MATING AND PARTURITION CARE

Audrey Haag e Gilberto Mello Reis – Veterinary Physicians

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Mating

When we intend to mate a bitch, some special care must be taken even before the heat period starts. It is advisable to wait at least for the third heat so as to ensure the bitch reaches the ideal conditions of physical development and also a little more maturity, so that she is able to look after the litter without hurting them. The youngest bitches are sometimes too reckless and end up unwillingly causing accidents.

Among the most important procedures to be followed before the heat is the dysplasia test. (click here to read the specific text about dysplasia). That test must be carried out on all dogs of the Labrador breed as well as on other breeds that present propensity for such ill formation. The dysplasia test must be done from one year of age and the dog must be sedated so that correct positioning is possible, as the rear legs need to be well stretched with no resistance from the dog. After having a radiography taken, the dog must be microchiped or tattooed with the number of his or her pedigree so that one can identify for sure such dog’s report. In case your veterinarian can’t take x-rays, he or she will certainly be able to appoint some colleague who can produce the official report.

be able to appoint some colleague who can produce the official report.

Also frequently requested at the time of mating is the Brucellosis test. (click here to know where to have it done), as that illness is highly infectious through mating and the treatment is very difficult. This test requires merely a blood sample and some days in advance, as the results come a few days later.

Naturally, all vaccinations and the faeces test must be up-to-date before the heat period starts.

Finally, the big moment has come: choosing the male to be the sire of the litter. It is important to use some common sense at this moment. It is necessary evaluating frankly both good and bad qualities of the bitch; so as to make the perfect match when considering the future ‘husband’. The bad qualities of the female can be corrected by mating her with a male who is strong where she is weak and vice-versa. For instance, when the bitch has a light head, a perfect-headed male must be chosen and so on.

I usually mate my bitches by the tenth day of bleeding and initiate the pre-birth procedures shortly after. I find it advisable to have your veterinarian start the follow up as soon as possible.

Litter

The bitch has mated and the big day is getting closer. The birth usually happens within 58 to 63 days after first mating. So what about now?

Dam and puppies after birth  in the whelping box

For a start, just don’t panic! Bitches usually know very well how to deal with that, specially those who had all their needs fulfilled during pregnancy, such as good nourishment and the follow up from her veterinarian.

Do try to find in advance a fairly good place for your bitch to give birth. Start the process some time before by making the spot an interesting and comfortable one for her, in case that is not the place where she normally stays. Provide some box made of wood, fiber or any other material which can be thoroughly cleansed and which is able to keep the temperature more or less stable. You may use newspapers to cover it after allowing at least one week for the smell of paint to drain away, so that no possible hazard will be caused to the dam and her puppies. Try to choose a spot which is at the same time warm and with lots of fresh air, as after birth the puppies have no constant body temperature, needing then the warmth from their dam to keep their own temperature up. It is for that reason that the size of the box is also very important. It must be large enough to allow dam and puppies to move and comfortably lay down for suckling but it shouldn’t be too large as to allow puppies to move away too far from the dam, as they will have a hard time finding her again and keeping their bodies warm.

Suckling puppies

In most cases, the females don’t eat and assume some strange behavior on the day they give birth; some try to hide away while others will only remain next to their owners. Try to respect the bitch’s will as much as possible as she will fell more secure if you help her. When she starts digging the ground (and that happens whether or not your house has a garden) it is a sign that the contractions have started. That process might take a few hours until the bitch reaches the necessary dilatation and contractions are happening with might and main, so as to expel the puppies. They will be born one after one and there can be an interval of up to 2 hours in between births and still everything will be going on fine and right as expected.

Each puppy comes involved in a sack called placenta; it will be full of fluid and if it doesn’t tear apart during the birth, the female will do it herself. She must swallow all the placenta and cut the umbilicus with her own teeth; then she will start licking intensively her puppy so as to stimulate him or her to breathe and to clear the muzzle and the mouth from any fluids still remaining inside the placenta. Many people get scared thinking the bitch will eat the puppy or that she simply won’t know what to do; that could possibly happen but then these are abnormal situations that may affect bitches who are emotionally unstable or ill-nourished. Therefore, just don’t panic and let the nature take its course.

The dam licks the puppies to stimulate  them to urinate and defecate

Right after birth, the puppies weep and suckle. Don’t be surprised if while trying to suckle the puppy sucks on the dam’s vulva; this is also quite normal and it doesn’t mean the puppy missed the path. He or she is actually acquiring harmless bacteria that are essential for the formation of the intestinal flora. The dam must also lick the puppies so as to stimulate them to urinate and defecate, as they still won’t manage to do these things on their own. When the whole thing comes to an end, the dam relaxes and sleeps for a while, indicating thus that there are no more puppies left to be born. Some bleeding will eventually come out from the bitch’s vagina, with a color ranging from red to brown and it will lessen down until it finally stops some 15 to 20 days after birth. Don’t forget that while the suckling goes on, the bitch will be much hungrier than she normally is. She will need thus more nourishment than usual and most of all lots of water so as to produce milk.

Do consult your bitch’s veterinarian for all the necessary orientation before and after birth.