As the puppies start to pass through the birth canal, there is an even greater effort of expulsion, which is probably due to a reflex occasioned by pressure on the upper part of the vulva. This is true labor and is a useful fact to know in helping a bitch to whelp. If you want to make her strain, insert a clean-gloved finger in the vulva and pull upward and backward. She wig nearly always strain and assist you. The average whelping time for dogs is five hours. Small dogs, such as Cocker Spaniels, usually finish whelping in three hours, but large dogs, such as Great Danes and St. Bernard’s, often take seven or eight hours. Twelve hours is the limit of normal time for a large dog, although bitches have been known to take thirty-six hours with no particularly abnormal aspects to the whelping.
The contractions of the uterus push the young dog out through the vagina. The puppy appears in one of several ways. It may still be in the amniotic sac. If so, the sac must be broken or the newborn will suffocate. If the mother does not do this, you should do it for her. The puppy may still be in its sac, but the sac may have ruptured. Or the young may be born with the sac remaining inside the mother. In this case, the umbilical cord is still connecting it to the sac. The mother may chew this cord to break it, and the sac and placenta will he discharged later. But you can wrap a cloth or tissue about the cord and pull gently until the sac comes out with the placenta. If a placenta is not discharged, it may or may not become a problem.
