the birth of puppies

hi i have a little shihtzu wich i have mated and im not sure what to do when she is about to give birth any tips?

Hi welcome to Dogweb.

Have you got 'The Book of the Bitch'? That's a brilliant book on pregnancy and whelping. No matter wot's tips are given nothing prepares you for the real thing. Good luck

Hello and welcome, there's loads on info on the net, but like staffy said nothing prepares you!

The very best of luck.

normally its 63-64 days from mating til the pups are due, I edited this to say yes the book of the bitch is a great book to read, be prepared for sleepless nights, do you know when they are due?

Mo

Hello miss lucy and welcome to DW
Read as much as you can about whelping,most bitches whelp without any problems and without any assistants from us humans.But you should have numbers ready to your vet, emergency clinic,your breeder and so on,just in case.
This is what I had:mountains of newspapers and towels,a scale to wheigh the newborns, pen and paper,baby wipes,a clock,the room was the right temperature 22 celcius,
I have probably missed a few things... Im sure others will fill in what I have missed..

Good luck to you

Hello Miss Lucy welcome to Dogweb , as Staffy says 'The book of the bitch' is very good (and you can get it on Amazon ) Post your info on when the litter is due in the 'health' section and we will help you all we can

When my bitch was pregnant, this is how it went,
I checked her temp regularly, and near the due time it did drop slightly, in the evening she was very restless, walking in and out all the time wanting to wee etc, a little later her waters broke, and I put her into welping box(we had this for about 2 weeks before she was due and introduced her to it) after some time she started to dig in welping box, and sit/squirm about, then her contractions were visible, I watched for some time and eventually she started to yelp a little and try to stand, at this point she started to squat like having a wee, a minute later she gave birth to her first, as it was her first litter I was prepared to assist if necessary, and she seemed taken back by this thing that had just arrived, and was trying to get to it, I was concerned she would not help the pup so with her I cleaned the sac away and actually tore the cord for her so she could see, I did this by useing my finger and thumb nails, she was licking the pup frantically, I then placed the pup onto mum to feed, which she did, after some time it started again this time I left her to it, and just stood by in case she need help,, she did'nt, she gave birth to 6 puppies and dealt with them herself, with me just sitting near reassuring her all was fine. I also gave her drinks inbetween the pups to keep up her energy. It was a wonderful experience, one I will never forget, and she was just the best mother.

MO

Hi and welcome to DW, best of luck with the bitch and pups, advice is always on offer here!

Hi Miss Lucy
have you tired contacting your breeder for advice too - shes been through this before remember
Good luck

Warm welcome to dogweb, best of luck with the pups....