8 lb bitch in labour, can it be a phantom

Question
QUESTION: Hi Joyce,
Our  little PomChi, should have been due this saturday to have her litter if the mating had taken. We have all been certain she is not pregnant because no thing ever showed up when we felt her regularly, nothing resembling a fetus or object, so we gave up on the whole baby thing, until today.

There has been simply NO sign of babies in her at all, l have read lots of sites on what to look for and yes l read that some times babies are high up in the rib cage and its really hard to tell, but by the 6th week you should clearly tell when a bitch is pregnant.
I felt her regularly,and watched her nipples and even took her to the vets, the Vet did say she seemed dence in the abdomine, which gave me some hope but no Xrays were taken.
Regret that now, needless to say, today, shes  right on scheduale for delivery if she had been pregnant.

Heres the thing, today shes acting like shes in pain, l found her upstairs  hidding in my sons room in the corner snuggled up with  some of his stuffed toys and she looked like she was beside her self with pain, and her eyes were imploring me to make her better, l was shocked, she clearly had nested and surounded her self with tiny stuffed  dogs.
SO l ran down stairs made a proper nesting whelping areas in the kitchen under a counter, and brought down Mitzie and the puppies she had snuggled up with, and  she has not left that nestsince.
She is not tending to these stuffed dogs like she did when she had a false pregnancy and had a stuffed toy for a baby for weeks she tended too around the clock, this is differnt, she is just   nesting ignoring those stuffed toys.
She  messed it all up right away when l brought her down to it,till she made it into a nest and has not moved. She wont eat or drink, and she wants me to stroke her tummy.
I dont think shes pregnant, but the timing of this is bang on, is there such a thing as phantom  labour on time??Or is she pregnant and her nipples just dont have milk visible, not like l squeezed them, but they sure dont look or feel swollen, they just got longer, and arent remotely engorged or swollen, to the eye.
We are so confused lol
Oh yes and she keeps suddenly licking her  cuchie and it was  wet this after noon  quite a bit with sort of a sticky clear liquid. But right now its presently dry...
Should l be preparing my self to be delivery a lone puppy or some thing!  Or is this  girl  having a phantom labour that hurts her like shes really going to birth a pup.
I would have thought her abdomin would have been swollen by now, mind you shes only 8 lbs, and the maltese we  put her with is smaller then she is. so if she only has one or two in there, they might be micro mini! Or is all this pain false!
Help!!!
Is this the real deal and l better get my towels and heating things ready !!!

ANSWER: Hi Debbi -- it would be next to impossible to feel pups on a 8lb dog, the pups themselves will weigh only ounces.  

If she is in visible distress, I would take her to the vet. Get the x-ray done and heat the towels!!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ok sounds like all the details l gave you sound like shes in the early stages of labour,and her wee ones are just that, wee! I wondered about feeling them if they were only a few ounces, still thought there would be some kind of signs...
I have read many things about the whelping time, and it varies as a woman would lol, so not surprizing!

So heres the thing, l have a lot planned today meeting a friend in Toronto for the after noon followed by an excutive dinner party with my husband and his boss's...and a Dance competiton this saturday to attend. What should l be doing.
Am l fairly safe to go out for the day and night as nothing has changed from yesterday, shes still not eatting and drinking although she was alittle bouncy and normal this morning.Now shes gone back the her nest in my  room as opposed to the one she has down here on the main floor in the kitchen. And just came down to lie in the sunny patch on the rug where l am.

I'm worried about leaving her alone,incase, but all the literature says dogs most often have their babies in the wee hours of the morning like 2 or 3 a.m. Is this fairly accurate?
If  shes in pre labour  it could take  possibly 24 hours....? Her actual due date is this Sunday...

I wish l could just take her to the vets and get her X rayed  at least l would know if she really has any in there, but she sure acts like she does and she should,  the mating went well. But l have no way to get there or home again...
So l am relying on your advice!

Do stay home incase shes going to get in trouble in the after noon,  or not to worry and go to all of these things?
Also how many days can this go on for a whole week right up till her due date or the fact shes acting like this a clear indication, we are about to get busy and heat up towels lol

Answer
Debbi -- I can't tell you what to do -- sounds like you have a full and active life.  You are the guardian of that little girl and her pups, so it's  your call. If she's between 60 - 64 days, I personally would be hunkering down for some TLC.

If she's off her food, that is a very good sign as is the desire to be near you.  

And pups are much like human babies... they come when they come, they have no concept of time. LOL  

Good luck.