My dog is in labor and struggling to push. Should I call the vet?

It can be up to 4 hours in between puppies. They need the break so they do not get exhausted. If she is heavily contacting and trying hard to push a pup out with no luck after 39 minutes then she needs medical attention. If there is a black or brown discharge then she needs medical help. The best thing to do is put her in a quiet dim place to let her rest and have the puppies. Check on her about every 30 minutes. She is unlikely to eat or drink during this hit offer her some just in case.

If Anastasia is having an issue giving birth (dystocia) then she needs to be seen by a vet as soon as possible. This is an emergency! This article may help you and answer more of your questions: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2109&aid=899 Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Poor Kimber! If she has been having obvious contractions for several hours with no signs of puppies, then this is a medical emergency. She should not be straining to push out a puppy for more than hour. This can be a sign she needs help giving birth, and she may need a c section to safely deliver her puppies. At this point in time, this is a medical emergency and leaving her without help can lead to the death of her puppies and possibly her. Please take her into an ER vet clinic; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website. Best of luck!

I am very worried about Bebe. If she hasn't had any puppies for 6 hours, but still has puppies inside, I would definitely recommend to take her to a veterinarian. Sometimes a puppy can be stuck in the birth canal or the mom gets so tired from pushing that her uterus is no longer able to contract to push the puppies out. Both of these situations are dangerous for the puppies and Bebe. The veterinarian will examine her to see if there is a puppy stuck in the birth canal and will most likely recommend taking and x-ray to see how many puppies she still has inside. Depending on what they find, they may recommend doing a c-section. In most cases, this is the only way to try and save the mother and the puppies. I am so sorry. I know this is a very scary situation.

She needs to be eating something, or she will have very little energy for the whelping. Take her to the vet for xrays, then you'll know the size of the litter and will know if she's having trouble or needs a c section. While there, ask for cerenia injections for the next few days, as this is a fantastic anti-nausea drug that has all kinds of benefits. In this case, I'm hoping it will get her eating for you. If she had a dead pup last litter, that tells me she may be dealing with some uterine inertia during labor, and could benefit from calcium or oxytocin injections, but this requires your working with a reproduction veterinarian through this process. Hope that helps, and best of luck!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If she has been having active contractions for more than 4 hours with out the delivery of a puppy this is an emergency. Greater Swiss can have trouble giving birth and we have many in our area then need C-sections. Below is a handout I give clients. I would call your Vet as soon as possible to discuss. Whelping and When to be Concerned Stages of Labor: -Stage 1 tends to start 10-24 hours after temperature drop (usually below 99 F). -Stage 1: nesting. Can persist for 3-24 hours before abdominal contractions begin -Stage 2: Visible abdominal contractions. FIRST PUPPY SHOULD ARRIVE WITH IN 1-2 HOURS. -Stage 3: passage of placenta. Usually occurs within 15 mins of passing puppy. If it does not happen, don’t worry. When to worry/Call: -Strong contractions > 45-60 mins without birth of a puppy -Weak and infrequent contractions >4-6 hours without birth of puppy ->4-5 hours between puppies (after birth of first puppy without birth of the next puppy). On average a puppy is born every 45-60 mins. HOWEVER, the mother can often rest for several hours between puppies. This rest period is NOT associated with contractions and usually doesn’t exceed 4-6 hours. -If one puppy is born and she is having VISIBLE contractions for >2 hours without 2nd puppy. Recommend calling around 1 hour mark to talk to someone. -Failure to enter active labor (contractions) 24-36 hours after rectal temp falls below 99 F -Mother is in obvious pain: biting at vulva, crying) -No puppy within 2 hours of seeing green vaginal discharge -No puppy within 1 hour of seeing clear fluid from vulva (rupture of allantochorion) -No puppy within 1 hour of seeing a clear/water filled balloon at vulvar lips (puppy is in birth canal)

Poor Angel! If she's been having contractions for several hours and has not produced any puppies yet, something is definitely wrong. The puppies may be too large to be born naturally, or one may be stuck in an awkward position in the birth canal. I would recommend taking her to the vet right away to be checked, as she may need an emergency c-section.