Saturday, 8 May 2010

Signs whelping is getting near

Several days before whelping you can notice (although each bitch is different)
- Appetite gradually diminishes (yeah right, surely this is not going to happen, at any rate, Jess would be happy to consume an entire cow at the moment :)
- Bitch becomes restless and sedentary
- Stomach muscles relax and abdomen becomes more pendulous and distended
- Mammary glands enlarge

At this stage it's advised to start taking the bitch's temperature as this is one of the most predictable, nearly constant indicator that whelping is imminent (see next post).  The temperature should be taken three times a day (at the same time each day) and the results recorded. It is of little use to only take a couple of random measurements.  Got a digital thermometer but not so sure Jess is going to be very receptive of the method of obtaining the temperature (neither am I for that !)

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