S— WHELPING OF PUPPIES 



4r - ^ 



^doof to 



^t Jo pups 

 10 front 



■<6*> 



The foregoing sketch was submitted by R. S. Foster, chow breeder who writes: "This 



arrangement keeps the chill off the puppies and does not make it too warm. Heat can 



be regulated and the heater is very cheap to run." 



Wash the region of the vulva. If 

 hair is long, cut it oif but not close. 

 The vaginal passage can be explored 

 carefully with rubbered finger for any 

 possible obstructions. The finger 

 should be vaselined, or better still, a 

 rubber glove worn. 



First Signs of Coming Family 



The first advance signs of whelp- 

 ing may be given as early as twenty- 

 four hours before the first puppy ar- 

 rives, and may consist of the refusal 

 of the bitch to eat, the tearing of 

 papers or other material into shreds 

 for a nest, or scratching and looking 

 about for a soft nest. 



In this as in most other activities 

 of bringing new life into the world, 

 instinct as a heritage from countless 

 past generations, can be trusted to "do 

 the right thing." ^ Nature is a good 

 midwife; do not interfere overly with 

 her. 



Beginning of Expulsion 



The rear parts of the bitch swell; 

 a slight discharge may be seen. The 

 travail or labor pains begin. The 

 muscles of the abdomen contract or 

 relax; the walls of the belly squeeze 

 and then relax. 



The mother may stretch out her 

 legs and appear suddenly to stiffen in 

 the entire body. Then the muscles 

 shorten or contract and the mother has 

 a moment's rest. 



Aids in Starting Labor 



If the bitch delays in laboring, a 

 finger exploration (rubber-covered) 

 may start the act. Sometimes taking 

 the bitch for a walk or even an auto 

 ride or having her travel up and down 

 the stairs may start the delayed 

 laboring. 



As we write this, a press dispatch states 

 that in New York City a five-year spitz 

 fell out of a third-story window, climbed 

 back upstairs, and promptly gave birth to 

 four ipuppies, mother and oflfspring doing: 

 well. 



If the first puppy is not delivered 

 from the womb thru the vagina within 

 six hours after pains begin, trouble 

 may result; a veterinarian should be 

 called promptly. 



Exercise before Whelping 



Castor oil as a purgative and a 

 stimulant to labor pains is not desir- 

 able. It may weaken the bitch when 

 she most needs strength. A brisk 

 walk outdoors just 'before labor pains 

 begin, is a better purgative and stimu- 

 lator. An emptied bladder is 

 desirable. 



Within the womb, the sac or en- 

 velope of mesh about the puppy is 

 loosening from the womb wall. The 

 puppy or developed fetus wrapped in 

 a membrane of its own, starts, with 

 the aid of the swelling and relaxing 

 of the mother's belly, to move down 

 one horn to the mouth of the uterus 



