Pregnant miniature beagle

Question

Maggie   QUESTION: Help! Our beagle is very, very pregnant. I am not quite sure of her due date because we had her in the pen with a 5 month old male small lab. We didn't think he could, but obviously he did mate with her. I am thinking she's probably about 7-8 weeks along. Her belly is about 1 inch off the ground, se doesn't have milk in yet but her teats are large and swollen. I lookd at her today and brought her inside just for awhile/ She immediately started looking for a nesting spot (under my bed) and is licking constantly. She walks around for awhile then sits down to lick again. I checked her and she is losing her mucous plug. It's the color of urine, clear,no blood tinge but it's just a tiny mousousy discharge. I am guessing she's getting ready to whelp. Are there other signs of tru labor that I can check? I've been reading about taking a dog's temp, but what should it be prior to whelping?  When should I expect the pups, is there anything I can do to make her more comfortable? She's in the bathroom right now and unhappy with my decision as to where she'll deliver her pups. I am not quite sure if I should take her to the vet or let her wait it out on her own. Thanks for any advice you can give.

ANSWER: Hi Candy

How large is the male and what are the sizes of his parents, grandparents and great grandparents?  
A male starts producing semen around 6 months, so there is the chance that another male has tagged her instead.

When you say "Miniature Beagle" do you mean a very small one?  If she was bred with a large breed, she will need assistance birthing.  In fact, I would be extremely concerned that she is even able to whelp this litter without assistance from the vet in the form of a c-section.

She needs a whelping box lined with either newspaper or clean towels and sheets.  If she is off her food, panting and licking, she is coming into labor.   You want to watch that she's not straining, pushing and panting without success, that is the time that you will need to get her to the vet immediately.

Good luck


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

QUESTION:   Maggie is extremely small, not a true "miniature" but tiny, tiny, tiny. The penmate is the only one who could have impregnated her since she's kept in the pen other than supervised "run" times. She's too much of a hunter to be allowed out unsupervised.
 I took Maggie to the vet yesterday. He x-rayed her and we counted 6 puppies. The heads are large, almost the size of silver dollars already (I think she's about 7-8 weeks along) and there isn't much room (about 3/4 of an inch to the rectum) for her to whelp. He doesn't think she can have these pups without a C-section. She's already in distress, her gums are pale and the babies are pushing upward on her lungs.
 He's going to do a therapeutic abortion Monday AM. It breaks my heart, but she's too precious to me to allow her to suffer just to have these pups. I've had her since she was 5 weeks old and barely weighed 4 pounds. Her mama had only 2 pups and Maggie was the only surviving one. The mother dog abandoned her at 4 1/2 weeks. So, you can see how special she is to me. Thanks for the advice. I sppreciate you!
Candy


ANSWER: Gestation is 62 days so why would the vet do a "therapeutic abortion" when a viable c-section would work?

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

QUESTION: I'd much rather he did a C-sec. I asked him what he would do if it were his dog. He said that he would do the ther. abortion for her safety, but when he said that there were too many puppies in this world anyway, that's what put me ill at ease with this. I don't want the pups to die, especially after coming this far, but I don't want her to die whelping either.  At what gestational age do the pups need to be to be viable? I've read 63 days. If she's between 49 and 56 days, will waiting till mid week or the end of next week be dangerous for her? I don't see much of a discharge today. She's still eating. Her gums are pale, not white, just pale pink. Her tummy is pretty loaded with pups from the look of the X-ray. They are almost all the way up to her lungs. There's about a little over an inch or so to spare. She definately doesn't have room to do natural whelping, it's going to have to be an assisted birth. The vet explained that an emergency C-section was far more expensive than a planned one, or to do this therapeutic abortion now and spay her. I understand that and I am in agreement with spaying afterwards, but not so much so with aborting the puppies. I've cried over this since he talked with us yesterday. I am so ready to call him and tell him that I don't want these pups to be aborted. I know that she's not ready to whelp. She has no milk. He said that she needs to be producing milk by the time she's ready to have the pups. I have bottles and milk supplement ready if she doesn't let down. Will she be able to nurse the pups after a C-sec? The vet told us that this surgery was going to be hard on her. Please forgive me, I'm only a nurse, but doesn't colostrum come in on dogs like with humans...after the birth? Can I give Maggie an iron supplement or something to support her so she doesn't go too terribly anemic or is there such a thing for dogs? I know these questions sound totally ignorant, but I am not used to pregnant dogs and I have been pacing like an expectant parent. I raise birds. I'll wait until I hear from you to make a decision as to when to let him do the surgery and what he can do. I'd rather have another expert opinion before making a decision on this.  Sorry to be such a pest.
Candy


Answer
The pups would do well closer to day 60 but if scheduled it wouldn't be an emergency would it?  

Females that have c-section can nurse and go on to have more litters (after a nice healthy rest period).  With proper care, they can bounce right back.

If her milk doesn't come in immediately, it can be induce with a shot of oxytocin.  You can also purchase colostrum at any animal feed store and supplemented to both pups and dam.  

My advice, get a second opinion.  I will agree with the vet about being more pups in the world than great owners BUT who's to say you won't be lucky enough to find those great owners?

Good luck