CARE AND MANAGEMENT DURING WHELPING OF BITCH
i. Nagargoje Shital Dhanaji
MVSc Scholar, Division of Physiology and Climatology
ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly (U.P).
ii. Dr.Vijay Panchal
MVSc Scholar, Division of LPM,
MVC,Mumbai(MH).
iii. Dr.Manojkumar Pande
MVSc Scholar, Division of Vetterinary Extension
COVAS,Parbhani (MH).
INTRODUCTION:
Canine pregnancy lasts 65 ± 1 days from the luteinizing hormone (LH) surge (day 0). Bitches during whelping need extra care and attention. Apart the regular physical examinations, some of necessary measures are need to be focused on prevention of metabolic disturbances or treatment of disorders of the immediate puerperal period.
A bitch should be introduced to the whelping area at least 1 week before the expected parturition, which should be safe and quiet and provide the privacy and comfort required for the dam to be acclimatized and ready for parturition.
Providing a whelping box should be just slightly larger than the mother, with sides between 6 and 8 inches wide to keep the pups from crawling out of the nest.
Ensure fresh clean and dry bedding is inside the box. Newspapers make excellent bedding as they can be quickly adjusted, are absorbent, and can be shredded by the mother while she makes her “nest”.
A heat lamp placed over one corner of the box (not over the middle of the box). Make sure the lamp is put high enough to prevent the bitch from being burnt or chewed on the electric cable.
Check mother’s rectal temperature twice daily from the 58th day of pregnancy before labour starts. Standard rectal temperature ranges from 100.5°F (38°C) to 102°F (38.9°C).
The rectal temperature decreases approximately 2 degrees or below 99°F (37.2°C) within 24 hours of the start of labour. However not all bitches show a drop in temperature before the whelping.
Clip hair away from the breasts & vulva.
It is advisable to analyze blood glucose and serum calcium (preferred ionized calcium) levels and packed cell volume during the prenatal visit.
Physical examination should include a digital vaginal examination to detect any obstructions to the soft tissue (strictness or masses) and evaluate the vaginal area for excessive oedema.
Observe signs of labour (nesting, not eating that day, discharge from the vagina, and increased activity such as digging or pacing).
Check the breasts for milk.
Check the temperature of the whelping box directly below the lamp (maximum 80- 85 F) and raise or lower the lamp as required.
Check the bitch for signs of labour several times during the day and night between day 63-67 (estimated whelping date from day 0, average day 65).
WHEN TO CALL THE VETERINARIAN:
The bitch may usually whelp as late as d67, if Gestation lasts longer than 67 days from the LH surge, 65 days from ovulation, 60 days from day 1 of the diestrus, or more than 72 days from first breeding, the veterinarian should be notified.
More than 4 hours from the first chorioallantois break and the first puppy delivery.
Over 30 minutes of hard strain without a puppy’s delivery,
If there has been a drop in temperature, but there are no signs of labor within 24 hours.
More than 2 hours between the delivery of puppies.
Any substantial green-black discharge in excess of 1–2 hours prior to delivery of the first fetus or increasing / large volumes of green-black discharge without signs of uterine contractions.
Some major frank bloody discharge at any time during delivery
Bitches with acute abdominal pain, collapse, or shock-like symptoms on or during work.
On average, most bitches give birth to one puppy per hour, but some are slower or faster. Generally speaking, if the time between pups increases and it’s a larger litter, the pups at the end may be weak at delivery.
Call your veterinarian if pups are becoming increasingly weaker by birth order.
If there is any question whether all the pups have been born or not, call the veterinarian.
CRITERIA FOR CESAREAN SECTION:
Complete primary uterine inertia
Partial primary uterine inertia unresponsive to medical management
Secondary uterine inertia
Obstructive abnormality of the pelvic canal
Fetal malposition that cannot be corrected
Fetal death
Relative or absolute fetal oversize
Fetal distress: consistent fetal heart rates
Due to various of physiological changes that influence the action and effect of medications, the peri-parturient bitch has special anesthetic requirements. Anaesthetic drugs can cause significant neonatal depression and affect neonatal survival rates as a result. To ensure a successful outcome, it is essential that the veterinary doctor is familiar with the bitch and neonates’ anaesthetic requirements.
