My toy poodle pregnancy

Question
Hello Kim, my toy poodles is 62 days into her pregnancy and I don't see a change in her temp; however, what I do see is fast breathing and white substance coming out of private area. Do you think she will be having her puppies soon?

Answer
Hello Charmaine,
It sounds like your girl is very close to birthing.  You should also see a milky white fluid coming out of her nipples, and she should be looking for a "nest" area to have the puppies in.  
Here are some instructions I send with most expecting dog parents to help them be prepaired during whelping.

I would make a place for her to have the puppies on.  You can put blankets down if you want, but cover them with newspapers or like material because the birthing process is VERY messy.  Use several layers of papers, that way you can remove them as they get soiled.  Also, there is information that I have already listed, but this is just general info that I have posted for other people as well, so that is why you may see duplicate instructions.

To be ready for when the puppies come, you will need some supplys to help the mother in her birthing process.  

Puppy Supply Kit:
TOWELS-you can never have enough towels.  They come in handy to dry the puppies off and to help clean up the female in between the births.
PAPER TOWELS-helps clean up the afterbirth.
DENTAL FLOSS-used to tie the umbilical cord to keep it from bleeding.
SCISSORS-used to cut the umbilical cord after you tie it off.
NAVAL IODINE-used to dip the stub of the umbilical cord in.
INFANT BULB NASAL ASPIRATOR-also known as the Nose sucker.  This is used to clear the fluid from the nose and mouth of the puppy.
PEN AND PAPER-if you want to take down time of birth, color, sex, and weight of puppies.
NUMBER OF YOUR VET-just to have it on hand.

Instructions when the puppies start to come.  
You will first see the mother start to push and you should see a puppy start to come out, hopefully head first.  When the puppy is out, tear the sac away from around the puppys face and use the nasal bulb to suck mucus from the nose and mouth.  If the placenta (afterbirth) isn't out yet don't pull it out, it should be delivered within a short time after the puppy is born.  Go ahead and tie off the umbilical cord with the dental floss close to the puppies belly.  You can then cut the cord away from the placenta.  After this is done, the mother may eat the placenta. Its ok to let her.  Its natural and actually healthy for her.  Do watch that she doesn't eat it until its off the puppy.  Some mothers will try to bite the umbilical cord themselves and they can either get it too short or can tear the puppies belly, so its best that you cut the cord for her.  
Next dry the puppy a little bit with the towel and make sure its breathing (see below if puppy isn't breathing or having trouble) then you can put the puppy down by its mother and let her lick it off some.  
Now, watch for the next puppy.  
Sometimes the births happen fast, sometimes slow.  Be prepared and walk yourself through the process a couple of times so that you are ready when it begins.  

If your female needs to potty during the process, go ahead and let her, just watch her to make sure that she doesn't deliver a puppy while relieving herself.  If she does start to deliver, don't worry, it has happened before, so just let her deliver as normal, wait for the placenta to come out, pick the puppy and placenta up and take them inside, cut the cord then dry the puppy off and let mom lick the puppy.  
After the mother licks the puppies for awhile, put them on her teat so that they can nurse.  Watch to make sure that they are nursing ok and get a good grip on the teat.

*If a puppy isn't breathing, rub it with the towel vigorously on its chest.  Make sure that all the fluid is out of the nose and mouth.  If it doesn't start breathing after this, hold it at chest level and gently drop your arm downwards a couple of times.  If you have a needle (any kind will work ie syringe needle, sewing needle, even a stick pin), stick the puppy in the end of his nose and keep it there for about 10-20 sec. (this helps stimulate breathing)
If this still doesn't start the puppy breathing, put your mouth over the puppys nose and mouth and give a very small breath. Repeat until puppy is breathing, or until you feel that the puppy has expired.  This sometimes happens for whatever reason, so don't blame yourself and don't feel bad.  You have other little lives that will go on.

I know that this is alot to take in, but once you go through it a couple of times in your head, you should feel more comfortable with the process.


The puppy pen is ok for a birthing area, but if you want to stay and assist, you will need some room to maneuver around and a kitchen or bathroom floor is advisable.   I would suggest newspapers with soft paper towels laid down on top.  Birthing puppies is a very messy job and you will need to remove the soiled papers and put down fresh or have plenty of layers so you can keep removing the ones that get wet and dirty.  (if you worry about newsprint getting on the female or puppies, most newsprint places sell or give away end rolls of unprinted paper that makes great paper to lay down under the female and puppies.)  
Once the puppies are all out, you can go ahead and put mom and puppies on blankets or towels.

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions for me about this, or other questions in general, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim