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We recently decided to utilize the WhelpWise perinatal monitoring system on Ali. This was the third breeding for Ali; the first two did not result in a pregnancy and we wanted to take every precaution possible to improve the odds of success. Let me share with you the results and our observations. A goodly part of this article is rather technical (read; boring) so I’ll put that last lest I loose your interest. For now, let me just say the system consists of a uterine contraction monitor and a Doppler ultrasound fetal heart rate monitor.
The bottom line: It works! We are convinced it saved the life of one of the puppies.
We started monitoring on Wednesday, 4 days before the first expected due date. Ali exhibited minor contractions on Thursday. The contractions were small and occurred about three times per hour. Granted, we are novices, but these contractions were not obvious. WhelpWise considers active labor at five per hour. On Friday morning, the 61st day from the first breeding, the data revealed six contractions per hour with one being significant. Karen Copley RNC BSN, and owner of WhelpWise said Ali might whelp Friday night or Saturday and suggested I stay home and monitor again in six hours.
At the same time, we were monitoring fetal heart rate with the Doppler ultrasound unit. It takes patience and perseverance to get any meaningful information. Like anything new, the more experience you gain, the easier it becomes. It also requires resolve and commitment to clip or shave the hair on both sides up to the flank. (More about this later.) Fetal heart rate should be in the neighborhood of 200 beats per minute. The Doppler gizmo gives an audible signal as well as a digital display. Three of the heart rates were strong and about 200. One pup, however, had a somewhat erratic heart rate; 188 per minute occasionally slowing to 165.
The technician was concerned that this pup was under stress and said to “watch” it closely. By noon Friday the rate was oscillating between 190 and 148. At this point the WhelpWise technician suggested that if we wanted to play it safe, we might consider a c-section. She said people with large litter breeds will often accept the possibility of a dead puppy. With only four pups we didn’t want to take a chance. We scheduled the surgery for 5:30 PM Friday with Dr. Kestle.
All four puppies (three boys and a girl, wouldn’t you know) were delivered alive and well. Three were in the 6 – 7 ounce range and one weighed just 4.3 ounces. As it turned out, the stressed puppy was not the smallest one, but the second largest. The placenta of the stressed puppy was discolored and the rear of the puppy was bluish.
At this writing, the puppies are seven days old, healthy, and gaining weight consistently. The littlest outlaw (I can’t bring myself to call him a runt) is still the smallest but is gaining weight proportional to the others. Ali started out as the “mother from hell”, but in now very attentive, protective and nurturing; but that’s another story.
If you are strictly a “touchy feely” type, you can zone out now. If, on the other hand, you are interested in using the service sometime in the future or are a “techy”, read on. Forgive me if I occasionally circle back to something I’ve already said but it is difficult to separate the process from the results.
We first heard about WhelpWise from a guest speaker at an Atlanta Kennel Club meeting. Also scoped out their web site: www.whelpwise.com. Cost of the service is $300. For this you receive two devices; a Doppler ultrasound fetal heart rate monitor and a uterine contraction monitor along with a modem base station and necessary accessories. The system is shipped with written instructions and a video. It’s pretty high tech; I had to read the instructions several times (will my male ego ever recover?). Reservations should be made several weeks in advance to be sure of getting one of the units.
The uterine contraction monitor is comprised of a sensor, portable date recorder, as well as the computer/modem to transmit the data back to Wheat Ridge, Colorado. The sensor is attached to the bitch with an adjustable harness that also holds the data recorder. The sensor is secured to the side of the bitch on the lower flank. This unit is not difficult to use. The hardest (and most time consuming) part is keeping the bitch lying down and calm for a full hour, twice a day. After the hour, the recorder is detached from the sensor and plugged into the computer. You call WhelpWise in Wheat Ridge (toll free number) and after speaking to the technician; activate the modem, which transmits the hour of recorded data in about a minute. The technician then comes back on the phone and interprets the data.
Using the fetal heart rate monitor is a little more difficult but the information it provides is probably more important than the contraction monitor. It is a small sensor connected to the control unit. A water base gel helps make intimate contact with the skin. Hair caused air to be trapped and prevents adequate contact to obtain a good reading. At first we tried to use it without removing any hair. We were able to find two of the puppies, but the other two were high on the side, in the hair, so to speak. After clipping the hair on the flank it was still not easy but I could find all four with a degree of reliability. The stressed puppy was one of the “high” ones.
All in all, we consider the investment a good one.
Don Mallik
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