Dog Whelping Guide: Preparation and Birth Records

A useful dog whelping guide helps you prepare, recognize when to seek veterinary help, and keep a clear account of what happened. Before labor begins, have your contacts, supplies, and a place to record observations ready.

Download the blank whelping record below for birth details and veterinary advice. Further down, you can see how to record a litter and its puppies in BreedTracker. The sheet supports communication and handover; completing it should never delay care.

PRINTABLE BIRTH RECORD

Printable whelping record for your litter

Use this blank record for each puppy's arrival, identity, birth weight, and observations to share with your veterinarian.

Download whelping recordA4 PDF

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Blank record for birth observations

When to call your vet during whelping

Cornell’s guidance on difficult birth  (opens in a new tab) lists strong contractions lasting more than 20–30 minutes without a puppy as a reason to call immediately. It also flags weak contractions without progress, heavy bleeding, foul-smelling discharge, and a dam who appears very ill, exhausted, or painful.

Call sooner if you are concerned. Describe what you see and when it started; you do not need to identify the cause before asking for help.

Green discharge without a puppy following also needs prompt veterinary contact. For a quiet interval between births, Cornell’s normal whelping guidance  (opens in a new tab) advises contacting your veterinarian if more than two hours have passed. A pause between puppies and sustained active straining are different observations.

A puppy that is not breathing normally, is gasping, or is unresponsive needs immediate help. The 2025 RECOVER newborn resuscitation guidelines  (opens in a new tab) emphasize assessment and timely respiratory support. Contact your veterinarian or emergency service immediately and follow their instructions while help is arranged.

Prepare for dog whelping before labor begins

Agree a veterinary plan

Discuss the dam’s history, expected delivery window, and any previous birth difficulties with your veterinarian. Merck Veterinary Manual  (opens in a new tab) explains that breeding dates do not necessarily match conception dates and that examination or imaging can help assess the pregnancy.

Write down:

• The regular practice and out-of-hours emergency numbers.
• Which clinic to contact if your regular practice is closed.
• The address and route, plus who can drive if needed.
• The observations your veterinarian wants reported.
• Any plan your veterinarian has already made for this dam.
• Practical emergency training to arrange before delivery.

Keep the contact details on the printable record and in your phone. If someone else will help, make sure they can find them.

Set up the space and supplies

A familiar, undisturbed area matters during delivery, according to Merck’s reproduction guidance  (opens in a new tab). Discuss the whelping setup and newborn temperature management with your veterinarian before the expected delivery.

Use the existing dog whelping supplies checklist to review what is packed. It includes a printable checklist, so you can keep supply preparation separate from the birth record.

Decide who will observe, who can make calls, and where the record will stay. Keep spare pages and a pen nearby. When care needs your attention, another person can note times if available.

Dog whelping stages: what to observe

Labor has three stages: preparation and cervical dilation, puppy delivery, and placental delivery. Puppies and placentas do not always arrive in a simple alternating sequence. Cornell’s overview of normal whelping  (opens in a new tab) explains these stages and the behavior changes that may accompany them.

For the record, describe what you actually observe: nesting, visible straining, discharge, a birth, or a pause. Add the time you first noticed it. If you are unsure whether labor is progressing normally, contact your veterinarian.

A temperature drop may precede birth, but it is not always detected. The same Cornell guidance describes it as one sign among others. It does not provide an exact countdown for an individual dam.

How to use the printable whelping record

At the top, enter the dam or litter identifier, the observer’s name, sheet number, and your veterinary contacts. Add the clinic address and transport details. Use the labor observations and veterinary advice area for events before the first birth, including when you first observed straining or unusual discharge and when you contacted the practice.

Use one row for each puppy’s birth details, including stillborn puppies:

1. Date and time: Record the actual birth time when known. Include the date when whelping crosses midnight.
2. Puppy ID: Use a consistent collar color, name, or other identifier.
3. Sex: Enter it when confirmed.
4. Weight and unit: Record the measured value with its unit.
5. Observations and outcome: Add relevant details or refer to a longer note below.

Attend to the dam and puppies first. Leave anything unknown blank, or label it “not recorded.” If a time is approximate, mark it as approximate. An honest gap is more useful than an invented timestamp.

Keep additional pages with the same dam or litter identifier. If another observer takes over, note their name and the handover time so later readers know who recorded each event.

Write observations that help a veterinary conversation

A short, specific entry is easier to interpret than a diagnosis guessed during a stressful moment. “Visible straining first noticed at…” tells the veterinarian what you saw. “Obstructed labor” makes a clinical conclusion that the record alone cannot establish.

Keep a sequence of events, including any care already provided and advice received. Cornell notes that a labor timeline forms part of the veterinary assessment  (opens in a new tab).

When you call, have the recent observations and birth record available if you can. Record the call time, who advised you, and the next action they recommended. Ask for clarification if an instruction is unclear.

Do not attempt manual extraction or give drugs to advance labor based on this article. Merck’s delivery guidance  (opens in a new tab) makes clear that treatment depends on veterinary assessment and that calcium or oxytocin should not be given without specific veterinary advice.

Keep the record after whelping

Ask your veterinarian how to confirm that delivery is complete and what follow-up they recommend for the dam and puppies. Merck describes examination, sometimes with imaging, to check for remaining puppies  (opens in a new tab). A completed set of rows cannot make that determination.

Keep the original birth record with later observations and veterinary advice. For subsequent puppy measurements, use the newborn puppy weight guide and printable log. That resource records actual weights and notes for discussion with your veterinarian.

RECORDS IN BREEDTRACKER

Record your litter in BreedTracker

Record the litter's birth date, outcome, and notes. Add each puppy's collar color, sex, and birth weight, then keep those puppy records with the litter.

Synthetic example. These screenshots use invented records. The weights shown are sample entries, not growth targets.

Enter collar, sex, and birth weight

View full-size screenshot

Synthetic example · Birth weights entered in ounces

See the saved puppies in the litter

View full-size screenshot

Synthetic example · Detail of the saved Puppies table

Start recording in BreedTracker

The printable birth record is available above without an account.

The puppy birth-weight field uses ounces. Check the unit before transferring a measurement from paper. Keep the original sheet for individual birth times and other observations you have not saved in the app.

Choose one place for the current record and make it clear to anyone helping. Before setting paper aside, check that the correct details are attached to the correct litter and puppy.

Frequently asked questions about dog whelping

Does a temperature drop tell me exactly when puppies will arrive?

No. Cornell describes a drop that is not always detected  (opens in a new tab). Share temperature observations with your veterinarian alongside other signs and the pregnancy history.

What if I missed a birth time?

Write that it was not observed, or clearly label an approximate time. Keep any known context, such as the observer who was present. Do not change other entries to make the timeline look complete.

Do I need BreedTracker to use the printable record?

No. The whelping record is available to download and use on paper. The app demonstration shows an optional way to keep litter and puppy details together.

Sources and update note

Sources checked September 7, 2026. BreedTracker prepared this guide as a planning and recordkeeping resource. It has not undergone veterinary review.