Oestrus monitoring and artificial insemination in the bitch

What can nurses do in cases of dystocia? What is important with regards to anaesthesia and monitoring? Learn how to care for the newborn pups and how to introduce them to the bitch.

Caesarean sections are one of the most common emergency surgeries performed, and it can be a stressful time for owner, clinical team and patient! This presentation will look at how we can maximize the outcome of the procedure for both mum and offspring. Dystocia can occur for a number of reasons, so appreciating what's normal in pregnancy and labour in the bitch, will help us to spot the cases where we need to intervene either medically or surgically. A brief over-view of normal parturition will be followed by a closer look at how we can focus on patient preparation, anaesthesia, surgical technique and neonate care to improve our chances of a successful result in these rewarding cases.

Primary uterine inertia is the most common cause of dystocia in dogs and when combined with the highly variable pregnancy length (58 to 72 days from mating to whelping) causes significant confusion in managing ‘the overdue bitch’. Appreciating the normal reproductive biology including when and how diagnostic tests should be applied improves clinical decision-making and facilitates improved outcome in cases of potential dystocia.