The Second Stage of Whelping your Neapolitan Mastiff female
The Second Stage of whelping your Neapolitan Mastiff female
When the first puppy reaches the threshold of the uterus, the bitch will begin straining hard. In this, the second stage of labor, the bitch bears down with considerable force, and the puppy is driven slowly onwards. Even for a layman, the change from the first to the second stage of labor is very obvious, as wave like contractions are clearly visible along the bitches abdomen. A considerable number of vigorous contractions are needed for the remainder of the fetus. The puppy not only has to pass out of the uterus, but also has to pass through the mother's bony pelvis. This bottleneck is the most critical point along the whole birth passage, and it will be dealt with later in the section on whelping problems. It is, therefore, easy to understand why Eberhard Trumler advises breeders to check the pelvis of every brood bitch most carefully. Trumler is of the opinion that a puppy's head is never too large, but that a bitch may have too narrow a pelvis. This, however, depends very largely on the angle from which you view the problem. The subject will be dealt with further in the section on whelping problems in one-puppy litters. The first puppy is in the uterus and is being pressed onward by vigorous contractions. Its passage leads from the uterine horns through the cervix and into the vagina. The bitches behavior should now be closely observed. Towards the end of the first stage of labor, the opening phase, she has now been digging and tearing at her bedding, turning around, lying down, and getting up. She has been licking her vulva and cleaning up the mucus from the floor of the box. She is very restless. All these actions occur instinctively. They ease the movement in the uterine horns and, later on, the passage from the uterus to the vagina. The bitch may frequently ask to go out. She needs to urinate but often only passes a few drops. At times, she humps her back as though she would defecate, although, since she is unlikely to have eaten recently, she is unlikely to pass feces. The breeder should be aware that the bitch often adopts this humped position when she is having a contraction. Special care should be taken at night during these expeditions into the garden. Good lights and an additional flashlight are absolutely necessary. A puppy can be delivered in this way, and it happens so quickly. We have actually experienced this only twice in more than 250 births. We helped the bitch to attend to the puppy, and it came off well in both cases. Throughout the entire progress of the birth, the bitch requires adequate exercise. Movement eases birth. Even in the first stage of labor repeated short walks are advisable. Obviously, when the bitch is carrying a large litter, she will need persuasion. It is her natural instinct to cling to her whelping quarters. The advisability of short walks applies even more to the second stage of labor. Repeated exercise shortens the intervals between each birth and, thus, the entire duration of the whelping. Most bitches bear their puppies either lying down or sitting, or in a position that might well be described as halfway between lying and sitting. Between contraction, the bitch constantly moves to a fresh position, turns around, and digs at her bedding. During the second stage contractions, she frequently presses her hind legs against the side of the whelping box as though seeking support. In general, easier births take place lying or half-sitting. The so called defecation position is seen, for the most part, in difficult births. In my estimation, two thirds of all puppies are born by their mothers either lying down or half-sitting. Do not attempt to influence your bitch if she continually changes her position during the birth. The only thing of importance is to see that she does not injure newborn puppies when she is turning around or digging. This is why it is so important to have a warm, cardboard box ready to hold the puppies in safety. The most difficult point, the narrowest part of the passage the puppy has to negotiate is the mother's pelvic brim. The bitch's behavior shows us when it has reached this position. She raises her tail high, spreading it from the root; the tail is not held straight up in the air but is bent downward like a bow. This typical position of the tail is quite obvious. The spreading of the tail at the root appears to widen the narrow passage through the pelvis a little. The first puppy to be born has the greatest difficulty, as its body must dilate the birth canal and this birth prepares the way for the other puppies. Due to the muscular pressure on the uterus and vaginal walls, the amniotic sac-the membranous bag encasing the puppy bursts, and a greenish fluid is discharged from the vagina. This clear, greenish colored fluid is a positive indication that the delivery stage has begun. The fluid lubricates the birth canal, the muscles of the vagina relax and canal widens. When the sac bursts, the puppy is left lying unprotected in the birth canal. For a short time, this presents no danger to the puppy, as it is still being supplied with oxygen from the mother's circulatory system via the umbilical cord and placenta. However, if too much time elapses, the situation may become critical. If the puppy is lying in an unfavorable position, the umbilical cord may become wrapped around it, or too narrow a pelvic opening may make the puppy's passage impossible. It is, therefore, advisable to cal in the veterinarian no later than fifteen minutes after the bursting of the sac and the ensuing release of fluid. Action that the breeder can take will be dealt with in the section on whelping problems. Frequently, the delivery of the first puppy to be born is heralded by the appearance of a small, dark bubble. If the membranous sac has already broken, then the first thing to emerge may well be a nose or even a foot. Another vigorous contraction or two, and the puppy is born.
