I've never had a singlton litter before so I"m new to what to expect. Our girl was due to whelp today but her temp this afternoon was at 101. She was progesterone tested and AI'd 2 times at the stud dog's house. She doesn't look as if she has many pups in there and now I am worried she only has one puppy, WILL HER TEMP DROP AT ALL WITH A SINGLTON ?

If her temp hasn't dropped by morning time, I'm going to take her to my vet for a radiograph. We've never had a c-section in all these years so I'm hoping this isn't going to be a first for us. This is her 3rd litter and she has been a free whelper both times.

The temp might not drop with a single puppy.

not always.

I had a single puppy litter and the pup was born dead. My girls temp never dropped. The vet told me it is because there aren't enough puppies to actually cause hormonal changes in the bitch so sometimes they don't drop.

Yes, please go do an xray. I really think this is an easy invaluable pre-whelp tool. When you do it a week before the due date, you KNOW what's in there (+/- 1 or 2 if it's a full house) but you know what you are in for. And you might even get some insight as to whether it's several small babies or one behemoth that will need help.

We've got a couple weeks left on a single AI breeding and momma isn't very big. We'll find out Monday what's in store.

We just had a singleton in April. mom was a maiden. Her temp dropped, and labour came, only, no pushing. we did a c-section.
We were prepared for it if needed, but gave mom a chance on her own.


Best wishes for your upcoming.

I had a C-section planned after I found out only one pup. I sure was not going to take a chance with my girl or the one and only. All went well and had a beautiful pup. I think even with two I would be ready for a C.

If she is due today by progesterone testing (numeric you know exactly when she hit 5.0 or greater)and shows no sign of labor take her to the vet. An ultrasound will tell if the puppy is mature enough to be born (peristaltic movement in the gut) Then c-section her. Bitches w/one puppy often do not go into labor, having them go too far past the welping date will cause death of the puppy. Progesterone will not drop with a singelton so labor is not stimulated.

I've had two singletons. The temperature dropped both times, but Mom didn't start having contractions within 24 hours, so I had C-sections both times. I did once have a litter of two born naturally, but i have lost two litters of three because the mother didn't go into labor and I waited too long to have the C-section.

Our girl has an appointment at 10:30 this morning. Radiographs and possible C-secton..our first in 12 yrs of this hobby. It was hard trying to get an appointment even for radiographs at my regular vet clinics so we are taking her to our good ol stand by emergency vet in Bellevue. They do C-sections on breeder's dogs all the time so I have confidence if our girl needs one, they will do the best job.

Please tell me what value-add an xray has at this point during pregnancy. An ultrasound will tell you if there is a heart beat. An Xray is a static image. You know there is one puppy in there. My bitches have had a minimal drop in temp and it wasn't enough to start actual labor contractions. If she's due today, I'd be doing an ultrasound and then a c-section. Why lose a puppy bantering over the "what ifs".

Had this happen to me too. Took her in on her due date. Temp had not dropped. X-ray showed two pups one head first other feet first. Repo doctor said pups need a few more days. Took her home.. Two days later temp dropped and c section done. Two girls weighed 1 1/2 pounds each.

The OP DOESN'T know how many puppies are in the bitch; hence the reason for the x-ray.

Sounds like you are taking the sensible approach, OP.

Hmmm. The subject is "Singlton Pregnancies". So, I would think the OP knows for sure there is a single pup since I see no reference otherwise. Besides, if it's a "couple" of puppies the Ultrasound will tell that and the heartbeats too. No sense in spending cash on a xray.

I'll quote her from her first paragraph in her initial post -"I've never had a singlton litter before so I"m new to what to expect. Our girl was due to whelp today but her temp this afternoon was at 101. She was progesterone tested and AI'd 2 times at the stud dog's house. She doesn't look as if she has many pups in there and now I am worried she only has one puppy, WILL HER TEMP DROP AT ALL WITH A SINGLTON ?"

So there is your reference.....it's likely a moot point as to how she goes about determining number of puppies, as she's likely at the vet's as we speak, according to her last post this morning.

Not sure where you are located, but I'm sure that an ultrasound is as expensive as an x-ray in most places; cost is not an issue, I don't think.

Our girl only has 1 puppy inside her. I got to going over her progesterone numbers and dates. Looks like today is day 62 post ovulation. Still, the emergency vet really thinks I should try and let our girl go into labor naturally and see if she can whelp the pups on her own. I told him that these lines tend to be on the big side as new borns anyway so a singlton could be too big for her to whelp.

