Should a new doggie Mum get a vet check after whelping?

Yes, if you are at all worried about your dam...yes, yes , yes! Today I wasn't sure about Bokkie. I knew she had not delivered a placenta last night but as she has been licking and cleaning so meticulously I though she may have delivered it and eaten it over night. But she was still panting a bit today...her room was nice and warm, being winter- was she just too hot? They can still get some contractions as the uterus contracts back to normal size????

Eventually I took her to the vet, as I just didn't feel good about it...he was of the same opinion as me, undecided but thought it unlikely that anything was left behind still. But just in case he gave her an oxotin injection just in case.

And guess what... she delivered her missing placenta on the way home - yahoo, we saved possible complications further along!

The magic of brand new Shih Tzu pups: Bokkie: Litter 1, Day 1: first few hours

A perfect first portrait!

Mom resting between pups, she did not show much interest in the pups until after the last was born....too busy labouring. Once she was finished with labour, her maternal instincts kicked in well. She is an excellent Shih Tzu mother. Look at those beautiful colours!

What a cute bright red tongue!

Sleeping after the first milk bar effort which took hours.

Puppies suckling while still Mom is still in labour helps stimulate contractions and helps Mom maintain her labouring efficiently. 

Bliss...milk, sleep and a warm Mommy.

Who is who? Notice one has a small white spot on the forehead!

Bokkie showing more interest in the pups now that they have all arrived.

Younger children are allowed to come closer now - under close supervision only. What good children I have; children who listen and do not touch unless I allow it. Bokkie obviously trusts them as well. Don't worry I have made sure she gets plenty of time to sleep it off without kids vying for a good spot to watch. I am so impressed with my lvely kids being so soft and gentle.

Puppies are born blind and deaf. So their sense of smell is going full blast.

For the first half an hour they need help latching on and finding a place to suckle.

Soon after that they have the strength and wherewith all to move around find Mom and her milk supply on their own.

Mom snuggles in tight - her protective instinct to protect and keep her pups warm.

By the next morning she is not doing as much as she is both more relaxed

And the pups are a bit better able to maintain body temperature and we have also added a heating pad beneath Mom and pups now that there is no labouring mess to deal with.

Well done our gentlle little Shih Tzu! You are a champion! 6 babies and beautiful whelping and birthing! ( Much easier than Bichons I do declare!)

Bokkie's Shih Tzu Whelping Story:

This is Bokkie's first litter.

I was on the way home when I got a panicked call from my 17 yo; Mom Bokkie has obviously gone into labour very quickly and had already had a puppy and it was dangling still attached to the placenta. She was walking up and down in the bathroom floor with the puppy being dragged around on the cold tiles. Jon broke open the sac and dried and tried to warm the pup. The next pup was quite quick to come after that. And I arrived home seconds after it was born. Again Jon opened up the sac and I tried to calm Bokkie who was quite stressed. I persuaded her to lie down in her bed. And the next ten minute were spent frantically trying to get puppy 1 warm enough again and then getting the two pups feeding.

Well done to Jon, if he had not kept his head while talking to me on the phone, we could have lost the first pup at least! He know knows how to deliver puppies! Between talking to us on the phone, and the Internet he managed just fine.

Bokkie went on to 4 more pups - how on earth did she fit them all into her tiny abdomen, no wonder she was so big! Two of the pups were breech and she managed just fine - well done my sweet Shih Tzu lady! Except for her first panic, she whelped so well. Here are some photographs of a puppy being whelped.

The little sac bulges as little Shih Tzu Bokkie pushes. It should be a head out first but it is not. A breech puppy.

Out come a breech Shih Tzu pup with a little help - no problem!

Mommy Shih Tzu is very tired this time and needs help with breaking opening the sac.

Into the receiving blanket pup goes for a good rub and drying off. The weather is chilly and although the room is as warm as toast I take no chances of the pups getting cold.

I also swing my pups upside down to get all the fluid out of the lungs. The head and neck need to be well sported and gravity does the rest.

 It is over seven years since last I have delivered pups (I used to breed Bichons in NZ); so I was a tiny bit nervous, but the rhythm of it all came back to me with the greatest of ease. And I still love the amazing miracle of a new life coming into the world.