edges of the whelping area.

Her cage is ready, but she still wont leave my side. She has been drinking alot of water, but her apetite has decreased a little. She is being very clingy. She wont even go outside without me. what ever room i am in she is in. She is climbing all over me, and wants me to pet her no stop. Her stomache keeps going from rock hard to soft. ?is that signs of contractions. I am hoping that today will be the day. It would be the perfect birthday for my husband. Thank you all so much for your help.

Hey Guys She is in here with me. She is in her cage doing circles. Thats a good sighn right. If i can get my daughter to back off. I am so excited. It is almost time . YEAH YEAH :D

Goog luck I remember Jenny my sisters golden retreiver turned in circles for 2 hours ir seemed not sure if it was actually that long or it just seemed it. You'll have to let us know how everything went. You must be excited to see the new pups :)

VERY EXCITED> she keeps trying to make a bed on my bed though. What should i do about that?

Looks like your sleeping on the floor tonight :) Hope it all goes well!

:troll: :troll:

Don't worry, she's going to have her babies today. I too was inexperienced, searched the internet, found a site that told me all about helping with the delivery. She too was under a year old. My vet assured me everything would be fine. She's mini dachshund. She was having 4 babies and the day her temp. dropped to 98º, her babies were born. All between 7 and 9 pm with no help from me. I was cooking supper, she was in the carrier nest about 10 feet from me, but in another room. I checked on her every few minutes. They were healthy and she was a perfectly wonderful mom. These puppies have been absolutely no trouble from day 1 and they are almost 5 weeks old now. Socializing them is the easeiest thing I have ever done. I play with them every day, hug, kiss and cuddle each one. They are being paper trained now and have just started to eat on their own. Mine were also an accident and I feel really bad about it, but, no way would I have aborted these babies unless her life was in trouble. I had homes for them before they were born and if I had not, I would have kept all 4 of them. She too will be spayed as soon as the babies are weaned and the vet says it's ok to do it.
Good luck with the babies and the mom, be sure and post pics.
Eileene

Thanks. her temp went back up to 100 though so i am figuring tomorrow hopefully. She is still nesting and contracting a little, but so far that is it for the signs. i think, but i will keep everyone posted. and as soon as i can get a cam. i will post pics. Thank you all so much.

Thanks. her temp went back up to 100 though so i am figuring tomorrow hopefully. She is still nesting and contracting a little, but so far that is it for the signs. i think, but i will keep everyone posted. and as soon as i can get a cam. i will post pics. Thank you all so much.

Not unusual for the temp to go back up a bit, 100 degrees is still low for a dog.

I have an urge to pace the floors right now.

Even though she is young her instincts will kick in, plus she has you to help. I wish I could be there. Mom will move around alot and pant when in labor, another cute sign is excessive yawning with the contractions. (You'll find yourself yawning too) When she's ready, you will know!

Be ready to help clean off the first borns little face and let mom do the rest. The licking, cleaning & attention she gives helps to kick her instincts in gear.

Feed her a high quality puppy chow too if you have not already started to. She will need it...

Dogs tend to have their puppies on or very near their due date. From the day he got her/locked how many days has it been. You are going to be exhausted if you don't get some rest before its time. If she feels/sees that you are anxious she will be to. I know it is exciting but try to act like all is normal.

her due date is the 3rd of sept. i took her temp and it is 98. 8 I cant belive it. i am acting normal to her but i am so excited she is also i can tell by the way she looks she nows it is almost time. :party:

She Is In Labor Everyone.

I hope you have a vet-number close by in case something goes wrong.
Good luck to the mother to be!!

I would call them anyway to make sure you know what to do if something goes wrong. Some vets will have an emergency call line.

we have 5 so far 2 males and 3 females. so far everything has gone great. no problems or anything. she is napping and feeding now :party: :party: :party:

make that 6

Is she still contracting.

Wow! Thats really fast for a first time mom...you are lucky! You may actually get some sleep tonight.

Is she being a good mom? Cleaning and nudging...etc?

she has had 7 now and yes she is still having a few contractions but is taking a little break. we have 4 females and 3 males. they are adorable there are a few blonde brindles and the rest are black brindle.

This is a large litter, I hope you are going to be able to find responsible forever homes for all these puppies.

She stopped she is done at 7 the whelping guide said she was done and had none left. Tomorrow she and the pups go to the vet to get checked. She had 7 though and we have homes for 5 so we just might have to keep the extras. I wouldnt mind at all. they are adorable.

Congrats to mom(I think!!)! Please try to get us some pics,that's a lot of puppies,hopefully all will do ok :love:

Congratulations! And its' great you might be able to keep two of them, and their mother will be sooo happy too!

hey all. the puppies are doing great and so is mommy. she loves her babies. she didnt need any help delivering. she did it all by herself. we got to sit back and watch. there are 5 blonde brindles and 2 black brindles. they are absolutely gorgious. i think we are going to try to get a cam today. but i cant make any promises yet. if we do there will be pics tomorrow. thank you all for the support.

Glad mom and pups are okay!

This is going to be a very expensive and labour-intensive undertaking, so hope you've got the bucks and the energy for it!

just to let everyone know we now have the father back and he is getting fixed next thursday. thank you to all that have helped

I am glad he pups are ok and seem healthy,just make sure the father stays away from mom and pups...
I am not sure about dogs,but I know cats can get pregnant right away again.

thank you and i am not sure about that either but he is not allowed in the bedroom where mommy and pups are so we are keeping them apart. and thursday he will be getting fixed so we wont have to worry anymore.

my name is Manny and I have just started a foundation called "pitbulls for Life" our focus is on rehabilitating, rehoming and rescuing unwanted and abused pitbulls in the city of Calgary, AB. I have a 5 year old spayed American Rednose Pitbull who I love dearly, I worked really hard training her and she is very well behaved she loves people and all animals alike ( she has 3 cat sisters :). I work at a vet hospital and volunteer at the humane society when I can and I see so many unwanted pitbulls. I have started this foundation for that reason, because my dog has such a wonderful life why can't other pitty's be given a second chance to. It breaks my heart to think that if I never got Sadie she could have ended up in a shelter or worse euthanized!. So far I have 2 dogs that I have in foster homes that I am sure that I will be able to place in permenant homes. If you or anyone you know would like to help please [pm me when my pm abilities are enabled]. These pitbulls need our love and compassion desperately, they don't have anyone else to help them but us.

i am sure i will hear of someone else looking for a pit we have just found homes not only for our puppies but also the red nose female we rescued from a life of abuse and neglect. we are also looking for more pits that need rescued around here. but if i find someone looking i will send them your way. i agree that theses dogs need love and attention and will do my best to help. thank you for also helping the breed. pit bull lovers all ways do better when united and not at each others throats. :)

HI Manny, and thanks for helping these poor dogs. YOu might want to also post on this West Coast rescue site, if you have not already.:)
http://www.brindleweb.com/rescuebb/