The Newborn Mastino Napoletano Puppy
There is no time to lose! The newly born mastino pup is no longer connected, via the placenta, to the mother's circulation, and so the supply of oxygen is broken off. There is also the danger that, in taking his first breath, the puppy will draw fluid into his nose and mouth and suffocate. The breeder must act and act fast! The puppy should be held in the hand in a head down position, and the membrane should be broken at its throat so that the amniotic fluid can drain sideways and not get into the puppy's mouth, nose, or lungs. The membranous sac should be removed upwards like a glove and, at the same time, the umbilical cord should be tied and severed. If the puppy is not showing signs of life, it should be rubbed with a warm towel. Vigorous massaging often produces the first, longed-for cry. This should come soon, as time is running out! Shake the puppy, head down, a few times to get any remaining fluid out of its lungs. If necessary, the breeder can use an infants suction bulb and suction fluid out of the nose and throat gently. Some breeders swear by administering a drop of diluted brandy on to the puppy's tongue. However, in my experience, it is the rubbing and shaking, clearing he puppy's nose and respiratory passages, which are considerably more effective and, above all, quicker. This race for time to hear the first cry is sometimes really hair raising. It is important to appreciate that a newborn puppy is not nearly as fragile as it might appear. It can tolerate quite vigorous handling. Take a look at the instinctive action on the part of the bitch, who goes to work quite roughly when she dries off her puppies. If the bitch has failed to take an interest and you are trying to bring a puppy to life, never give up too soon. We have had puppies who have been stuck in the birth canal outside their sac for half an hour. They have arrived blue and apparently lifeless, but I have managed to bring them back to life. Sometimes this has taken as long as five minutes. Another possible course of action is to hold the puppy under the cold tap for a few seconds, rub it dry, and try breathing into it. The ribs can be depressed and released, as in first aid administered artificial respiration. Slight pressure is exerted on the chest and then released. A little salt placed on the tongue can also act as a stimulant. These skills may be urgently required in the case of a Cesarean Section. The anesthetized mother is in deep sleep and cannot care for her puppies. Worse still, the anesthetic will have entered the puppies circulation via the mother's bloodstream, and they will be slightly anesthetized. Additionally, the pups will not have had to make their way through the narrow birth canal, in which pressure and stress definitely have an animating effect. Puppies surgically removed from the uterine horns require immediate intensive care, of the kind described above. In the case of a Cesarean Section, it is not only skill of the surgeon that matters but also the skill of those attending to the puppies. The number of live puppies delivered by Cesarean Section depends equally on the skill of both parties.
