Just wondering if those who've had a single pup could respond with their experiences.

Usually, yes.
Have I had a natural with a singleton? Yes also.
Sorry but it's an individual basis, but if I were you, I'd plan for a C...

We had a singleton years ago that was free whelped by a smallish maiden bitch with 3 pushes. He was 26 oz at birth.

Last month, I thought my bitch had missed, but went in for an xray because she started to bag up with milk right before her expected due date. Much to my surprise, there was one large pup nice and comfy there. She was born via section as by her due date (I did progesterone testing so I knew when she ovulated). Good thing I did because that pup was not going to arrive on its own. The bitch's uterus had twisted. Who knows how that would have turned out. My vet was happier doing a day time section than me calling her in the middle of the night!

So there you go. Two scenarios. Good Luck!

My singleton boy was BIG and it wasn't worth losing him, so yes we did a c section and everything was fine. This was my girls first litter so we didn't even know if she could go naturally (and later we found out she cant )

Normal size pup but still needed a section because the bitch didn't go into labor. She didn't look pregnant at all, none of the signs were there. This is the reason why I will always do an x-ray.

I have had several 1 and 2 puppy litters delivered naturally. Never needed a c-section and all pups were born alive and survived. Some were in the 20+ oz range.
Best of luck.

I've had two singletons, both by C-section because the mother didn't show any signs of going into labor. The puppies actually make the hormone that triggers uterine contractions, and apparently a small litter doesn't make as much as a bigger litter. So a mom carrying a singleton may not get stimulated enough to go into labor in a timely manner. I concur with one of the other posters. Emergency C-sections after hours are the pits!

Call your vet and PLAN a section , it is the ONLY way you can be sure both mother and pup survive !

How do you know there is only one ? For sure ? I have done it both ways also. Think the time it was natural we thought there was more. And she did go into a natural labor. If you knew there was only one for sure, think I would do a C also.

You know by doing an x ray before whelp date. I do them 3-5 days before due date. I would ONLY do a C section with a singleton. Learned that the hard way myself. Above poster great info... it's the puppies that trigger the hormones that set off whelp and with 1/2 puppies, it's very diffrent.

I know about x-raying. I just wonder if that is how she knew for sure. They can be a puppy or two off. Maybe not so much if there is just one. Been a long time since the one cees.

I have a young single boy pup, his breeder scheduled a c-section because of a spinal injury before her due date, so it was just to be on the safe side. He was so big, ate so much, got so fat he couldn't walk. She has pictures of him in a sling...

I also had a female I thought I had missed this last spring. I took her in for an x-ray to be safe. She showed no signs. She had one fully formed puppy on the x-ray. The vet didn't believe my dates, but I insisted he perform the c-section as soon as possible. It was a good thing I did, if we had waited another week like he wanted I would have lost my girl too. The puppy was already 'mumified' and an infection wuold set in very soon. Another lessoned learned... if you find a good breed vet stick with him, even if he's an extra hour away. These pet vets can be dangerous!

We do a c-sec for 1 or 2 pups. The breedings are too important not to.

Just this spring I had my first singleton litter. This was my bitch's first litter and she had gained weight and certainly looked pretty darned pregnant! So imagine my surprise when we went in for the x-ray and we only saw one puppy. The x-ray wasn't the greatest so we did think there may have been one more hiding behind the one. Her due dates came and went and she never progressed into labor. We were hoping to avoid the C-section and wanted to see if my girl could have this puppy(s) naturally, but because we went past her second due date, and labor never started, my vet did a section the very next morning. Good thing we did as we discovered there was just the one puppy, she was close to 16 oz., and she was no where near ready to be born as she wasn't even close to the birth canal.
I was a nervous wreck before and I felt so much better after that c-section and would have kicked myself if I had decided to wait any longer and something had happened to my bitch, the puppy, or both. If this situation were ever to happen to me again, I wouldn't hesitate to schedule a C-section.

My procedure is to X-ray about a week before the due date. At tha time I tell my vets, regular and repro, when she is due and check on their availablity. I then wait until her temperature drops and, if nothing has happened in 24 hours, get back to the vet(s), who already know that I might be calling. If, as I usually do, we've done progesterone testing, my repro vet then decides when to do the C-section. So I do give the mother a chance to have a natural birth, but if it hasn't happened in a timely manner, I don't wait. I do this for all births, not just C-sections, after I lost an entire litter of three (Ch Tabatha's Drifter of Dickendall was the sire, so that HURT) when mom didn't go into labor on Christmas Day. I also had a litter of 12 in which labor didn't progress. All 12 were alive and kicking after the C-section. I undoubtedly would have lost some if I'de waited much longer.

In my last post I said I do this for all birth, not just C-sections. I should have said I do this for all births, not just singletons.

Thank you for all the responses.

I know there is one puppy b/c I had an x-ray. She is due this coming Sunday. I called the vet back to ask about a scheduled c-section and was told that they couldn't do it until Tuesday and that they were sure she'd have the pup on her own "because she has had a litter before." I called another vet and left a msg. I received a very terse msg on my machine when I got home today--"We do not do such "pre-emptive" surgery--we suggest you go elsewhere." I was stunned at the tone and called him back. He wasn't available and I explained to the tech who answered. I hung up and thought about it more and called back *again*...I thought maybe they thought I was trying to get rid of the puppy They said no....

What the heck??

I've only had one by C-section and hope I never had another.

I had a singelton that I knew about ahead of time and when she was due I had another litter just a few days old. I put a few of those pups on her after things had not progressed much within 12-18 hours after her temp dropped. I can't say for sure, but it sure seemed to do the trick. She had the puppy within an hour.

A C-section is real surgery. People and dogs do die while in surgery. Give your bitch a chance to whelp her singleton and prepare your vet for a section just in case.