During the dog's pregnancy, one of the main concerns is the time of delivery. To deal with it with guarantees, it is important that we have followed veterinary check-ups marked by our veterinarian during pregnancy. We must also pay attention to the feeding of the pregnant dog, since her nutritional needs are going to change.
In addition, we must offer her a quiet place where she can make her nest and give birth under control but without interference. Finally, in this article on our site we will explain how long a dog goes into labor, so that we know how to help her and identify when to ask our veterinarian for help.
How to know if a dog is in labor?
Before explaining how long a dog's labor lasts, we must know how to identify the signs of labor in a bitch that will indicate that labor is beginning. Some of them are as follows:
- Her rectal temperature dropsto 37.5°C or less about 12-18 hours before labor begins, although this does not occur in all bitches.
- Loss of appetite about 12-24 hours before delivery.
- Those 12-24 hours before giving birth the mother she will be restlessand may look for a place to build the nest. If we have not already done so, it will be time to take her to the place that we have prepared for her, although, if she does not accept it, we should not force her. Yes, we will be able to transfer the family after the birth.
- The bitch's restlessness may indicate that she is beginning to feel contractions, which are the movements of the uterus that will help expel the puppies
- A female dog that gasps, licks her vulva and even vomits is in labor.
- If we see yellowish fluid, it will be amniotic fluid from a ruptured bag. A cub should be born in a few minutes.
The process of parturition in the bitch
To know how long a dog's labor lasts, we must be clear that it takes place in several phases, which are the following:
- The first phase lasts 6-12 hours. It produces contractions that dilate the cervix so that the puppies can come out. This stage may be undetectable, although some bitches will be restless or uncomfortable.
- In the second phase the contractions become more intense and press the first puppy against the cervix, which stimulates the bitch to push. When the cervix is fully dilated, the puppy will emerge to the outside. She can do it inside her bag or it can break first. How long it takes for a female dog to give birth after her waters break will be just a few minutes. The bitch will lick the puppy and cut the umbilical cord. How long it takes a bitch to give birth from puppy to puppy is highly variable, ranging in intervals of between 15 minutes to 2 hours
- The third stage of labor corresponds to the expulsion of the placenta, a few minutes after the birth of the puppy. It is common for the dog to ingest it. It's a good idea to count them, as there should be as many as there are puppies. An unexpelled placenta can lead to infections.
The duration of a bitch's labor
In summary, how long does the birth of a bitch last, taking as an example a litter of 4-6 puppies, it will be 6-8 hours, although it can be prolongedthe larger the litter. The birth of each puppy is preceded by between 5-30 minutes of the active phase of labor. Although the usual thing, as we have said, is that the interval between births is from 15 minutes to 2 hours, it can take up to 3-4 hours.
One way to know if the bitch has finished giving birth is to do an x-ray or ultrasoundbefore giving birth to know the number of puppies that she bears. Thus, we will only have to count the little ones born to see if the data coincide. If we observe that the bitch pushes for 30-60 minutes and no puppy is born, we must call the vet urgently
If it is the first time that the bitch has puppies and we wonder how long the delivery of a first-time bitch lasts, we must know that we can manage the same times as those that we have already explained, that is, there will be no significant differences between a first calving and subsequent ones.
Complications in the delivery of a bitch
To finish we will talk about the possible problems in the delivery of a bitch, and knowing how long a bitch's delivery lasts can be altered in cases of dystocia, which will involve the prolongation of any of the stages of childbirth. Dystocia can be caused by a physical obstruction or by uterine inertia, which implies that the The uterus fails to contract strongly enough to expel the pup.
The obstruction is usually caused by the excessive size of the puppy or its incorrect placement in the birth canal. This channel may also be too narrow. We can suspect obstruction if the mother pushes for 30-60 minutes without any pup being born. Veterinary assistance is needed and C-section may be required
Uterine inertia can be primary, when contractions don't even start, or secondary, when there has been a prolonged effort that ends up exhausting the uterine muscles. This can occur when an obstruction is resolved and the bitch is in labor and not pushing because the uterus may be fatigued. These cases usually end in caesarean section.
The vet should look for the cause of the primary uterine inertia, which can be a litter of few puppies or a very large one, stress or calcium deficiency. If this cannot be corrected, a caesarean section will also be necessary.
