The
bitch dog's pregnancy time will vary between 58-71 days (small dogs have
shorter pregnancy time). The pregnancy lasts about 60 days on
first-timers and on the following times about 63 days (so whelping
happens usually two months and two days after the service). The
observation should be begun ever with 59 day because the whelping can
begin already couple of days earlier. The pregnancy time is dependent
since the time of the ovulation (coming loose of the egg cell), which
will happen about 9-10 days after the beginning of the heat of the bitch.
The actual heat of the heat circulation of the bitch starts from this,
when the mating has to take place (the bitch does not let the male do
the service during another time).
The
male dogs show sexual interest for the first time already about seven
weeks old by imitating the stepping of the bitch. This is the normal
playing of the puppy and it indeed is necessary for the development of
the healthy sexuality. Also the dogs have a puberty and it begins 6-12
months old. Then the number of the sexual hormones (testosterone) will
increase with the males and this changes the smell of the urine stronger
which is typical to male dogs (this helps other dogs to recognize the
dog as an adult dog). Furthermore, the males begin to urinate with their
other back leg lifted up (in other words until now also the male dogs
urinate just like the bitches). When a bitch has its puberty you found a
lot bigger changes in it than in male dogs, because the seasons start
and the bitch is sexually mature.
The
male dog will become sexually mature about a year old and it is ready to
mate always from it. The first heat of the bitch will begin usually when
it is 6-12 months old. During the heat the bitch will be ready for the
mating only for a few days (about 5 days) and this time will be after
3-17 days from when the heat has begun (it depends on the individual).
The
bitch may be mated first time from its second heat or later (so a bitch
younger than 18 months may not be mated). Furthermore, the first litter
of the bitch should be mated before the bitch fills four years so that
the difficult whelping will be avoided. You will surely crash into the
situations that a bitch (owned by some other) has whelped from its first
heat and these puppies may be even registered by the kennel club in
spite of this. This is due to the fact that the breeder has applied for
a special permission to register the puppies from the kennel club (Finnish
Kennel Club, www.kennelliitto.fi).
The reason is very often that the bitch is mated by some dog by accident
and often both of these dogs are from the same family). Also when
registering with the special permission the breeder has to do the
required examinations for the sire and dam of the litter (x-raying, eye
checking etc.). This may be done also afterwards.
The
mating is performed usually in the male's territory. Usually the male
sniffs the moment and then will jump on the bitch. The male usually is
lucky to get its penis into female after a couple of tryings but if it
will not go this way, the human being can help by moving the bitch to a
suitable position (you should not touch to the male, because this may
cause it is not interested in mating the bitch anymore). After the
successful service the male will be caught to the bitch for about 15
minutes from its penis (bulbus
glandis). Even
if the service was not a hoped one (happened by accident), it is
irrational even try to interrupt the service at this stage with
violences because the ejaculation has usually already happened.
Furthermore, the violent separating may cause the hurting of both dogs.
When "a couple" is attached to each other, a bitch has to be
held on its places so that it will not cause damage to the male.
The
conception do not need necessarily to take place at the service moment.
The spermatozoa may keep its ability for conception as many as for six
days in the sexual organs of the bitch after the mating. Furthermore, it
is possible that the bitch will become pregnant and there might be
puppies from two different males growing inside the bitch! The egg cell
which has concepted will fasten on the womb wall after 11-23 days of the
service. The fourth stage of the heat circulation of the bitch (the
after heat, metestrus) has now begun when a pregnancy hormone (progesterone)
is secreted to the blood. In other words the pregnancy has begun.
During
the pregnancy time the energy requirement of the bitch considerably
increases and its food requirements must also be satisfied. Do not let
your bitch to lose weight, because it may cause some problems in the
milk secretion. But do not also let your bitch to gain too much weight,
because this may cause some difficulties in whelping and also deaths of
the puppies may be caused by overweight of the dam. You should also worm
and vaccinate the bitchso thet the puppies will not get any parasites or
disease. The vaccine given to the dam will also protect the puppies for
those first weeks of their lifetime.
The
pregnancy is first stated manually by feeling with hands or on the basis
of ultrasonic or x-ray examination. The study done manually is often
more difficult caused by among others the number of the fatty tissue,
the body physique of the dog and the behaviour of the dog. The
ultrasonic examination can be made within about 3 weeks of a mating in
which case the structure of the foetus and heartbeats can be seen.
However, it is not possible to tell the number of the puppies with this
examination. The x-ray treatment can be used to secure the number of the
puppies also but this examination succeeds on only about 45th pregnancy
day when the calcification of the spine of foetuses has begun. According
to the breed, the litter size varies a lot and usually the small dogs
give birth to less puppies than bigger breed individuals.
The
behaviour of the carrying bitch begins sometimes to become a bit nervous
and restless at the final stage of the pregnancy. Some of the bitches
might be also aggressive on unknown people. The fact that it begins to
follow the owner tightly is also very typical. Sometimes it may make
small walkings outside on the yard or may turn in the room but mainly
only laying on the sofa. Furthermore, the bitch may begin to dig its
corner or a floor like to make the nest for the puppies. This behaviour
originates already from the ancestors who dug the nest in order to
protect their puppies.
The
metestrus (after heat), in other words the pregnancy time ends in the
birth. So this will take place after about 58-71 days from the mating.
