Boxer in labor?

Question
I have a pregnant female boxer. This was a planned pregnancy, she has 6
champions in her 3 gen pedigree including Shadows Nairobi. She is 2
yrs old. She meets all AKC criteria for her breed as does the stud I
hired. I did not test her because she just turned 2 but most of her lineage
has bee tested for hips and elbows and heart because of her show
back-ground many of these dogs were used for breeding as well and they were
tested. If I decide to bredd her again, I will use the money from this
litter to pay for all of the testing and then I hope to breed her to a
dog with champion lines or even a current champion. I am just not sure
that I can go through this again, I am a nervous wreck and I look at
her and feel so bad for breeding her. Anyway, she was vet checked before
I bred, she is utd on all shots, she is on heartworm and flea
preventative and I had the owner of the stud show me proof that he was utd on
everything had a healthy background and I had her get a test for Brucella
and I saw the negative results. She lives in my house and sleeps in my
bed at night, she is a beloved member of my family. I know I typed
much more than you need to know but I have seen new breeders get ripped to
shreds on some of these sites so I want to make sure that people know
I am not a puppy mill. I despise those people and if I do decide to
breed her again it will not be every heat cycle. She will have a yr in
between, maybe 18 months, depends how she bounces back and how long it
takes me to find the perfect stud.
Antway to the point, I have read alot asked my vet a ton of questions
talked to a few local boxer breeders and tried to educate myself on what
to expect when she goes into labor.
She was bred on April 12th which was her 7th day in heat and then again
on April 16th and the 18th.
I calculated the pups should come on June 14th. I had her x-rayed on
June 9th, the vet sd between 7 and 9 puppies. She thought that the bones
did not look developed enough to be due on the 14th, she thought more
like the 17th (today).
On Sat morn she was in her nest shivering, my vet was not open so I
called the emergency vet, they sd she would probably go into labor soon
and since they were 2 hours away not to bring her all they way there
because she could end up whelping in the car. All day long Sat she shivered
off and on. Sun the same thing but we live in ME and the temp is
around 58 degrees right now so I decided to start a fire and see if that
helped, she stopped shivering.
Since Sat her temp has fluctuated at night it could be 98.6 but in the
morning it would go back up to 99.6 or 100.2 and she had been eating
although small amounts, she has been having a small amount of discharge
whitish yellow since sat. All she wants to do is sleep.
This morning she would not eat her breakfast even though I mixed her
yummy canned food and a raw egg in it for her.
She did eat a small milk bone, threw it up but I am not sure she didn't
choke. I was doing dishes heard a wierd nise and turned around to see
it splattered every where and she was coughing and her eyes and nose
were running????? never saw that in her before. She did eat a few pieces
of pizza crust and has refused water. Her stools are a little loose and
I saw a long clear strand of mucas just now when she peed and her
temps today have been: 98.6 at 1 a.m., 98.9 at 10:00 a.m., 98.6 at 4:30 and
98.9 @ 5:30. All signs that she should go in the next 24 hours. I am
just concerned because she is not acting restless, pacing, digging,
panting or licking herself along with the other symtoms but she is
shivering and breathing heavy. All she is doing is laying in her nest sleeping
off and on and shivering. Sometimes worse than others and it seems she
does it mostly during exhaling.
I know this is really detailed but I have been watching her like a hawk
so I want to mention anything that may be important. I have called my
vet 2 times yesterday and today, they keep telling me not to worry it
is going to happen soon. I am worried though and im my last phone call I
would not get off the phone until they agreed to see her tomm. They
gave me an appt for 5:00 pm because they are sure that she will have her
pups by then. I guess I am just looking for reassurance, everyone is
telling me not to worry but I am. Also, as I was typing this I saw a
puppy moving back by her butt, her skin was pooching out and rolling. I
just turned on a lamp over her nest in case she is chilly. Does all of
this sound normal to you?
Thanks,
Libby
"


Answer
If you have seen a puppy "rolling" then the pup (in a blackened shiny sack) is in the vaginal canal and you should wash and sterilize your hands (with alcohol if nothing else) and open her vagina and see if the pup is there-- it will look like a black shiny ball- and then insert fingers gently and manipulate her area to help pass that first pup.

The first is the hardest and most times the biggest one of the litter and needs your help passing.

Within 30 minutes to an hour (or so, many a shade shorter or longer) the second pup will deliver and so forth. Most times, the third pup or so, the faster they come.

All the other symptoms you have described are normal except the shivering. She must be cold. Get heat lamps on her, a heating pad under her blanket she is lying on, all the warmth possible.

Also, ready yourself for the newborn pups by having a square laundry basket or box, etc. with blankets and a warm heating pad under the blanket, and a table lamp (no shade) or computer-table lamp, or heat lamp aimed at the box/basket for the pups.

IT IS CRITICAL those newborn puppies STAY WARM ALWAYS!!!! No cold, no drafts, no little bit of coolness. They will die.

YOU MUST PROVIDE A LOT OF WARMTH FOR HER AND THOSE PUPPIES ALWAYS AT ALL TIMES.

Feed her Canine Replacement Milk (these are all things you should have bought and had available for whelping) and feed her Diabetic Glucose Booster (liquid) for her sugar levels, in half the amount recommended for humans, feed her cheese, feed her peanut butter, protein, protein, protein. She will not eat, but she might nibble, and they don't like water when whelping but will drink Canine Replacement Milk. Your grocery store might have it, I recommend Hartz. It's readily available, and in a powder you mix with water.

She needs protein and a sugar/glucose booster during this time and during her nursing the next three months.

Feed her puppy food during the nursing period. She should have been on puppy food for the entire pregnancy-- it is high in protein. Read the label and it'll say for pregnant and nursing dogs as well as puppies.