Check the discharge of vulva, general health and appetite of the bitch. On the day after whelping the vaginal discharge may still be black to green (like the placentas), but it should turn reddish brown afterwards.
Take the rectal temperature of the bitch every day for the first three days after whelping. On the day after birth it can go up to 103⁰ F, but after that it will fall to 101⁰-102⁰F.
Note the milk quantity and quality of 1-2 drops from each breast in the first 3 days. Feel the breasts softly- they should be spongy and pink. When anyone is rigid, reddish or painful, examine the temperature of the rectum and call the doctor, as this may be an sign of mastitis (breast infection).
The bitch would require an increased intake of food for at least 3 weeks during the time of breastfeeding and rapid weight gain. Depending on the size of the litter the quantity may be 2 to 4 times its normal ration.
Eclampsia (Hypocalcemia or Puerperal Tetany: Signs of hypocalcemia are muscle shaking that progresses to rigid limbs and can look similar to a seizure except that the bitch is alert. The majority of cases usually occur at peak lactation for 2–4 weeks postpartum. The muscles are continually contracting in this disorder, thus the body temperature becomes excessively high.
Treatment of eclamsia should involve calcium borogluconate (carbarol) 25% @ 1ml/kg body weight intravenous should be given. Dextrose 20% 20-40ml IV, phenobarbitone 8-16mg/kg b.wt.orally. Once clinical signs resolve, the bitch should be switched to oral calcium supplementation at a dose of 1–3g by mouth divided three times a day (t.i.d.) to four times a day (q.i.d.) calcium carbonate, which is readily available for oral absorption. Puppies should be prohibited from suckling for a minimum of 24 hours.
Agalactia / Hypogalactia / Galactostasis or the absence of milk: Administration of microdoses of oxytocin (0.5–1IU IM or SQ or via nasal spray) every 2–4 hours (15–30 minutes prior to nursing) for 1–2 days may facilitate letdown. Phenothiazine tranquilizers (acepromazine) may be beneficial by both reducing anxiety and increasing prolactin release from the pituitary. Administration of metoclopramide at 0.25–0.5mg/kg orally three times a day (po t.i.d.) or domperidone at 2.2mg/kg orally twice a day (PO b.i.d.) may be used to increase mammary development and thereby improve milk production. The medications should be continued for 5–7 days, ensuring that they are continued for at least 2 days beyond the time that milk production is considered adequate for maximal puppy weight gain.
Mastitis: Mastitis is inflammation of the mammary gland. It may involve only a portion of a single gland, one entire gland, multiple glands in a chain, or an entire chain of glands.
Treatment of mastitis involves appropriate antibiotic therapy initially based on cytological examination of the mastitic milk (and changed based on response to therapy or culture results), IV or SQ fluids, pain medication, and in some cases, short-term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory therapy. Caution should be taken with the use of NSAIDs and nursing puppies. The puppies’ renal tubular function is premature until 2–4 months of age and ingestion of even small amounts of NSAIDs may affect tubular development and predispose them to early onset renal failure. Bitches that need repeated doses of NSAIDs should have the puppies removed and fostered or hand reared.
Retained fetal membranes & Metritis: Retained fetal membranes are not uncommon in the bitch, but they are typically not cause for significant concern. Fetal membranes that are not released at the time of delivery will usually degrade over the next few hours to days and as the membranes become necrotic, they pass within the lochia. Normal lochia starts out dark green-black and then becomes brick red and mucoid. It is not malodorous. While it is unusual for retained membranes to cause infection or inflammation, they can occasionally result in metritis (inflammation of the uterine wall and endometrium). Metritis may also be caused by retention of dead fetuses or fetal parts, or by ascension of bacteria from the vagina through the open cervix at the time of delivery or in the immediate postpartum period.
Treatment involves use of IV or SQ fluids, NSAIDs for control of fever, and appropriate antibiotic therapy (initially based on cytological examination of the vulvar discharge and changed based on response to therapy or culture results). If a dead fetus or fetal parts remain in the uterine lumen, surgery to remove them may be necessary once the bitch is stabilized. Ecbolic agents to facilitate uterine clearance should be considered.
Oxytocin can be used if the condition occurs in the first 7 days postpartum while oxytocin receptors on the uterus are still upregulated. After this time, PGF2-α may be a more effective ecbolic, at a dose of 10–25µg/kg SQ.
