Boston C-Sections

by Sara
(Albany, Indiana)

I had my Boston, Bella bred over July 4th weekend. This will be her first litter and I am very anxious and nervous. I have heard and read that BT's are more prone to need to C-sections. How will I know if she needs one? Are they more prone to C-sections? Should I take the week off work? Should I take a chill pill and calm down?

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Boston C-Sections

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Jul 29, 2009

Chill
by: Mary

First, congratulations on your pregnancy! I have had only 3 litters now, but I have read and read until my eyes are dim! Everytime I blink I see BT...BT...BT. Anyway, here is a good link on whelping (delivering the puppies)and more information like caring for the pregnant female, care of the puppies, and finding good homes...

http://vetmedicine.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=vetmedicine&cdn=homegarden&tm=231&gps=64_701_1004_559&f=10&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/medical/whelping.html

Hope that link works. I just wanted to tell you that all three of our litters were free-whelped. We did NOT need a c-section! I was probably as nervous as you about one of my females because she has a bigger head. Since you have already made the "tie" it is useless to tell you that the male should be smaller than the female, but maybe next time you can consider that. That being said, on two of our litters, the male was bigger than the female by about 5 pounds. If a c-section is needed, you WILL know. The labor begins way before a c-section will be needed.

Find a vet that is less aggressive or prefers more natural methods.

It all depends on the vet. For our first litter, the female was 16 pounds and the male was 14 pounds. Our female was in labor for 10 hours before she had her first puppy. It began at 11:00 at night and the first puppy did not come until 9:00am the next morning. The vet did not open until 8:00am. They gave her some medication to advance the delivery and that worked. They say that when she begins labor not to go past 3 hours, but I think this is different for each female AND for each litter. I also think on your first delivery, it is hard to tell the difference between beginning labor and ACTIVE labor. I am just saying not to be TOO anxious and "jump the gun" so to speak.

Be ready for a sleepless night!

Your female will begin some type of different behavior right as she is ready. Our females began to pant. Not like they pant when they come from outside and want to drink. They pant and look at you like you just said something strange. And it stays like that for a long time.

For one of our litters, (thankfully not the first) we had an appointment with the people doctor. But our female had just begun to pant. So we took her with us and yes, she delivered her first puppy in the car.

I spoke to some friends who breed and they said their first litter was born and cleaned in the box when they came home from work. They did not have to do anything.

So yes, there are some bad stories, but there are some good ones too. I think they print all the bad ones to discourage people from breeding.

Oh, don't forget to pray for guidance!

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