i'm actually really mad at her for getting pregnant, but i guess it's my fault since i never had the money to get her spayed.

when i got my boy dog, they told me to wait until he was 6 mos old to get him neutered, and that's what i did. i don't know if he somehow managed to impregnate her, or if she got pregnant when she ran away.

i guess i'm upset because i know how many dogs are in shelters waiting for homes, and it doesn't really help that i'm contributing to the problem. -gah-

so, my grandma is very excited about puppies, and she has been giving me advice because her dog in korea had puppies multiple times. she said that i can't touch the puppies until their eyes open, a minimum of 2 weeks, and that i should just leave her alone with them and not intervene, especially during her labor.

is there anything else i need to do to prep for this? should i take her back to the vet?

i'm not 100% sure she is pregnant, it's just my guess. if you know kaly, than you know how much she LOVES to sit on the arms of a couch, she hasn't jumped on the couch in atleast a week. she loves when i pick her up and give her tummy rubs, now she won't have any of it. i also noticed that her nipples are like twice as long as before. but she doesn't seem heavier nor are her breasts bigger.

i guess we'll see what happens, but yeah, any advice would be appreciated.

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cramming a latte

It's possible that she is pregnant. I had a dog that ran off and got one other dog pregnant. Yay...puppies

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I've only had a male dog (golden retriever) so nope, no experience with doggie pregnancies. lol.

Pro has a dog that had puppies. I'm sure she will chime in with advice.

.

I recently went through this same thing.

My dog Roxie had 6 puppies.. can you believe that ALL 6 were boys?

It sounds like your dog is pregnant.. if she is suddenly very protective of her belly then yep, she is. Also if her nipples have gotten bigger than that's a definite sign. Her breasts will not get really big until she has had the puppies and her milk comes in. She may not also look heavy or big until the last couple of weeks. I would take her to the vet to confirm if she is pregnant or not and if she might need some kind of vitamins. They can actually do an x-ray and tell you how many puppies she will be having. That's how I knew Roxie was going to have 5 or 6 puppies. A dogs gestation period is two months or so.. so it won't seem long until she has them.

As for not touching the puppies until their eyes open, well, I did. I picked them up from the first day she had them. If she really trusts you, she will be fine with it. Just don't hold them too long. It's up to you if you want to wait until their eyes open, however I don't think it matters really. In fact, the quicker you get them used to human touch, the easier they will adjust and will be easier to adopt out.

As for preparation: Get a small pool.. you know, like those baby pools that are plastic that you see at some people's houses. Buy an all cotton blanket. The reason for that is because it will be easier to wash and it breathes, allowing the puppies plenty of comfort as well as mommy. Put the blanket in the plastic pool. You might have to buy two blankets to make enough cushion in the pool (and also you will need to put another blanket in the pool while you wash the other one). Don't make the cushion too high because you don't want the puppies to be able to get out. This is a perfect birthing bed etc for her. A card board box will get dirty quick and you will have to keep replacing it. This way, you can wash the blanket and wash out the plastic pool. It's soooo much easier to keep clean. And it holds in the puppies the first few weeks.

Here is a link of where I posted Roxie's puppies photo where it shows her lying in the pool covered with a cotton sheet and the blanket on the bottom. You can see she looks comfortable with the puppies:
LOOK Puppies!!!!

Get the baby pool as soon as you can because the sooner you get her used to lying in it, the easier it will be for her to get in it and feel secure enough to have her puppies when she goes into labour. Otherwise, she might run off somewhere to have them.. and you certainly don't want that. The quicker she feels secure, the more likely she will feel safe and secure enough to have them in the baby pool and at HOME.

Place the baby pool somewhere that's kind of quiet and not so much home traffic.. if you can.
I know it's hard sometimes but try your best. Make sure she keeps cool and comfortable. You need to also increase her food a bit... if you usually feed her twice a day.. put in a third meal. You will need to continue doing that until she stops feeding the pups. It's a good idea also to mix in some puppie chow with her hard food. The reason this is good is because puppy food has A LOT of vitamins and minerals in it for growing puppies. The extra vitamins etc will help your dog while feeding her puppies. It gives the puppies the vitamins in the milk that they need to grow and keeps your dog healthy while she is feeding them. Also make sure she has plenty of water.

Signs of labour: If she starts pacing a lot and panting, she is pretty much in her first stage of labour. She might also accidentally pee on the floor too. The puppies will come pretty fast after she has the first one. Oh and you can also take her temp.. by putting the themometer in her butt.. you can do this close to the time you think she might go into labour. If her temp drops a full degree then pretty much within 24 hours she will go into labour.

Do not be surprised when she starts eating the sack and after-birth when each of the puppies are born. When they eat this sack and after-birth it gives them loads of vitamins and minerals that helps them recover from the birth and gives the puppies lots of vitamins when they suck the milk. She will tear open the sack of each puppy born and lick the puppy clean. Then she will eat the sack. She will also cut the puppy's umbilical cord herself. You pretty much don't have to do anything. She will do it all.

If you get to witness the puppies coming.. it will be a very nice experience for you. Yes, your grandma is right.. leave her alone when she is giving birth but try to stay close enough to make sure the puppies are being born and she is not having problems. She will understand. I am sure she trusts you enough to allow you around a bit.

I hope this helps.. let me know if you need anything else.. I will help best I can.

Sorry about the long ass novel, but I tried to cover my whole experience with it..LOL

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enjoi.. check out thai puppy in pro's profile pic. cute!

Actually, his name is Thai Baby Biker...

He is one of Roxie's puppies I kept.

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THANKS SOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR ADVICE! I am going to pick up a kiddie pool right now. I didn't feel right just getting a cardboard box, but a pool is a great idea!

If it takes 2 months for her to have puppies, then I'm going to guess they'll be here any day now.

THANKS AGAIN! I will post some pics when they're born. I'm so scared for her! It's amazing that they know to cut their own cords and sacks and stuff!

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cramming a latte

Wow... this is educational

My family used to have dogs, male and female. Some of them had puppies. I don't think it matters if you touch the pups before their eyes open, I'm pretty sure we did. If I picked up a pup I'd make sure I kept it in full view of the mother so she doesn't get too worried, and then put it back pretty soon. What I used to do if I was touching the pups for the first time is to approach the mother and pups and try to pet the mother (you can be sure she'll be watching your every move). If she's ok with that then I'd gradually move towards petting one of the pups, and then eventually picking it up. If at any time mommy starts to show some fangs, then it's probably not a good time to disturb them.
We had one very small female spaniel that had given birth. We also had a very playful, young great dane. Unfortunately the dane didn't realize how fragile the puppies were and basically sat on some of them. The pup's mother was too afraid of the dane to intervene, so some of the puppies died. Hopefully your female dog is not intimidated by the male dog and can protect the pups, if not then maybe you'll have to keep the male dog away for a while.
Of course once this is over, you'll have to talk to your girl dog about not sleeping around so much...

Also keep a close eye on her when giving birth if possible. My shitzu had puppies and a relative said he was watching her. But when I got home after the call I noticed that only two puppies had come out. I knew she had more than that in there because she was huge. I checked the last puppy. My dog did not have the strength to cut the cord so I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut it. After that five more puppies came out.

The only problem is the time lapse caused one of the puppies to die inside her and she got very very sick and I had to put her on antibiotics for two months and the puppies could not breast feed so I had to bottle feed all seven. And believe me that is hard work unless you have a whole fleet of people to help you because they need to eat every two hours and takes about ten minutes per puppy to feed.

Good luck

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