Do Dogs have False Labor? - Page 1

Rose has fooled me twice this week.  Do dogs have false labor, similar to humans?

Twice this week, Rose's temp has dropped to low 99.   Yesterday she even started nesting a lot, breathing heavy, and had a mucus like discharge.  This went on until about 1 am this morning, then she went to sleep.  Temp is back up to 99.9 and she is moving around (sort of) with no indications of labor.

What's her due date?

From the signs, she's about ready to pop. When the mucus plug in the cervix goes, labour can't be far away. However, if she's past her due date, I'd make a vet appointment to make sure everything is okay!

Often, if there are only one or two pups in the womb, there may not be enough hormones present to get labour going, and she will need a C-section, or the pups will die.

An x-ray will show how many pups are in there.

99 is not low enough to start labor more like 98, but if she has the mucus come out it will be very soon, if worried call your vet.

April 16th marks 63 days from 1st tye.  So I estimate her date to be around the 18th.

Fawndallas - these are the first signs of stage 1 labor.... she is in labor now.

Agree with Sunsilver - very small litter, or one huge (plug) puppy in an average litter can cause this.

Also if this is a very large litter or the puppies are very large, sometimes the uterus can be stretched to capacity and it cannot contract correctly. This happened to me a while back. My bitch kept acting like she was in labor, including digging, nervousness, fast panting etc... for a full 24 hours. I took her to the vet a c-section was required. We were all shocked that 10 huge puppies all over 1lb 4oz were inside and needed to come out. This bitch weighs about 75 lbs. Vet said that the placentas were already starting to detached and if I'd waited even 6 more hours many would not have made it. I went with the little voice in my head that said "something not right" and most likely saved the puppies and mama dog too.

Ok.....
The mucus that I am seeing is like a clear string hanging out when she goes to the bathroom.  I noticed this yesterday morning. 

Intense nesting yesterday and last night.  This stopped about 1 am this morning.

Heavy breathing started late yesterday afternoon.  This stopped about 1 am this morning.

Temp yesterday evening was 99.1.   It ran in the lower 99 most of yesterday.

Today temp is back up to 99.9

Today No nesting

Today I still see the mucus dripping out when she goes to the bathroom.  When I inspect though, I do not see anything.

Still eating like a horse (this started 2 days ago)

She is so huge now, she can't even turn around to get to her tail.  She nearly doubled in side these last 2 days.

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I know if I call either vet, they will both say to come in.  Downside, the one closest to me (45 min) I do not trust and she is only in case of an emergency; and my regular vet is 130 miles from me (one way).  I do not want to stress Rose out with that long of a trip unless absolutly necessary.

If I wait another 24 hours to see if any thing changes:
What do I look for to say "stop waiting, get her to the vet?"  Or " now this is an emergency, get her to the 45 min away vet"?

Good for you, SM! 

Fawndallas, there is really NO way of knowing what's going on in there without a trip to the vet. However, since she hasn't passed her first due date yet, that gives you a little leeway, though not all dogs go 63 day with a pregnancy.

I would maybe give her a little more time and see what happens. Like I said, once that mucus plug goes, the pups can't be too far behind! One tip I was given to help stimulate labour was to get the bitch up and walking, but this was for a female that was definitely in full-blown labour, and had already birthed a couple of puppies. It did work, though. We even ran her up and down some stairs to help thing along!

I've helped with the delivery of 2 litters, and am a registered nurse, so I have good medical knowledge. Let's see what the more experienced people on the board have to say.

I look for a drop below 99 degrees--above 99 doesn't seem to count.

Do you know when she ovulated--that can give you a better estimate than going on the first tie. 

I have no idea when she ovulated .  I decided to go ahead and at least go get the Xrays done at the closer vet.  We are scheduled for 1 pm.  That will at least tell me the litter size and give me a warm and fuzzy that everything is ok.  I think I am just being overly worried.

Rose is sound asleep now, so I doubt she is in labor.

Thank you everyone for the hand holding.....

Good luck at the vet!