Ok, since I can't seem to get my pm's to work (crappy internet service out here Argh!) I'l try here.
Have her x-rayed at or after 45 days, that's when the pups' bones have calcified so you can get a better count and an idea on how they're progressing. At that point, you and the vet might want to consider scheduling a c-section if deemed possibly needed.
At about 10 days before she is due, start taking her temperature rectally (use a regular thermometer) twice daily. Chart her temperatures to see what is normal for her. When her temp drops a degree or more, pups should show up usually within 24 hours. All bitches are diffrent as far as nesting behaviors, so don't go off waiting until she starts that. I have one here who doesn't start until after she's already had her first.
As for a whelping box, for my poodles, I used an x-pen surrounding a rubbermade under-the-bed storage box. Line it with newspaper, then put in a few handfulls of shredded paper on top. Don't use towels or sheets for the first few days because puppies can strangle in them. You can switch to fabrics after a few days once they are able to pull themselves out of it, but watch them very closely. I keep mine confined so I don't find (another lol) litter born on my bed - white comfortor and all. blech! You want them confined to a safe, quiet place out of traffic so mom feels safe and can't move them to all sorts of weird locations all over the house. For her last week of gestation, she only goes outside on a leash with you supervising closely. I have heard horror stories of bitches running off to hide and have pups under sheds and houses, etc.
In your whelping kit, what I have found useful over the years is liquid dish soap (great lubracant), 2 hemostats, dental floss (for tying cords if needed), iodine to dip cords (helps to disinfect and dry them faster), lots of clean towels or rags to help hold pups for guiding out of mom or just drying/rubbing pups. I use cloth diapers. They work great and fairly cheap, and reusable with a touch of bleach while washing. You may want to have a little sugar water or beef/chicken broth for mom - offer her small drinks throughout birthing and watch for twitches, stiffness, bizarre behavior and/or seizures warning of a calcium imbalance. (you'll need to wach for that for about 2 weeks after, also). That is a dire emergency, don't wait to see your vet at the first sign of twitching.
As far as food, I'm possibly going to annoy some folks, but as long as she's on a good balanced diet (and Fromm's is), she does not need to be switched to a puppy formula. I also don't feed any of my pups puppy food. They may not grow as fast, but I have never *knocking on wood* ever had joint or growth issues in any breed on a good adult diet.
Just in case, I also keep several cans of goat milk for bottle feeding in case mama doesn't produce enough or god forbid, she's unable to nurse for any reason. Do NOT use the commercial puppy milk replacers, they are nothing but chemicals and junk. I can link you to a great recipe for puppy milk replacer, but honestly, I have raised an entire litter on straight goat milk and they are just as healthy and active as any mama raised dog I've ever owned. As far as calcium suppliments for mom, soak her food in diuted goat milk or offer cottage cheese if she can tolerate that. (Goat milk is safe for lactose intolerant animals of all species - even I can drink it. lol)
I'll add more later, but just realized I'm late for getting my daughter from school. Oops, these dogs get me everytime!
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