Surely you have a bitch and you want her to have a litter. Many dog owners want their pet to have litters either because they are purebred dogs and they want to sell them, or because for some other personal reason they want to. However, when making this decision, be aware that there may be complications in the delivery of bitches.
Complications in childbirth and during the pregnancy of bitches can be due to genetic problems, some nutritional deficiency, some disease that the owners of the bitches are not aware of. Even depending on the races they have more or less complications in childbirth. If you want to know a little more in this post we will talk about it.
What is zeal?
Understanding the sexual cycle of the bitch is essential if we want our dog to have puppies. The bitch has her first cell between 7 and 10 months of life. We can say that it is the equivalent of the age of puberty in humans. Whether the heat comes sooner or later is influenced by the size of the bitch, the breed, even the environmental conditions. There are studies that indicate that in spring and summer is when the first heat usually has more female dogs.
Heat lasts for about 20 days and it usually occurs every 6 months, although it can happen to some dogs every 5 months. The bitch is monoestric, said in other words it means that She only has one sexual cycle per mating season. And therefore there is a single ovulation of several eggs. Unlike in cats, it is not necessary for it to be mounted for it to ovulate.
El sexual cycle of the bitch has four phases:
- proestrus. It is the beginning of heat. In this phase it does not allow mounting.
- Estro. Its beginning and end marks it when the dog allows it to mount and when it rejects it. If when pressing the dog on the back, it moves the tail to one side, it means that it allows mounting.
- Right handed. This stage begins when he does not allow riding. It lasts between 60 and 90 days.
- Anestrus. It is the stage of sexual inactivity that lasts until the next proestro. That is, until the dog is in heat again.
Conclusion, the bitch can only get pregnant in the estrous phase, which lasts between 5 and 9 days approximately.
Preparing bitches for childbirth
When we refer to preparing the bitch for childbirth, we are not only talking about the specific moment of delivery but also what encompasses the gestation so that the health of the bitch and her puppies is not compromised.
Food is a fundamental pillar in pregnancy
During the first month of pregnancy, it is not so necessary for the bitch to have a specific diet. But from the second month on, energy needs increase considerably. They need a greater supply of protein and fat, needs similar to those of puppies. In fact, you will notice that your dog has a lot more appetite than before. As a recommendation, feed it with a feed starter (for example, if your dog is small you can buy this). That is, a special feed for puppies and pregnant bitches, which is of good quality. Unless your vet recommends it, do not restrict the amount of food during pregnancy or lactation.
Gestation in bitches is between 58 and 65 days. That is why it is recommended that it be known when was the day of riding. In addition to the vet doing at least one ultrasound during pregnancy, to more or less predict when the delivery will take place. You can also take a rectal temperature during what is considered the last 10 days of pregnancy, always at the same time. The moment you go into labor the temperature will drop sharply.
Bed preparation
It is recommended that 15 days before the due date, the dog's bed is prepared.. Your dog may not want the bed where you made it for her. Don't worry, let her choose where she wants to give birth, it will be where she is most comfortable and calm. Because stressing her can cause delivery to be delayed. Use towels or sheets for the bed, even if you want you can use underpants, but I advise you against using sawdust, paper or other materials that are very dry, or that can clog the airways of the puppies.
Removal of the mucous plug and milk letdown
If your dog has the presence of milk in her breasts when you press a nipple very gently, it means that she is close to delivery. Even though there are some bitches who do not have their milk letdown until the moment closest to delivery. Between one week and three days before delivery, a mucous discharge will begin to pass through the vulva.. This is the mucous plug, although sometimes some females lick themselves trying to clean themselves and for us the expulsion of the mucous plug goes unnoticed.
Changes in behavior prior to delivery
As the time of delivery approaches your dog will be less active, eat less. When you start having contractions it is typical for her to scratch the ground, turn in circles and curl up, lie down, get up, in general that she is nervous.
Phases of labor
When the bitch is about to give birth, the rectal temperature drops sharply between 8 and 24 hours before giving birth. Therefore, you should take your dog's rectal temperature regularly and periodically in the weeks before giving birth. Another indication that the dog is preparing for labor is that The days before the birth she is more nervous, looking for quieter places and about twelve hours before the birth she begins to build her nest.
