I had a bitch that whelped her litter 11 days ago. Her temp dropped down to 98.06 on the evening of the 15th. Next morning it was back up to 100.22. Since nothing was happening I kept on taking her temp and the same day on the 16th it was 98.6 and during the night it was down to 98.24. She had been nesting and panting with longs brakes in between. Next day on the 17th her temp was pretty much the same or 98.6.. and she was pretty calm during the day but again around dinner she began to pant and dig in her box... her temp still around 98.6... this went on all evening and when she finally started to push around 1 after midnight her temp was still rather low. When she had been pushing for 3 hrs I decided to take her in to the vet´s office and I´m glad that I did as the first puppy was stuck on head with legs back... People that I have talked to all said that her temp had to go up first before she would start active labor.. but it didn´t in her case. Could that have been because of the first puppy that was stuck? I´m just trying to figure out the signs that might have been there to indicate that something was not right.
Thanks

That would be a great question to pose to Dr. Hutchinson (North Ridge Animal Hospital, Ohio).

He is the country's foremost canine reproduction expert.

I always see a 2.0 or or larger temperature drop around 24 hours before whelping begins. I have never had the 1st pup stuck so I can't comment if this changed things for you.

I hope the rest of the litter did well.

Hutch is a great vet specializing in repro. I wish I had a *Hutch* where I reside. I also wish Hutch was a board-certified theriogenologist. Some vets are better at repro then others.

Every time a bitch of mine has needed a C-section(stuck puppy, or malpresentation) the temp. did not rise back up. When they have had normal deliveries the temp. did rise. That's my experience.