my prego boxer girl

Question
QUESTION: By my calculations our girl is due Aug27. (give or take) She has a clear snotty like discharge and her nipples are dripping milk. Are these signs of imminent birth. I am so nervous for her......and me. We have small children (whom she is wonderful with) but i am thinking I would almost rather her go at night while they are asleep. Anyway, any help, advice or clues to let me know what to look for so I can better help her would be wonderful. This is her first litter (mine as well). First and formost she is our pet and my very first concern is for her. Thank you in advance for any help!! :) Tori

ANSWER: Hi Tori. It sounds like she lost her mucus plug (the snotty like discharge). Dogs usually go into labor 24-48 hours after they loose it. That's a good sign labor is close at hand. She should quit eating the day of labor, and will start panting....A LOT. She'll start to dig also. When she starts panting, put her in her whelping box. Put some old newspapers or old sheet in there for her to dig at. When contractions start, take them back out. Keep her room quite, and just keep a watchful eye out. If she has a green/bloody/black discharge BEFORE the first pup is born, take her to the vet ASAP. Try to offer her water, broth, or melted plain vanilla ice cream during labor, although she may not want any of it. Don't let her go outside to potty by herself anymore, as new moms have been known to have a pup outside in the dark, or may run off to have her puppies. Just watch her carefully for signs that something may not be going right. Oh! And count placentas. Make sure there's one for each puppy, even if she eats it (the placenta I mean:-). If you have anymore questions, feel free to write! You may be able to get me quicker at vvvzena@yahoo.com Good luck!

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QUESTION: Ok, this question isnt so much about my female as it is with my male!! He is following her around like he did when she was in heat!! Has even tried to hunch!! Is that normal? Is she putting off an odor (that I cant smell)? Also, when I put Angel in her whelping box I get in with her, that way she wont mind me messin with the pups (so I decided). But now she dosnt want to be in it without me. Will this change once the pups get here and her instincts kick in? Ok....Until I hear from you again.....Tori

P.S.  Is your email w v zena or v v v or v w? crazy I know but I cant seem to tell. Dont want to send some random person an email about my dogs mucus plug!!! HEE-HEE
ANSWER: Some boys are kind of like, they get it once, they want some more, not to be rude...:-) He may smell a difference in her, and just puts it with her heat cycle.

She's probably just scared about what's going on, and may be pretty nervous when labor finally starts. But when she gets down to business, and the first pup is born, that should change. Her mind will be focused on her baby, and not so much on you anymore. Some females do just the opposite though. They want nothing to do with the puppies, and want to stay with her owners. Boxers generally are great mothers however.

I never thought of it that way....that may just freak someone out to get that kind of e-mail! lol I know it's an odd e-mail address, but it's v v v zena. I did it after one of my girls' registered names. Hey, I remember what my first litter was like, so ask away!!

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QUESTION: Renee, Angel just dropped clear fluid out of her tooty. It had a brownish tint to it!! Im paniced for I do not know if this is normal or if something is wrong. All the reading I have done to prepare for her to have pups, never has anything ever said anything about this. If she were a human it would be close to say her water breaking. IN A PANIC!! PLease get back with me ASAP!!! Thanks, Tori
ANSWER: Hi Tori. Sorry I'm late getting back to you. My husband's grandmother passed away, and we were at the funeral last night. I'm hoping by now that Angel has aleady had her puppies? Because what you described, it sounds like her first bag of waters around the first puppy broke. You only have a short time to have the pup delivered when that happens. Was the fluid like water? I hope all is ok! Please let me know when you get a free moment.

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QUESTION: YEEEE-HAAWWW!!! They are here and you were right on!! I guess last night when I couldnt get a hold of anyone my own maternal instincts kicked in. I set myself up on the couch, put here in her crate and put her next to me!! Everytime she would move I would fly to my feet and finally around 3o'clock I awoke to hearing whimpers......it was a pup!! HeeHee, Im kinda giddy!! I jumped up, scooped the puppy up, went straight to her whelpin box and we proceeded to have 9 pups!! All healthy and doin GRRREAT!! She has proven to be a a great mamma!! I didnt have to do much at all with the exception of tearin the bags and stimulating them!! It was awsome. Its really cool to watch her watching over them (as tears are wellin up in my eyes). She already is keeping them so close to her, not even letting them roam off from her befor she is pulling them back in!! Now my only wonder is if she is done. I cant feel anymore lumps and she has flopped over to clean herself up real good!! Any thoughts? So I will close for now. Oh yea, did you get my email I sent yesterday? If you did I would love to send you a pic of the new litter. And also, Im sending my prayers to your husband and yalls family as you get through the awfullness of loosing a loved one!! Many thanks again for you support. Tori

Answer
You want to take mom to the vet about 24 hours after giving birth. That's just to make sure that there's no more placentas or puppies left in there. I'm not for sure when your vet wants them in to have their tails and dewclaws done, some vets are different. Mine likes them to be in the office at 3 days. Hey, you did great with your first litter!! So did mom. :-) It's wonderful to watch mom take care of her puppies. Just wait till those cute babies are running all over your house! lol Um, no. I didn't get your e-mail. I'd love to see pictures of those puppies though! And thank you for your kind words. Anytime I can be of any help with the puppies in the future, please let me know!
P.S. That's what happens. You're ready for the delivery, they wait and wait. When you konk out, that's when they decide to whelp. lol
Here's my e-mail address again: v v v (with no spaces)zena@yahoo.com . I look forward to those pics!