possible problem with mother after having the pups

Question
Molly is my female shih tzu and gave birth to 6  healthy puppies 2 days ago 2/10/09. She is feeding ok, but continues to pant and occasionally gets up and digs and cries. I have been monitoring her temp and it goes between 102 and 102.3. The last litter she had she had 7 pups, so I was worried maybe there is still one she can't release or is in pain from the bleeding that I am told is normal for a couple of days. I can't really see any more real bleeding. She goes outside like she has to have a bowel movement, but nothing comes out.Is there something I can give her for pain if she is trying to rid of all the plecenta? This is her second litter and she will be 2 years old feb 26 2009.

Answer
Hi Lorie. First congrats on the puppies. Second, please get mom to the vet. It sounds like she may still have a pupy or placenta inside of her, and it needs to come out. It left inside of her, it can cause serious infection or even death. There's nothing you can do to make it come out, the vet will need to give her a shot to clean her out, and then x-ray to make sure it did come out. He may x-ray her before giving her the shot, too, but it does sound like something was left in there. Good luck, and please let me know how it goes.