my dog laboure

Question
Hi there dispite reading many books etc i feel sometimes this is not enough,my rotty mated first time on the 10/05/09 but this was the males first time as well as females first time, the last time mated was around the 15/05/2009
she has milk she has been sick every morning for last week she has been panting alot for last week my vet says to watch her this is what im doing ,,,,but her temp has been up and down now for a week or so ranging from 38.3
down to 37.1 her temp can drop from 38 to 37.1 in a couple of hours is there any signs of laboure ,,,today temp this morning 37.5  now 38.1 ???????
lots of milk and lots of panting ,,,,she has been loosing mucus disscharge ?

sorry to ask but id rather ask then not know thankyou emma xx

Answer
Hi. I'm not good at converting celcius into F. So, honestly, I'm not sure what her temp is. With the panting, and losing the mucus plug though, it sounds like she's getting very close. the first part of labor, panting, digging, maybe trying to hide, can last up to 24 hours before the birth of the first puppy. The temp can also go up and down, it depends on if you took it after she exercised, slept, ate, ect. If it goes below 98, then that's usually a sign that labor should start shortly. Hope I answered your question.