My dog just had puppies. What vet care is needed for the mom?

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Nala definitely needs to be seen by vet as she still may have more puppies or retained placenta inside. Please, get in touch with your emergency vets tonight or your local vets in the morning as the latest and get her checked over. Nala will likely require an ultrasound scan of the abdomen and possibly a blood test to find out what is going on.

I recommend a vet visit to make sure that she doesn't have any retained placentas or another dead pup inside. Both these conditions can set her up for life-threatening infection. If she is eating and drinking normally, and does not have a high temperature, she is likely ok.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. You don't need to take her to the vet right away, however there are a few things you should watch for and do. 1. Feed a high quality canned puppy food, she needs the energy and water 2. Watch for any face rubbing, twitching, seizures- these are signs of low calcium and this is a life-threatening condition, if any of this occurs get her to a vet right away. 3. Make sure the puppies are all suckling, and make sure Lila is licking them and cleaning them up. 4. Keep their enclosure clean and dry 5. Try to handle the puppies as little as possible and let Lila do her thing, instincts should take over 6. Call your vet about getting a dewormer for Lila. Also discuss her vaccine status 7. Keep any other dogs away, the puppies are at risk of getting viruses and infections. 8. You will need to have the puppies dewormed starting at 2 weeks of age, so make an appointment for then with your vet. 9. Weigh the puppies twice a day on a small gram scale. They should continue to gain weight, if they aren't, call your vet. Best of luck with your little ones, have fun!

If you suspect there are more puppies that have not been born yet it is best to seek emergency care ASAP, especially if she has gone several hours without producing another puppy. Your vet may be able to examine or X-ray her to see if any more puppies are in the birth canal. Most small breed dogs typically only have 1-2 puppies in a litter normally, but there can be exceptions and if she seems in distress or you suspect a stuck puppy, seeking care ASAP is needed.

The best time to take the puppies and their mother to the vet would be at 6 weeks when they will get a puppy exam checking for birth defects, overall health, get dewormed, and receive their first vaccination against parvo virus.

There is not much care that is specifically needed for prenatal care in dogs. Most regular daytime vets can take care of Nani while she is baking her puppies. The most common vet care that happens pre-puppy birthing is x-rays or ultrasound to count the number of puppies, these can done my most General Practice veterinarians. If you are instead looking for a vet to help your dog become pregnant, you will need to look for vets that provide reproductive services. A quick google search doesn't tell me who provides these services. We don't have a national listing for vet specialists, so you may have to call a few vets and ask specifically for reproductive specialists, or who they would refer these services to.

Great choice! If she has already weaned her pups, she can be spayed any time. Just call up your local spay neuter clinic or regular veterinarian. They may recommend a vet visit first to get a checkup and to get updated on vaccines, but not all places require this. We are used to seeing first -timers so don’t worry about that. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Bailey!