Pregnant Golden Retriever (I believe)

Question
My female Golden Retriever is a year old and went into heat on October 4th or 5th, her and my male Golden ran away around the 11th of October and the vet did say she probably is pregnant but I estimated she would be due on the 11th of December. Today she vomited and would not eat until later today, she has been digging for about a week and I have a whelping spot ready, she goes to it. I do not know what to actually look for when she goes into labor. Her teets are getting bigger and she is stuck to me like glue. Please give me any advice. Thanks

Answer
Hi Alicia:

Vomiting is one of the signs of impending labor. Others include nesting behavior, as you've been seeing her exhibit, and general restlessness, pacing, refusal of food, panting & shivering. Although you had calculated her due date as Dec 11th, it's always a wee bit tricky to know when actual conception occurred and though 63 days is the average gestation, that's all it is, an average. Like people, each dog is a distinct individual & whelping can occur in the range of 57 to 65 days gestation.

The clingy behavior is also normal & she needs your help, comfort, attention & support to go through this. I think it's her instinctive nature to know something big is going to happen & therefore she's sticking to you very closely as she obviously trusts you. If possible, it would be an excellent idea to bring her to your vet for a quick X-ray to know how many puppies to expect.

I'll give you some links to additional info but give you a summary of what to look for as labor begins:

Aside from the above-mentioned signs, first her water will break. This may appear as a spreading puddle if she's sitting at the time so don't mistake it for an accident. If she's standing or lying flat, it will protrude from the vaginal opening & resemble a fluid-filled balloon. Once her water has broken, note the time & keep a paper pad & pen nearby for noting the time as labor begins. Usually after the water breaking you can expect to see the first puppy within half an hour but it may take longer. This is a good time to contact your vet so he can be on standby in case his help is needed.

Whelping can be a very long, tiring experience. Once you begin to see her having obvious contractions - they resemble much as you might expect, with her tail lifted & slightly stiffened while she visibly bears down as if to expel something - again, note the time. If more than two hours pass with her straining yet no puppy can be seen, I recommend contacting your vet to seek his advice. He may need to examine her to determine if the first puppy is too large to pass through the birth canal, necessitating a C-section. This can also occur after 5 puppies have been born text-book style yet 5 more are still in her uterus, as one is too large to pass naturally. That's when an X-ray is extremely useful, as you'll know when all the puppies have been born. If all the puppies have been born without incident, I would still call your vet that day or the next, depending on when whelping happens. I always give my girls an oxytocin injection, which helps the uterus to contract more efficiently in case a placenta has been retained and will also help her "milk to drop" meaning it will be more plentiful to the newborns. It's important to be sure every puppy gets a good chance to nurse particularly for the first few days so that they'll receive the colostrum contained in mother's milk & helps to provide antibodies to the pups for protection. Depending on the litter size you may need to rotate them so all will have a turn. Also it's wise to have your vet briefly examine each puppy to check for things such as a cleft palate or any other birth defects which may require additional attention.

Since she's a young mother & this is her first litter she may require some additional help from you in knowing what to do. Some dogs react instinctively to motherhood while others may not make good mothers. As the puppy begins to emerge, she should lick it vigorously & perhaps gently bite at the sac encasing the puppy to tear it off & then more vigorous licking to stimulate it to breathe. She will eat the after-birth (placenta) too but unless it seems to emotionally upset her try to capture as many as you can - eating more than a couple may result in diarrhea so it's best, if possible, to limit her. Also she may try to harm the puppy as it's being born. If she's not psychologically mature enough, all she may think is something is causing her pain & she may try to injure this "thing" coming from her hoo-ha. Luckily Goldens are very intelligent dogs so hopefully this won't be the case at all.

I know I may be sounding negative but that's not my intention. I just want to be sure to convey the possibilities should any occur & for you to be able to recognize them.


Puppies aren't physically able to raise their body temperature or shiver until they're at least three weeks old so be sure they are in a warm area, no drafts & off the beaten track. Your Retriever needs to bond with the litter & won't appreciate other pets nearby or a lot of people. The first few weeks she'll probably stay very close to the area so be sure she is eating a premium, high quality puppy food as she'll need the extra calories. She'll drink more water than usual as she'll need it for help in producing milk. You might also want to discuss possible additional supplements with your vet, such as calcium, goat's milk, Hi-Vite, a high iron supplement, etc.

At least this is a brief synopsis to your questions & hopefully all will go very smoothly. Please read the following sites as they may include additional info you'll find helpful. I wish you & your girl the very best of luck & will be thinking of you both! Please let me know the outcome when you have the time.

http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/whelping1.htm

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/whelping.htm

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/what-to-expect-when-you-are-expecting-puppies/page1...

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/breedingpregnancyguide.htm

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_care_of_the_pregnant_dog.html

http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dogpregnant.htm

http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenlclub/breedvet/feeding.html

http://hattrick-dals.home.att.net/TheWhelpingBox.html

http://www.petbitsforyou.com/labour.html

http://www.pinnaclepetsupply.com/whelp_kit.html