When you give birth, if your dog takes an hour or a little more between puppies, when the puppy starts, or she seems to lack the adequate muscle control needed to push the puppies, she may suffer from inertia. Appropriate inertia can sometimes counteract a moderate amount of exercise, such as a walk in the yard, a glass of milk as a source of calcium, or a ride around a block in a car. If none of these combined methods show results within 30 minutes, contact your veterinarian immediately.
A veterinarian can determine that your matron requires a higher dose of pituitary oxytocin to what she is already producing. Administration of a booster shot of pituitary oxytocin will help stimulate her contractions after the birth of some puppies. The response of the puppy dog to the injection occurs within a few minutes, if it happens at all. Some of them require professional quality assistance. Not every woman's uterus responds to the presence of natural hormones or oxytocin. In cases where natural milk, exercise, and pituitary oxytocin are ineffective, a caesarean section may be required.
Before any pictures are taken or invasive treatments are taken, the veterinarian will physically examine the dog, check for obstacles and the presence and position of the puppy in the birth canal. Apparently, a puppy stuck in the birth canal will simply require repositioning. Often the first puppy, which is the largest, interferes with the natural arrival of litter. You can usually move this puppy with digital vaginal manipulations. Sometimes an additional physical push on the stomach causes a relatively normal delivery. From time to time, this is all that is required to naturally get puppies.
Labor is hard work. Dogs that have been in long labor for a long period of time may be candidates for inertia. If all other treatments fail, the matron will need surgical assistance. Some breeds, such as brachycephalic (bulldogs, Boston terriers, French bulldogs, for example), usually have a caesarean section for almost every expected litter.
A fault sign is the constant squeezing of a dog, a contraction without an immediate puppy. Immediately get to the phone and contact your veterinarian. If all the hospital lines are busy, call the operator and say that you have an emergency call that you need to send immediately!
