I have some questions about my nursing dog. Is the breathing normal? Her firm abdomen? Her temperature? Behavior?
First off, I am 16, so please don't rant at me for irresponsible breeding and not being able to take her to the vet. I cannot afford to do that because I don't have a job, and my dad won't because of financial issues. My brothers were too stubborn to not get their male dogs fixed, so please only nice answers. She gave birth to 6 healthy puppies the night of July 3rd into the 4th over the span of three hours. Today is day 5 of the puppies' lives. All of them lived and are eating perfectly well. For the first few days, momma dog did not have much of an appetite, but she would drink perfectly well. She would however pant a lot and when she wasn't panting, she'd breathe quick and shallow. She's not panting anymore, but her breathing is still heavy, quick and shallow. I fill her food bowl up all the way every meal time (I soak dry food in water to make it soft and then mix in half a can). She's drinking fine, going to the bathroom fine and running around and barking when she's outside. But when she comes in she is very calm and just wants to lay there. Her discharge is the normal brownish color, and there's not excessive amounts. She's caring for her babies very well and is super protective when it comes to the other animals getting near. She's had diarrhea, but I read that eating the placenta causes that. I'm not 100% sure if all the placenta came out or not, because she wouldn't let me get that close and was very focused on licking herself (continued in comments)
Jaye2015-07-08T05:42:29Z
Her discharge is brown, not green or black and doesn't really have a smell to it. Her abdomen is firm, but I don't know if it's considered hard because I don't know what it's supposed to feel like. She's eating, drinking, taking care of her pups fine. She has a spot on her jowl that is pink and hairless but it doesn't seem to bother her and I'm wondering if it's due to the bacteria from cleaning the pups waste. Her temperature is normal. Her breasts not red or hard and the milk is white. So here are my questions.
Should I be worried about retained placenta or pups even though there's no smelly or green/black discharge?
Is her abdomen supposed to be kind of firm?
aren't momma dogs supposed to be skinny for about a week or so after birth? She's back to her normal weight if not a little heavier.
She barks and runs and plays outside but just lays with the pups when she's inside. Is that normal?
How can I convince my father to take her to the vet if need be? Make up something?
I'm sorry but, especially with a novice breeder, best practice is, once you think the whelping had finished, to take mum and her puppies to your vet so he can examine her to see if she is empty and if he's concerned, give her a shot to clear out anything that's retained - or even x-ray. And to check the litter for any abnormalities you might have missed.
It could well be that she has something retained, placenta or even a dead puppy and if this is the case, right now she's in big trouble.
It could be that, as often is the case with pet bitches, she's having a hard time switching off from 'pet mode', to 'mum mode'. And for sure GET ALL OTHER HOUSEHOLD PETS RIGHT AWAY FROM HER. This won't be helping and if she doesn't just attack another pet in the same area, she could turn on her puppies in a misguided attempt to protect them.
Diarrhoea, in moderation can be seen after whelping, especially if she did consume a lot of the placenta.
You're not sure if all the placenta came out, which is the EXACT reason why she AND her litter should have been taken to the Vet the day after she whelped. If there is retained placenta material or even a possible dead puppy that didn't come out, she will end up with a HUGE uterine infection, and if not treated, she could even die from that. This is why she needed to go to the Vet. The Vet would have given her an injection of Oxytocin to clean her out. So, tell your Dad it's not too late to have this done. If you can afford to breed, you can afford Vet care. Even if this was an *oops* breeding, you and your family allowed it to happen. So, regardless, your b*tch NEEDS to go to the Vet ASAP, and those pups should be checked as well.
If you have a worthless family, then unfortunately there is very little you can do. Call a breed rescue and see if they are willing to take the dam and the litter and find them decent homes.
EDIT: Re OP's comment: If you don't think your family are worthless, try describing them more positively next time, jerk. I am only reflecting what YOU told us. Not my problem that you hate them.