Chevelle had puppies on Sunday. She did very good and no puppies were lost during birthing. She took an unusual break from 11.30 pm till 3 am – and then she had her 11th pup, her last baby came at 8.30 pm. Very often there will be a long break between puppies about half way through. You can take the bitch outside, although she may not want to leave the puppies (you should encourage her!). Again, you’ll want to keep a close eye on her to make sure she doesn’t deliver a puppy out there and not know what to do with it.

The puppies can come as quickly as 15 minutes apart or as long as an hour apart. If the bitch goes more than an hour and you are think there are more puppies, call your vet! There may be a puppy stuck and you’ll want to ensure that you get it out as soon as possible. Observe if she is struggling to push the puppy out or if she is taking a break. Sometimes you may want to stimulate her to make her contract – you can do that by inserting your index finger into her vulva and gently tickling. this method is called feathering and should produce strong contractions. Sometimes an oxitocin shot may be needed.

When your bitch is finished whelping, you’ll notice her calm down. Her breathing will slow and the contractions will stop. You should take the bitch and her puppies to the vet within the next four or five hours if at all possible.

Tags: american bulldog giving birth, method to make a bitch contract

This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 11:30 pm and is filed under Advice for Breeders, American Bulldog Puppies -Chevelle x Cooper 2008. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.