Duration of The Birth Process of your Neapolitan Mastiff
How long does the delivery of a neo puppy take? As we already know, the first one has the hardest time and, therefore, needs a little longer. As a rule, from four to six contractions are required to express a puppy, and the delivery of an individual puppy takes approximately three minutes. Naaktgeboren analyzed the delivery phase of 39 births. Six puppies were born in less than one minute, and sixteen arrived within three minutes. One dubious fact ascertained by this investigation appears to be that ten puppies took more than ten minutes to be delivered, with times of fifteen, twenty-five, thirty, and even forty-five minutes! These slow deliveries occurred most frequently in small breeds and in Bulldogs. I shall return to this subject when dealing with whelping problems. Let us go one step forward and deal with the duration of a whole whelping. A decisive factor here is the intervals at which the puppies are born. From his experience with wild dogs, Eberhard Trumler reports an average of two hours duration for a litter of six. This would be one puppy every twenty minutes. Eberhard Trumler considers it reasonable to double this time for the domestic dog. This means that the average bitch would require four hours to give birth to her six puppies, and we could expect one puppy to be born every forty minutes. Naaktgeboren worked out the average interval between the birth of two puppies on the basis of documentation collected a 172 whelping's. He concluded that the interval between the birth of puppies was forty-five minutes, which largely coincides with Turmler's conclusions. As a rule, however, the second puppy is born more quickly than the firs, and that from the seventh puppy onwards, intervals may become longer, probably because the bitch is growing tired. In Naaktgeboren's statistics, the intervals between the eighth and ninth puppy were, on average, seventy-seven minutes. Naaktgeboren concludes that puppies are born at similar intervals owing to the fact that the horns of the uterus begin to shorten as they are vacated. During the birth, the puppies are being steadily forced towards the cervix, and , thus, the distance each puppy has to cover is approximately the same. Prolonged rest periods may occur during whelping. In general, I would advise calling the vet if the interval is more than two hours. In the case of some bitches, this may be due to uterine inertia lack of the hormones that promote the birth process or a dead puppy blocking the passage. It is sometimes not easy to be certain that all the puppies have been born. A short walk is useful here, with close observation of the bitch's flanks. Experienced breeders have an eye for this and can tell when all the puppies have arrived. The beginner needs some assistance at this point, either from an experienced breeder or a veterinarian.
Breech Births
Many breeders are haunted by the idea that rear presentation (breech birth) is dangerous. Clearly, and quite mistakenly, they transfer the difficulties arising in the human medical world to the breeding of dogs. As a general rule, a breech birth-hind feet and tail appearing first-is no more complicated than a normal birth, in which the puppy comes into the world head first. A look at statistics makes this quite clear. Naaktgeboren has researched this subject in great detail. From 768 puppies, 511 entered the world head first and 257 feet first, which is very nearly a ratio of 2:1. In an evaluation of the giant breeds (Great Dane, St Bernard, Leonberger) and equally, in the toy breeds with a shoulder height of up to ten inches, half the puppies were born in the rear presentation. In the large breeds such as the German Shepherd and Greyhound, working dogs and gundogs, about a quarter of the puppies were born breech.
Whelping Problems of your Neapolitan Mastiff
Gathering Knowledge
Naaktgeboren is quite right when he says: " The most dangerous thing is for the breeder to be overcome by panic!" Knowledge is the best means of combating any form of panic. In order to be able to provide readers with this vital, basic knowledge, I shall deal with whelping problems in the order in which they are listed in Professor K. Arbeiter's book Clinic of Canine Diseases. I shall try to express, in my own words and from my own experience, the causes of these problems and the possibilities of dealing with them. I am much indebted to the leading veterinary surgeons at the universities of Vienna and Utrecht for their most excellent suggestions and illustrations.
Weakness in your mastini's Labor Contractions
The problem of weak contractions has already been mentioned earlier in the section on normal births. Inadequate contractions, or weak labor, is due to an hereditary, functional failure of the hormonal regulatory system. In my own kennels, I have always been able to predict, with considerable certainty, which of our younger brood bitches was likely to require veterinary aid at parturition and which would not. We have also had lines that were completely free from this problem. This gives me a clear indication that careful breeding selection is important for overcoming this disorder. Apart from the hereditary disposition, a so called primary labor weakness apparent right from the start of the birth may occur if there is a very large number of puppies in the litter. In these cases, the abdominal wall is excessively stretched, and there is also, frequently, the additional danger of eclampsia. A weakness in labor can also arise if the fetuses are unevenly distributed in the uterine horns, or if the uterine musculature has been previously damaged by difficult births. Characteristic of labor weakness is the fact that despite the discharge of the vaginal mucus and sometimes even placental fluid the birth does not commence, and the bitch does not strain. The only way to overcome this problem is for the vet to administer a hormone injection to stimulate contractions. It is of vital importance to calculate the dose very carefully indeed, since an overdose can call forth a uterine spasm. If repeated injections do not have the desired effect, a Cesarean Section is the only possible solution. It has already been mentioned that, during the birth of a large number of puppies in one litter, the good, strong contractions seen at the beginning gradually dwindle after a time. This constitutes a so called secondary labor weakness, and it is a normal occurrence in a large litter. The probable cause is hormonal exhaustion. This weakness can also be overcome by the injection of hormones. Should injections not prove successful, again the only remaining alternative is a Cesarean Section.
