The birth of a new life is always extremely pleasant. But taking part in childbirth is a responsible and rather difficult business. For such an event, one must be prepared not only physically, but also mentally.
It is necessary
clean rags, scissors, small boxes, soft rags, heating pad or lamp (heat source)
Instructions
Step 1
First you need to know that the gestation period for dogs is 62-65 days. Therefore, starting from day 60, you must be extremely attentive to the condition of your pet. It is recommended to take leave during the last gestation period and for the first time until the puppies grow up. The fact is that mother dogs differ from mother cats, for example, in that a cat will never crush her kitten, but a dog, alas, can easily. Plus, childbirth is a very complex process. Especially if the dog is giving birth for the first time, she has no experience, and it will be very difficult for her to cope, which can subsequently lead to the death of the puppies.
Step 2
To understand that labor is about to begin, you need to observe the dog. Approximately 24 hours before giving birth, the dog's body temperature drops (the norm is 38-39 degrees). The dog becomes restless, tries to hide, hide. By this time, clean rags, scissors, small boxes (preferably from under the shoes), a soft cloth, a table lamp or a heating pad should already be ready.
Step 3
Labor begins with discharge from the female's vagina, dark mucus appears, after a while attempts begin (or, in other words, contractions). By this time, everything should be ready. Perhaps the dog will begin to give birth at night, but you should never, at any time of the day, leave it alone. For a dog, the presence of the owner is moral support. After the onset of contractions, after a while, a fetus should appear in the opening of the vagina. At this stage, the puppy is surrounded by a fruit shell (bladder). In no case should you pierce it until the baby's head completely appears on the surface, otherwise the puppy will choke with amniotic fluid. After the puppy has appeared, it is worth helping the dog with the umbilical cord. To begin with, you can slightly pull the umbilical cord towards the fetus (but only very carefully, not with sudden movements), after the puppy the afterbirth should come out. You can offer the dog to gnaw the umbilical cord itself, or you can use scissors, carefully cutting it, leaving at least 2 cm from the puppy. It is advisable to give the dog to eat the afterbirth, at least one of the entire litter. Labor can last from 1 hour to 2 days, depending on the number of puppies and the difficulty of labor. Don't worry if the puppy walks forward with his feet - a third of the litter's puppies can be born this way. In this case, the main thing to remember is that you should not pull the puppy and in no case should the bladder be damaged, otherwise the baby's chances of survival will be practically zero.
Step 4
After the birth of each puppy, it should be wiped off with a soft, warm cloth, and the mouth should be cleaned from amniotic fluid. Sometimes it happens that the baby has to be resuscitated - if the fetus does not breathe, but during childbirth it moved, perhaps it can still be saved. In this case, an indirect heart massage should be done. It's quite difficult, but the effort is worth the life saved. To help the baby, it is worth putting on a hand a soft cloth that warms well and with a finger, gently rub the baby's chest, thus starting his heart. You can also try to pump out excess fluid from the lungs with a pipette - for this, it is enough to put pipettes with pre-deflated air into the baby's mouth. If there is no liquid, you can take several "breaths" and "exhalations" with a pipette, ie. create artificial ventilation of the lungs. But, unfortunately, one cannot fully expect that the baby will get out, but there is still a chance. Next, you should put the puppies to the chest and be sure to ensure that the babies suck on it. Immediately after childbirth, colostrum appears (the most useful). Then, after 10-15 minutes, you should put the baby in a box, pre-covered with a soft cloth. After giving birth, all bedding should be replaced with clean rags. Boxes with cubs should be kept close to the female, in full view of her so that she does not worry.
