How to determine & diagnosis Dystocia

An experimented breeder that has already been through at least one birth will be capable of determining most problem cases, but if you are still new at this, you must ask for advice and/or veterinarian helped when faced with the previously mentioned situations. Many times, it'll be enough to just introduce your fingers (covered by sterile gloves and lubricated with vaseline) into the vagina so that you can discover the possible cause of dystocia, and with this you can easily verify if the vagina or vulva are dilated or if there is the presence of a fetus at any height.

If you verify that there is a puppy in the vagina, you have to be capable of evaluating how it is; if the vagina is sufficiently lubricated; if the puppy is apparently big; if the pressure of your fingers on the abdominal wall of the vagina stimulates contractions and, if these occur, if the puppy comes towards the vulva, etc.

On some locations it is feasible to manually pull the puppy that is still inside the upper part of the vagina, but this must be done by an experimented person or the veterinarian, not leaving anything to luck or improvisation; for this it is necessary that you pull very softly, always taking advantage of any contraction that might occur and, besides, always take into account of the vagina doesn't follow a completely straight line in its descent; instead, halfway through, there is an arch that goes over the pelvis which later descents abruptly.