Whelping & Taking Female's Temperature

This is a placeholder text
Group text

by k9sar06 on 06 May 2009 - 23:05

How many days BEFORE the expected whelping date do you start taking your females temperature??

Also, take it twice a day or just once?

Everything I have read says 2x a day and starting at the 58th day.

by Rik on 06 May 2009 - 23:05

It has been over 10 years since I had a litter, but I always took temps as an indicator. The temp will of course rise, so you should have a baseline for your bitch's normal temp. Once this is established, I would take it morning and night starting at 58 days. If I recall correctly, a rise in temp. is an indicator of whelp within the next 12 hrs. or so.

Of course the best indicator is the bitch's actions, when she starts circling in the box and digging furiously, then whelp is immanent.

Good luck,
Rik

by Jody on 07 May 2009 - 01:05

I start taking temp on day 57 and take it 2 x a day.

by Sunsilver on 07 May 2009 - 01:05

Rik, have to correct you on that. The temperature drops before whelping:

Posted by vomlandholz :

I don't know how many pups your expecting, but my 2 females who gave anywhere from 7 to 13 pups, with the larger litters tended to go about 3-4 days early. Temp always dropped below 98.0 degrees and then within 24 hours of the 97.X temp

Good luck!

A dog's normal temp. is around 101 degrees F.

by shepherdmom on 07 May 2009 - 01:05

Drop in temp, not a rise

by LoveTheVADogs on 07 May 2009 - 02:05

Start taking her temperature about a week prior to her being due. Take it at the same time of day, whether you do it once, twice, or more times per day, so you have a baseline with which to compare later temperatures.Her temperature will actually DROP from 38-39 degrees Celsius (100-102 degrees Fahrenheit) down to 36-37 C (97-99 F) about 12 hours prior to whelping.

Go to this link: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/whelping.htm

You can also do a search for "whelping puppies" and it should have helpful information for you to read up on. There is a lot you should know before she starts whelping, so start reading up now.

by Baldursmom on 07 May 2009 - 03:05

The temp drop to 98 or lower is an indicator that the whelping will start within the next 24-48 hours or so, you should continue to take temps every four hours and watch for a return to normal temps (the rise). Once the temp returns to normal, active labor should start within about 12-24 hours. Some females go through the drop/rise faster than others and it can be differently with each pregnancy.

by chickadee on 07 May 2009 - 03:05

Take the temp of the dog about a week before due two times a day. If it drops to 98 degrees she will whelp within 24 hours. Get all your things ready and she should be introduced to whelp box two weeks before due. Make her comfortable with the area and have heat bulbs up for over the pups for two weeks. They do not produce anyway of making heat nor panting to cool either. Make sure all are sucking well before leaving them together as sometimes some loaf and you feel they are ok only to find one may not of gotten anything to eat and dies. Make sure all are sucking well and filling with milk, she hopefully came in with alot of it. I always feed my females 3 times a day during pregnancy and after giving milk replacement in her food to keep good milk for the pups. Good luck and hope we see photos of them all.

by k9sar06 on 07 May 2009 - 12:05

I took my girls temp last night & this morning to get a "baseline".
This is what her temp was:

9pm Weds. May 6, 2009 – 99.9*F

9am Thurs. May 7, 2009 – 99.8*F

Milk has just come in but no more "nesting" or anything else. She sleeps on the floor next to my bed upstairs or in the bed curled up with me. I guess starting tonight I will pull out the Hid-a-Bed and sleep downstairs next to the whelping box.

by tigermouse on 07 May 2009 - 18:05

from day 55 :)

Contact information Disclaimer Privacy Statement Copyright Information Terms of Service Cookie policy ↑ Back to top

Whelping & Taking Female's Temperature - Page 1

Pedigree Database