The other thing that concerned me was this vet said that big breed dogs usually don't have issues whelping a singleton esp since my girl doesn't have a history of whelping issues and no c-sections from her mom and her aunt in the past.

This vet told me to wait till day 65 which would be this Friday and if she hasn't dropped temp or started active labor then I am to bring her in for a C-section. He said that it won't hurt the puppy if it stays inside our girl until day 65 post ovulation.

They are not big on scheduling c-sections on large breed dogs anyway.

I can't imagine her whelping this whopper of a pup on her own going on the radiographs, that pup looks huge and it has a few more days to bake.

From reading this thread on other breeder's experiences on dealing with singltons, chances are good that our girl will not have an easy time of free whelping.

This vet even suggested waiting until day 65..am I just crazy or is this vet being a little cavilier about protocal for singltons ?

I would pull progesterone every day and section when it drops below 2 as that is too low to support pregnancy and a bitch normally whelps then.

Good luck and let us all know what happens!

I didn't mention in my previous post that my repro vet always does a progesterone before doing a C-section. Now I have never had a girl whose temperature didn't drop. I have been told that the temp drop is due to changes in progesterone levels. Question for anyone who has had a girl whose temp didn't drop and did a progesterone, or for any repro specialists out there- did progesterone level drop without the temp drop?

This emergency vet said that if a puppy is healthy inside the dam then waiting till day 65 isn't going to hurt the puppy. I hope he is correct. They said they have seen some heart wrenching cases where breeders insisted that the vets section their girls on the early side or scheduling a section. I guess they do alot of C-Sections for breeders in their hospital. I'm certainly not going to wait till day 66 and I do like the idea of pulling a progesterone the evening of day 63 so I have the numbers that night or early the next morning and can bring Lola to the hospital for a C-section.
Our one girl had a 6 puppy litter jan 2009. When she started to bear down to whelp her first puppy, it took her the longest time. She had plenty of contractions but that puppy was stuck half way out. It weighed 20 oz at birth. She whelped exactly day 63 post ovulation. This girl yelled in pain as she was trying to get that puppy out so I can just imagine our Lola trying to get a big fat puppy out of her in the next couple days. My heart won't stand the screaming so I'm thinking of just bringing her in for a C-Section on day 65 with doing a progesterone before hand.

Been there: I bred my bitch 1 AI with the scope/camera, 10 hours prior to that breeding she was at 12.7, so do I count her due date from the breeding day or the day she was at 5?

I've never heard of doing progesterone after breeding. So....would you only do that if your expecting to do a c-section??? Can you tell me more about that please?

A bitch's progesterone levels should remain high throughout pregnancy. The drop to below 2 corresponds to the temperature drop, though you might not catch that, and signals first stage. My repro vet will not do a semi-planned c-section unless the bitch is either in active stage 1 labor (temp dropped, nesting, discharge), or her progesterone level is below 2, which indicates the same thing - the puppy is ready to come out! Your vet is right in that you don't want to take the puppy too early - just a day or two can make the difference between surviving and not.

Singleton (know from x-ray).

waited to day 63, no temp drop. started progesterone amd she dropped to 2.5 (was advised she should be at 2. to do c). She went back up to 4 the next day.

We did the C on day 65 at the advice of Hutch and lost the pup.

vet used propofol, iso and oxygen and we still lost the pup.

If I could do it again I would have taken the pup via C on day 63 - but who really knows what the outcome would have been...... It was only my first experience with a C in many years of breeding. And yes, heart breaking. (also our first singleton)

praying you get this pup out in time and its a keeper.

Tina@ Tyriec, That's quite common for a singleton. I think there are more c-sections than natural whelpings with a singleton or small litter. It's a no brainer as to why if we use common sense.

OP, you better get ready with your vet or ER clinic, to do progesterone levels pre-possible c-section for a singleton or tiny litter. If she's already labor then it's not really necesary as it's hard to halt labor. .

I would hook up with a breeder experienced with singleton litters for advice. You'll hear 10 different stories on a board. You need to work with someone who's been there and thru it. Jmho.

Joy,
I had a girl w/a singleton a couple years ago, and she had temperature drop, but I wasn't particularly worried as mine usually wait to whelp 24-40 hrs after drop. At ~24 hrs, she was at my feet and I noticed the dark green discharge.... took her to ER and pup was already dead. This was day 63. Lesson learned on that one. I'd do progesterone for sure if that ever happens again.

Had to pay $1500 for the c-section to remove the puppy after unsuccessful attempts at oxy for the next 20 hrs or so, but at least mom was fine.

good luck... Anne