Whelpday / Labor
Signs of labor in dogs
Labor is a temperature chart, a change in behavior, and then pushing. The dangerous patterns are specific: hard straining that produces nothing, green-black fluid with no puppy, and a mother who is weakening. Your clinic’s instruction beats this page. If you are unsure, call.
The week before
Nesting, a dropped appetite, and clearer mammary development can show up in the last few days. Milk may leak, or it may not appear until a puppy is born. A clear or mucous discharge can be normal late in pregnancy. None of these, alone, means she will deliver tonight. Green or black-green fluid is different at any point: that is placental pigment, and it belongs with a puppy very soon. Seen days before the window, it is a same-day call, not a note for morning.
False pregnancy can mimic nesting and milk in a dog who is not pregnant or who lost the litter. If there is any doubt she is carrying puppies, an ultrasound or a clinic relaxin test answers that. The due date calculator does not.
The temperature drop
Start rectal temperatures twice or three times a day about a week before the earliest likely due date, so you know her normal number. Most resting dogs sit around 100.5–102.5°F (38–39.2°C). A fall of about 1°C (roughly 2°F) below her own baseline, often under 99°F (37.2°C), commonly shows up 8–24 hours before active pushing. It can bounce back up before you notice labor. Some dogs whelp with no clear drop. A normal reading is not permission to leave her alone overnight if other signs are stacking up.
Use a digital rectal thermometer and a water-based lubricant. Insert it gently, only as far as it slides easily, about an inch (2 cm), and wait for the beep. If she fights hard, stop. An ear or forehead thermometer is not reliable enough for this decision. Write down the time and the number. The pattern matters more than one dramatic reading.
Stage 1: restless, not yet pushing
She may pant, pace, dig at bedding, look at her flank, refuse food, shiver, or vomit once. This stage often lasts 6–12 hours and can run toward a day. The temperature drop, if you are going to see one, usually belongs here. Call if restless panting has gone on more than about 12 hours without a move into real pushing, or sooner if she seems weak or you see green-black fluid. Do not start a stopwatch and then ignore how she looks.
Stage 2: pushing and puppies
Contractions become visible. The abdomen tightens and she bears down. Many first puppies arrive within 30–60 minutes of strong pushing. Later puppies often follow every half hour to hour. A whole litter may take a few hours. Some normal deliveries run longer, with a rest between pups when she stops straining and tends the ones already born. The pattern that should not wait is active straining that produces nothing.
A puppy may come head first or hind feet first. Both happen in dogs. Have a towel ready. If she does not clear the mouth and nose, you can wipe the face and use a bulb syringe at the nostrils and lips: squeeze the bulb first, then release, and do not push it down the throat. Dry the puppy if she does not, and put it back on a nipple once she is settled. Do not swing puppies. Do not pull a puppy unless a veterinarian has already shown you how for this birth. Traction done wrong injures the puppy and the mother.
Stage 3: placentas
A placenta may come with each puppy or after the next one. She may eat them. That is common. You can take them away if a pile of them upsets her stomach; she does not need to eat them. Counting is useful and often incomplete. A retained placenta is a question for the vet, not something to search for at home. Do not pull on a cord. If nobody has shown you how to tie and cut a cord, leave it to her or to the clinic.
After the last puppy
She should settle, drink, and pay attention to the litter. Puppies should be warm, drying, and nursing within a few hours. A newborn who stays cold, limp, or separate needs help the same hour — warmth first, and a call. Weigh them when she is calm. A puppy who is not gaining by the next day needs a vet, not a longer experiment with formula.
For the mother, watch the first day for foul discharge, bleeding that soaks bedding, collapse, repeated vomiting, or no interest in the pups. Trembling, stiffness, panting that is new, or seizures can be eclampsia and are an emergency, especially in a small dog nursing a large litter. Do not treat that at home with leftover calcium. Book the check the clinic asked for, often within a day or two.
The supply list is the printable whelping checklist. Where day 56 sits on her calendar depends on how she was dated; that is the pregnancy calculator.
Questions
How long does dog labor last?
The restless first stage often lasts 6–12 hours and can run toward a day. Active pushing for a litter is often a few hours, with puppies every 30–60 minutes, and some normal births include a quiet gap. Hard straining for 30 minutes with no puppy, or weak labor for about two hours with no puppy, is a reason to call rather than to extend the clock.
Is green discharge an emergency?
Green or black-green fluid means the placenta is separating. A small amount just as a puppy arrives can be normal. The same fluid with no puppy within about 30 minutes is a reason to call. Seen well before the due window, it should not wait until morning.
What temperature means labor is close?
Compare her with herself. A drop of about 1°C (roughly 2°F) below the baseline you recorded, often under 99°F (37.2°C), commonly comes 8–24 hours before active labor. One low number can be a bad reading. No drop at all does not rule labor out. Use a rectal thermometer, and record the time.