Cocker ready to whelp

Question
my cocker is within days of whelping.  had an ultrasound done 3 days ago...there's 5 in there!  the first 2 on both sides will be breech.  trying not to worry as the vet says thats very normal, but her first litter of 4 were all head first.  at what point do you assist in a breech?  immediately if it appears the bag is broken and you can firmly grasp something other than just legs?  or should you let her push for several minutes?  i'm assuming is the membrane sac has ruptured the pup is trying to breathe?  

also, have you ever seen 2 pups come at once?  2 sacs present simultaneously?  there's 2 pups side by side on one side of the uterine horn and i'm paranoid they will present at the same time.  One website i found that mentioned this said to try to push one back up and allow the other to come out.  wouldn't this pop the membrane sac and risk drowning?

she's nesting like crazy today, so i'm sure we are close.

thanks.

Answer
Hi Melissa. Breech is really common in dogs. You usually don't have to help with the delivery unless the puppy seems stuck. Then, on the contractions, you firmly grasp a leg and pull, but only pull with the contractions. The sac can bust and you will still have a few minutes to get the pup out. If the bag breaks, don't let her got longer than 10 minutes without trying to see what's going on. You don't want to rush it either, as most breeches are delivered naturally without help, you could hurt something.

When two puppies try to come out at the same time, is usually when you run into trouble. They block each other, and sets your girl up for a c-section most of the time. If you think that this is what's happening, thorougly clean yur hand and put a finger inside of her. Reach up gently as far as you can until you feel a puppy. If you feel two pups at the opening, the you can try to push one back. Even if it does pop the bag, it's better than nothing. If you can get the pups delivered then they should be ok. It's much better to lose one puppy from this and get the mom to deliver without causing her serious harm. my motto is mom always comes first. However, many puppies make it just fine. The trick to whelping is to keep your cool so you can work. I'm going to give you another web site that has some great pictures and helpful advice on breech birth and such. Good luck!
www.debbiejensen.com