Preparing for dogs giving birth is a process that is rather complex,
but important to know. First, after about 35 days of pregnancy, the
mother’s caloric requirement will begin to increase, and in general,
she should require about twice as much food as usual.
The best nutritional plan is to buy a dog food that is approved for
growth and feed according to the package as such diets are balanced and
thus require no supplementation.
Some time around the 45th day, your dog should be examined by a
veterinarian and at this time, the skeletons of the unborn pups will
have mineralized and are thus visible on a radiograph.
Next in the process of dogs giving birth, your dog’s abdomen should
be x-rayed, so that you know how many pups you should be expecting. An
ultrasound can be used to confirm the pregnancy much earlier, but it is
more difficult to count the number of pups using this method.
When the most important part of your dogs giving birth process
nears, which is obviously the actual labor, you should begin monitoring
her rectal temperature, and when her temperature drops below 100°F,
then labor should be expected within 24 hours.
During the first stage of labor uterine contractions will begin, and
the go will most likely seem quite restless and may be shivering or
panting. The second stage is considered as the ‘hard labor’ stage, in
which the puppies start expelling, and then the third stage refers to
the expulsion of the placenta and afterbirth.
If you do not feel safe going through the labor process with dogs
giving birth by yourself, then you should know that there are certainly
people available that are qualified and experienced in this area and
who will be able to help you out throughout a process such as this, and
so if you need the help then you should make sure that you take full
advantage of it.