boxer in labor

Question
QUESTION: Hi, my boxer girl is todays today..she is very big now..she is at 97.7 right now at about am she did vomit allot but only ones and it was very yellowish. i took her out to pee and a good bit of mucus came out it but it had no color to it and i took her out and she peed and green mucus came out i call her vet and said it was ok that maybe it was her plug starting to come out. every now and then she will get up and dig like she is starting to nesting and she just sleeps and sleeps before when anyone would come in the room she would get up be not anymore she just sleeps i took her ..could this be labor starting and about how long should she keep doing this ? thanks for any help you can give me...


ANSWER: Generally when the temperature drops and stays down, whelping will occur within about 24 hours.  The loss of the mucus plug is another indicator.  You mention that she's just sleeping, and that's a little concerning, as usually a bitch would be nesting, panting, shivering, and restless at this point.  

Here are a few sites with various articles about whelping; they'll help you figure out where your girl is in the process (how long has her temperature been down, do you see any contractions, etc.):

http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/reproduction.htm
http://malteseluv.homestead.com/WhelpingInfo.html
http://www.jimanie.com/lists/archive16.html

Boxers can be prone to uterine inertia, so you don't want to let her go too long if she is indeed in the first stages of labor.

Good luck!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi, ok she is  no longer sleeping..she is  panting and very restless  and still has the green mucus,she panting like shes ready ...could this be hard labor..and how long should this last...thank

Answer
I would say it's not far off.  With hard labor you can see the contractions rippling along her back, and she'll start pushing.  The time will vary, the first stage of labor can last up to 12 hours.  Hard labor goes in 'phases', with her resting between whelps.  If she's having contractions and is pushing or straining for more than 30 minutes or so with no puppy, call the vet.  Sometimes the break  between puppies is short - 10 minutes or so - but sometimes it can last an hour or two.  If she goes more than 3-4 hours between puppies (and you know there are more in there), call the vet.  (It's a good idea to call the vet now and let them know what's going on and to be ready for a late-night phone call, and to have their number ready on speed dial throughout the process!)