When "this calculated time" begins to approach, "a
peaceful, familiar and warm hole in which it feels in peace" has to
be reserved from the home for the bitch for the safe whelping. When a
whelping begins to be near, the dog may not be left alone. The owner
should be near for the possible problems. The body temperature of the
bitch should be measured 2-3 times a day during the pregnancy time's
last two weeks. When the body temperature decreases with a degree, in
other words into under 37 degrees, the birth usually will begin within
next 6-18 hours. If it takes more than 24 hours from this measuring and
the whelping has not started, you should contact the vet.
The
whelping will begin with the “opening stage” which lasts for 6-20
hours. The bitch is restless and pants at the same time making the nest.
At this stage contracts are not seen. A slime may flow from the vagina.
The
second stage, in other words the “exertion stage” lasts for 2-6
hours and the uterine orifice has already opened and the contracts will
begin. The contractions also strengthen and become regular. The amniotic
fluid also will come out at this stage (a outer foetal membrane bursts).
Usually only about one hour elapses since the beginning of the exertion
stage when the first puppy sees the daylight (however, they do not have
eyes open....). If time has elapsed for already more than two hours and
no puppies are born, the veterinarian has to be contacted. The bitch
will always use about one hour to whelp one puppy (at intervals of half
an hour one puppy is born). Usually 1-10 puppies will be whelped
(sometimes even more!).
When
there is time for the afterbirth the placenta will come out. This takes
place by every puppy separately, in other words the “exertion stage”
and afterbirth alternate so long that all the puppies have been whelped.
The placenta will come out for 5-15 minutes after the puppy's birth. The
dam removes the foetal membranes from the top of the puppy and dries the
puppy by licking it. The umbilical cord the dam cuts and then eats the
placenta. Sometimes the dam can fail in the removal of the foetal
membrane and in that case the owner should help the dam so that the
puppy would be able to breathe. In all the actions a carefulness has to
be followed, in other words do not intervene too disturbingly when your
dog is whelping. The dam has to be encouraged to clean puppies because
it is an extremely important event which combines the puppies and the
dam. The eating of placentas can cause to dam diarrhoea even though on
the other hand this increases the milk secretion. Let the dam eat a few
placentas and destroy the rest. After the birth it is important the
puppy to absorb the dam's milk fast so that its organs would get the
antidotes needed. Already after a day the percentage of antidotes in the
milk will considerably decrease.
You
must resort to the vet's help if before the first puppy's birth it leaks
some green fluid from the vagina of the bitch (this is a sign of coming
loose of the placenta which causes puppies cannot get oxygen any more).
Also contact a vet if:
- the
pregnancy time exceeds 70 days
- a
bitch will have strong contractions and they will not lead to the
puppy's birth in 45-60 minutes or if the burnings have continued for
more than four hours and no puppy has been born
- if
the contractions are distinctly painful
- the
contractions will end before the born of all the puppies
The
bitch requires much energy and calcium after whelping so attention has
to be paid to this need when feeding it. This is due to the fact that
they lose much calcium and other nutrients with milk which the puppies
are eating. After whelping it might be the bitch does not want to eat
for a day, but this is normal.
The
puppies are blind and deaf when they born and the sense of smell also
has developed only weakly. So the only sense that directs functions on
the puppies is a touch. The small puppies are extremely sensitive to
cold, to touch and pain, in other words they have to be extremely
carefully dealt with. The first days of the puppies indeed will go only
to the supplying of the nourishment (in other words for the absorbing of
milk).
Even
the inexperienced dam can usually take care right of her puppies
beginning from the whelping until the withdrawal, in other words the
nature knows what to do to continue the species. With some dog breeds
the breeding may have caused, the fact that the dog needs the help of
the human being in the service, whelping and the puppies' care (a little
help is needed by almost every bitch in puppies’ care of course). But
you may not help the dog "too much" because this only causes
the bitch will not take care of its puppies even in the future (it lets
the owner make it). In other words as the reason for the lack of the
dam's interest in the taking care of puppies can be a human being but
the pathologic reasons (the variation of hormones) also. Still the help
has to be given for the dam and you should watch that the dam does not
injure the puppies neither on purpose nor unintentionally.
Never
prevent a bitch from licking its puppies or cleaning the puppies'
excrements out of the nest (by this it cleans the nest and prevents
parasite infections). When the puppies begin to become interested in the
outer world and to move, you should let them to play together and of
course around the dam. This is important part of the socialising time of
the puppy. The separating of the puppies should start when puppies are
5-8 weeks old. They should learn how to live without their brothers and
sisters even a moment (become used to the people and life without the
brothers and sisters). If you do this too late, the puppy may become
highly strung, too dependent on their brothers and sisters and
this way and perhaps even troublemaker.
After
the whelping the dam will soon start to offer for feeding to puppies by
laying down its stomach towards the puppies and by licking them to offer
absorbing. Sometimes the dam produces too little nourishment, in other
words milk to the puppies and the owner has to supplement minor breast
feeding. The breast feeding thins little by little, in other words at
some stage the dam will not offer for absorbing and the puppies hurry to
look for the teats spontaneously. The dam usually stands when the
puppies absorb and it begins even to avoid absorbing attempts. When milk
begins to diminish as a nourishment, the dam will begin to feed puppies
by vomiting to them the food in its stomach. Do not prevent puppies from
eating this because it is well digestibling food for them. However, the
domestic dogs do not often do this because the owners usually take care
of the puppies so good that the dam does not need to vomit a nourishment
to her puppies.