The words Dog Breed Info with the letter D inside of a black paw print

Third Stage of Labor

Whelping and Raising Puppies

A newborn puppy that is laying across a blanket and it is partially in a wet sac.

Presentation of puppy and delivery of placenta. Puppy may or may not be still in his sac. The sac needs to be removed immediately; just rip it with your fingers, clamp off the cord (cut and tie), and start rubbing the puppy till you hear him gasp. Then let him nurse till the next puppy comes (which could be minutes or a couple hours). Make sure you count one placenta for each puppy. Some breeders let the dam eat half the placentas.

I put the pups in a warm box (with a hot water bottle) while the dam is working on the next delivery, but keep the warm box where she can see her puppy as she will get concerned. (I also give her back all the puppies between deliveries.) You do not want her to tramp on a puppy while trying to deliver another.

Close up - A black newborn puppy is laying across a blanket and it has a wet sac on half of it. There is a person sucking fluids from the mouth of the puppy with a blue dropper. A black newborn puppy is laying on a blanket and having its mouth sucked out by a person holding a dropper. Top down view of a Dam licking the sac off of a black newborn puppy. A black Newborn puppy is laying across a blanket and across from it is a wet placenta. A person is cutting the umbilical cord of a newborn puppy and above it looking down is an adult dog.

Courtesy of MistyTrails Havanese

Close up - A Dam is eating a placenta that is on a towel.

This is Kate after giving birth to her litter of puppies. I let her eat only one placenta. The placenta provides the dam with a good boost of nutrition, but eating too many can cause her to get sick making it hard for her to care for her newborn pups.

A Dam is licking its face and looking forward. Under it on a towel is a placenta.

Dam eating a placenta

A dam is looking forward, its mouth is open and it looks like it is smiling. On the towel under it is a placenta.

Dam eating a placenta

Close up - A Dam that is eating a placenta on a pillow.

Dam eating a placenta

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