Narrow Pelvis Single mastino Puppy Births
As has already been seen, Eberhard Trumler regards the narrowness of the pelvis in many dog breeds as the cause of the most difficult births. The Mother's pelvic outlet forms a kind of bottleneck through which the puppy has to pass. This problem occurs most frequently in Toy dogs, in Bulldogs, and related breeds. The British scientist, Wright, studied this problem in detail as early as 1934. Normally, the pelvic cavity of a bitch is longer than it is wide. In his large mongrel bitch, Trumler measured a length of 78 millimeters (3 1/4 inch) and a width of 66.6 millimeters (2 3/4 of and inch)Wright's research results established the fact that small breeds have a rounder and therefore shorter pelvic cavity, instead of the longish oval one seen in larger breeds. Parturition problems are considerably more pronounced in bitches with this small, round pelvis. To add to this difficulty, it would seem that breeders of small breeds appear to feel the need to compensate for the small size of their dogs by requiring, in the Breed Standard a particularly large head. Naaktgeboren pints out that in small breeds such as the Toy Poodle, the Dachshund, the Papillon, the Maltese, and the Lhasa Apso, births are, as a rule, perfectly normal. However, he has, at times, registered horrific births in the Chihuahua, the Brussels Griffin, the Boston Terrier, the French Bulldog, and the English Bulldog. Dr Emil Hauck quotes from the anatomical measurements established by his fellow countrymen Fritz Kess in the year 1924. In this study, fluctuations in the measurements of French Bulldogs are given between 28.8 and 43.6 millimeters. The heads of the mature fetuses measured between 30.3 and 38.6 millimeters. Advanced mathematics are not needed, in this case, to perceive that a number of puppies are quite unable to leave their mother's body via the pelvic opening. For many years, I have known a number of Bulldog breeders who have directed all their efforts toward breeding for natural births, and who have taken every bitch that had a Cesarean Section out of their breeding programs. There is, in fact, no possible alternative. Trumler is perfectly right when he condemns systematic breeding with bitches prone to Cesarean births as cruelty to animals. In addition to the far too frequent incidence of the narrow pelvic cavity, the single-puppy birth, occurring as it often does in individual breeds, plays a considerable role in problem whelping's. Dr Koeppel states:"Brood bitches of those breeds in which single-puppy litters are common-for the most part, bitches of Toy breeds - should be examined by a veterinarian in the sixth week of pregnancy at the latest. Single puppies lead, in many cases, to problems both during pregnancy and at whelping, and this makes constant vet control essential". In cases of single puppy births C-sections are almost always needed.
Mastino Napoletano Fetal Malformation
Despite good, steady, powerful contractions, a normal pelvis and well-opened birth passages there are occasions when a birth does not take place. The cause is generally found to be a fetus that is too large, malformed, or incorrectly positioned, or a dead fetus that is blocking the birth canal. An example of this is when the puppy's head is bent at the neck and, with its chin resting on its breastbone, the puppy has become stuck in the canal. A puppy with its head bent forward in this way takes up approximately twice the amount of room as a normally positioned puppy. We have had one or two cases of this kind in our own kennels. The puppy was always dead and had to be removed by C-section. I have not been able to discover any reason for this particular faulty positioning. With fetal malformations of this kind, there are two options. Although a C-section is almost always called for, the alternative would be to use forceps to extract the puppy. In principle, I believe that the best solution in such cases is always a C-section.
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