Pup is reading at 99.5F but she’s not due for at least another week… or is she?

[belovedgal]

She’s not showing any symptoms of labor but her rectal temp is 99.5F. Could my thermometer be wrong? She hasn’t started nesting or licking a bunch but that temp seems low. Anyone experienced this?

 

[613jono]

@belovedgal Did you progesterone test pre breeding or are you going off matings?

 

[belovedgal]

@613jono Going off when she first mated

 

[613jono]

@belovedgal Keep taking her temp. Usually it drops below 99, but keep an eye on her, you may have bred her late after ovulation so it may be time.

 

[dukedesu]

@belovedgal If you're going off the breeding dates you could be way off and not know it.

 

[belovedgal]

@dukedesu How so? I’m very aware of which days they were together and locked.

 

[dukedesu]

@belovedgal Because a very enthusiastic stud dog can & will tie an easy going bitch at any number of progesterone. I know, because I have had breedings and then tested where the progesterone was literally .5 the next day (it was a split cycle, so we did not realize she had come back in). That breeding was on 1/2 -- the puppies were born 3/12 -- nearly 10 weeks after that first breeding, but even that was following a split cycle where had had bred her without progesterone and the first actual tie that they had, before she came back in for the second part of her season, was on 12/11. It was this litter that taught me how valuable progesterone testing is. Being aware of when they breed does not tell you a whole lot in itself.

 

[theologybuff]

@belovedgal If you do not know when she is ovulating she could ovulate early or late so your breeding window isn’t as close as you’d like to think it is. It’s imperative to PG at least one time because a girl will always surge on the same day of her heat cycle each time. So if you know that your girl surges on day 15 you have a 4 day prime surge window and that way you only have to breed during those 4 days instead of throwing blanks at a wall

 

[belovedgal]

@theologybuff I guess the only thing I’m wondering about is if she could have succeeded earlier rather than later, because we kept her away from the male up until the time they locked. There wasn’t really an opportunity before that. So I’m asking if the puppies could be coming earlier than my calculation

 

[theologybuff]

@belovedgal I do not start to worry until day 69/70 from last breeding. Alternatively you can check puppy heart beat. They usually go down to 80-120 when moms are getting ready to deliver.

 

[marcmp]

@belovedgal Mine read at 99 for a week. She didn’t go into labor until it was 97.

 

[theologybuff]

@belovedgal Reverse PG if you’re concerned. Also your breeding window can be from first mating to last mating with a 3-5 day window from there if you didn’t PG. Usually 98 is when you’ll be on puppy watch. When it hits 98 usually you have 12-48 hours depending on the dog.

 

[smilerman312]

@belovedgal Digital thermometers are all over the place for readings. I had an older one that when the dam reached 99.2 that was the temp drop. It stopped working and my next one was 98.8. My current one I think based on one dog is 99.4 and my problem was the thermometer I was using died (the 98.8 one) in the middle of monitoring for a C-section because of the number of puppies. Just look for a 1.5 to 2 degree temp drop. It may be your thermometer isn't reading true

 

[nateharr]

@belovedgal For a week, mine read 99. It wasn't until it was 97 that she went into labor.

 

[devaofprayze]

@belovedgal keep monitoring temp at least twice a day. I look for a drop to 97 point something. You need to chart it to see the drop, once you start charting you'll see what a normal pattern is for your dog. Many are lower in the morning, higher in evening etc