pregnant toy poodle

Question

Amber Leigh :)   My female toy poodle is 35 days pregnant today as of my calculations to when they first matted nov 2. I can feel little round balls, first I felt 3 now I think i can feel 5! Are these puppies? She had diarrhea for 2 days which is normal i do believe so i guess we are a little over half way! Is it possible to hear the heart beats now with a stethoscope and be able to feel them move slightly? This is my first litter as a breeder and I have tons of questions! I read about them every day.

She also has been sniffing around alot lately and not wanting to go outside to use the bathroom, is that normal?

Answer
Hello Jessalynn,
Congradulations on your expected litter of puppies.  You shouldn't be able to see anything move yet, or feel puppies for another 10 days.  You can usually feel/see puppies around day 45.  You are most likely feeling the internal organs right now, but soon you should be feeling puppies and maybe hearing heartbeats.  
Diarrhea is sometimes normal, but it depends on what she is eating.  Make sure to provide her with plenty of water and good quality food because she needs to eat enough to feed her family (she is eating for 4-5).  

The sniffing that she is doing is probably her looking for a place to have her puppies.  You might want to get a spot ready for her with blankets or towels and maybe even a box.  You don't want her to decide to use your bed or the corner of your closet.  You may even see her gather her toys and pretend to nurse them or clean them off.  This is normal and is just her way of getting ready for real puppies.  

Here is some information that might help you as the birthing process gets closer. (this is from a different question, so if it sounds like I was talking to someone else, thats why)

You will know she is getting close to birthing when she starts to get a waxy substance on her nipples.  

If you feel comfortable taking her tempurature (rectally) you can start taking it twice a day around the 60th day.  This should give you a normal temp of around 101.5 (a dogs normal tempature).
As she gets closer to birthing, her temp will drop some and when it gets to 98.0, she will have puppies within 24 hours, though she can have them before it drops all the way to 98.0.

She might also start "nesting" or looking for a place to have the puppies. You might want to think of a good place for her to have the puppies, and start to get it ready for her.  Put some towels or old blankets down for her, and top it with some newspapers (birthing is a very messy job, so use several layers of newspapers for the actual delivery and you can throw them away as they get soiled).  Introduce her to the "nest" and let her get comfortable with it, so that when the time comes, she will be used to the "nest box" and will use it rather than the middle of your bed or inside your closet.

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 allot 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 or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask me.  

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim