miniature schnauzer pregnant

Question
Hi. I have searched all over the net and found out all about dog pregnancies, but I can't find the answers to the questions I have. If you could please help, that would be so great. She is my baby and I want to make the experience as comfortable as I can. My miniature snauzer is 1 year old. We believe she got pregnant 7/2, by another schnauzer for sure. I want to know what do I do to get ready for the birth and what I should do to help her during the birth. Does she want me to help her or touch her or the babies? Or do I sit back and just watch? What do I do when the babies come out? Clean them? Make sure they eat? This is my first animal and I don't want her to be scared. Any information you could give me would be so greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!!

Answer
Hi Sarah. You need to get her a whelping box. You can either make on for her, or if she's small enough, you may be able to use those plastic storage bins at the store. When she starts labor, don't leave her. At first, just keep an eye on her. That's all she'll need for the time being. If she has a colored discharge before the birth of the first puppy, get her to the vet. Make sure she doesn't get fat, and gets plenty of exercise. When her time gets close, have some beef broth and plain vanilla ice cream on hand. This will be a little boost during whelping, and afterwards. When she goes into labor, call the vet and let him know so he can be ready in case you need him. In your breed, the dog's can be 'lazy', and may need a c-section. When she hits about 50 days, or later, you can have an x-ray done to see about how many there are, and if there are any really big ones that may cause problems. Don't let there be a lot of people in the room when she starts to whelp. When the babies do come, have plenty of towels on hand to dry them off. Have some empty 2 liter bottles on hand as well. You can fill them up with warm water and wrap them in a towel. The pups will snuggle up to them if they get cold. Don't ever feed a cold puppy. Get his temp up first, and then try. Have some puppy bottles and formula on hand just in case. 24 hours after the whelping, take your girl in for a clean out shot to make sure there's nothing left inside. I'm going to give you a couple of links to look over. Have a look, and if you have any more questions, feel free to holler.
www.debbiejensen.com
www.geocities.com/vvvzena/boxerlinks.html