When the bitch goes to give birth, the rectal temperature drops sharply between 8 and 24 hours before giving birth. That is why you should take your dog's rectal temperature regularly and periodically in the weeks before giving birth. Another indication that the bitch is preparing for labor is that the days prior to calving She is more nervous, looks for quieter places and about twelve hours before the birth begins to make her nest. Labor is divided into three periods:
First period. Lasts between 6 and 12 hours, although if the bitch has not given birth before it can be extended even to 36 hours. The vagina begins to relax and the cervix dilates with no apparent signs of abdominal strain.
Second term. Lasts 3-12 hours normally. Rectal temperature rises to normal values or slightly higher than normal. In this phase the first puppy fits into the birth canal. What is popularly known as "breaking waters" is produced.. When the puppy comes out, it is covered by the amniotic membrane, which the bitch normally breaks, like the umbilical cord. But It is possible that there are complications in the delivery and he needs your help or that of the vet to open this membrane, so that the puppy can breathe. Besides having to cut the umbilical cord.
Third period. The placenta is expelled. Occurs 15 minutes after each fetus is delivered. Unlike other animals, you should prevent your dog from eating the placenta because it can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Normally, in a childbirth that goes well, the interval between the birth of one puppy and another is from 5 minutes to 2 hours. This large difference in time occurs when many puppies come and the dog becomes more fatigued.
Generally, labor ends at 6 hours from its beginning, although there may be cases in which it reaches 12 hours. Under no circumstances allow labor to last more than 24 hours for the physical integrity of your dog and the puppies. If complications occur in the delivery of your dog, go urgently to the nearest veterinarian.
Complications in childbirth
Sometimes it can happen that our dog has complications during delivery, either because she has not dilated enough, because one of the fetuses is dead, because a fetus has been crossed in the birth canal, because she has some disease, among other causes . When there are complications in the delivery of bitches, it is what is known in veterinary medicine as dystocia.
What tells us that we are facing a complication of childbirth?
- If the rectal temperature has dropped and has subsequently returned to normal values and the bitch does not show signs of being in labor.
- If you start to secrete a greenish discharge from the vagina and you have not yet delivered any fetus.
- When there are no contractions for more than two hours, they are weak or infrequent for 2 to 4 hours.
- If the bitch has very strong contractions but does not produce a response for 20 or 30 minutes.
There are other complications of the delivery of the bitches, that from home we will not be able to observe them. So It is vitally important that you take your dog to the vet if you notice any of these signs.
Dystocia according to its cause: maternal, fetal or combined
Due to maternal causes we have:
- La uterine inertia. This can be primary or secondary, with different complications. In the primary uterine inertia what happens is that the uterus does not respond to fetal stimulus. This happens when: (1) a single puppy is coming(2) many puppies come and the uterine wall has an excessive distention(3) there is excess fetal fluids O (4) large puppies are coming.
In the case of primary uterine inertia it is necessary to stimulate the uterine contractions of the bitch. It is likely that the veterinarian will give her a treatment in the clinic and ask you to follow a series of guidelines to stimulate contractions, for example, that the dog exercise, such as climbing stairs, if the dog is nervous, reassure her with caresses, among other guidelines . And in the secondary uterine inertia what happens is that part of some of the fetuses that remain inside the uterus are expelled.
- La obstruction of the birth canal. It can happen because the uterus suffers torsion and ruptures, that you have a uterine inguinal hernia, that there are congenital malformations in the uterus, or that the pelvic canal is narrow.
In the case of fetal causesIt may be because the puppies are poorly positioned, that they are very large or that they have malformations. If a fetus dies, they are not positioned correctly to exit through the birth canal and they do not produce enough stimulation to initiate labor.
If your dog is in these circumstances, she will need help from the veterinary team, since she may have to correctly reposition the fetus. In some cases simply repositioning the fetus is enough, but the truth is that the vast majority of bitches end up needing Caesarean section.
If your dog is pregnant remember that it is advisable that you take her to a veterinary center and have her prepartum check-ups.. I recommend that you make the first visit with your veterinarian three or four weeks after breeding to confirm that she is pregnant. And if everything goes normal, the next visit will be for get an ultrasound and x-ray about 7 to 10 days before your due date. Don't be scared that your bitch gets an X-ray, the fetuses are already formed and it does not pose any health problem for the mother or the puppies.
I hope you liked this post and cleared up some doubts if you had them.