My dog is restless after giving birth, is it normal or side effect?

Be sure that Eris is eating and drinking approriately. She should be eating a high quality puppy food. She should have a small amount of vaginal discharge post birth but make sure there is not a large amount of blood or pass in the lochia. If possible you may want to take her temperature rectally, normal is 101-102.5. Also be sure the pups are latching on and nursing well that they don't appear sick or restless. If anything else is abnormal be on the whining I would recommend a veterinary visit for the whole crew just to make sure mom doesn't have a uterine infection, mastitis, or other complication of having puppies Good luck and I hope they all do well.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Bella! I think you need to bring her in to your vet again and have her rechecked. I specifically would ask them to check her calcium levels. Low calcium can manifest as very bizarre behavior and can be life threatening if not treated. If it isn't low calcium and she isn't better, it is still best to have her looked at again. Sometimes it can take some time for first time Mother's to accept their babies. Just keep putting her in the whelping box and allow the baby to nurse. I hope this helps and I wish you the best!

Heavy breathing is quite common in lactating females but it could also be a sign of milk fever which is a condition caused by lack of calcium in lactating new moms. if you also see lack of appetite, trembling and lethargy i would strongly recommend taking her to the vet urgently to get it treated.

If the panting is non stop then it is not normal but panting after giving birth is considered normal in the first 24 hours after birth. one of the reasons could be exhaustion but it could also be due to milk fever which is a condition caused by lack of calcium due to milk production. in such a case i would recommend a vet visit to check her calcium level and rectify it accordingly (usually by injection and oral calcium).

She needs to continue to eat puppy food which is high in calories and will help keep her from becoming hypocalcemic. She should not need supplemental calcium unless the vet has currently diagnosed her with hypocalcemia. She may be shaking because she is in discomfort from her recent labor. Keep an eye on her for the next 24 hrs and if the shaking continues you may want to give the calcium you got from your vet the last time she had an episode just to hold her over until she can be seen to make sure low calcium is truly the issue here. A simple blood test should be able to sort things out. I hope everything works out well for your pet Snow. Best wishes and take care.

My main recommendation is to check her temperature to make sure she does not have a fever (over 102.5). While it is normal for the temperature to rise for the first 24 hours after whelping, by now it should return to normal. If she does have a fever or the vaginal discharge has a foul smell, is increasing in volume, or she seems to be feeling any worse, then take her to the veterinarian. If you have a house call veterinarian in your area, that would be even better. Infection of the uterus, or metritis, is possible and should be taken seriously. At two days post-whelping, a reddish brown discharge is normal. If she has no fever and seems to be feeling better, then just make sure she has plenty to eat and lots of fresh water. Here is a link to a good article on nutrition. http://www.akc.org/content/dog-breeding/articles/the-care-and-feeding-of-the-breeding-bitch-part-two/ Thanks for using PetCoach.

If you have not had a veterinarian take x-rays to determine how many puppies are left you should take her to your veterinarian or an emergency hospital to make sure all puppies are out. She could still be in labor. Low calcium would be another possibility. This could also be a behavioral change. I would not be too concerned about no afterbirth or placentas - it is fairly rare for them to cause a problem when retained.