signs of ready to deliver

Question
how will i know my toy poodle will be ready to deliver ?she got pregnant by a stray dog

Answer
Hello Maria,
Your dog should deliver around 63 days after her first breeding.  You should see a waxy substance on her nipples a few days before deliverly and if you take her temperature, it will go from her normal 101.5 down to 98.0  When it drops to this number, your dog will have her puppies within 24 hours.  
You might also see her trying to find a place to have the puppies.  She will most likely attempt to build a nest with blankets or towels, or even find a place in your closet.  You can help her by making a nest for her in prepration for her deliverly.  You should make it a place where she feels secure so that she doesn't try to move the deliverly site.  I would put lots of newspapers down and add some towels that you don't mind throwing out when she is done, as the birthing process is very messy.  

You may want to be there to assist her if anything goes wrong.  Most dogs can deliver on their own, but if there are problems, you should be there to either help her or call the Vet if you don't know what to do.  
The female will deliver each puppy and will want to bite the umbicial cord near the puppies belly.  Watch to be sure that she doesn't bite into the puppies stomach.  She will then eat the placenta when it is delivered.  This is ok and actually healthy for the female.  Toy Poodles tend to have around 2-4 puppies, and deliverly time can take anywhere from a few seconds to 10+ minutes or so.  Just watch to make sure everything is flowing fine.  When the puppy comes out, you can help by drying the puppy off with a towel, and if you have a nasal asperator you can suck the secreations out of the nose and mouth so it can start to breathe properly, then place it next to the mothers belly.  She will lick it off and guide it to a nipple.  Watch to see if the baby starts suckling.  
Offer the mother plenty of water as delivering puppies is work and she will need to keep hydrated during the process.  
If she needs to potty during the process, let her out, but watch her so that if she starts delivering outside, that you can help get the puppy inside as soon as possible.  

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions about the deliverly process or other Poodle questions in general, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim