Retained Placenta in Dogs: What Breeders Need to Know

A retained placenta is one of the most common post-whelping complications — and one that is easily missed if you are not counting placentas during the birth.

During whelping, each puppy is accompanied by a placenta — the temporary organ that nourished the puppy in the uterus. Normally, the dam expels each placenta shortly after each puppy is born (within 5–15 minutes). Sometimes a placenta is retained — it stays inside the uterus — and if not addressed, causes serious uterine infection.

How to Detect a Retained Placenta

Count the placentas. This is the most important action you can take during a whelping. Every puppy requires one placenta. If you deliver 6 puppies and only count 5 placentas, you have a retained placenta.

It sounds simple, but it is easy to lose count during a busy, extended whelping. Keep a pen and paper log: each time a puppy is born, make a mark; each time a placenta is delivered, make a second mark. Never rely on memory.

Note: The dam often eats the placentas, which makes counting difficult. Allow her to eat one or two — it provides hormonal benefits — but supervise closely and count each one.

How Long Is Too Long?

A placenta that is not expelled within a few hours of the puppy's birth is considered retained. If whelping is complete and the placenta count does not match the puppy count, contact your vet the same day.

Signs of a Problem

You may not know a placenta is retained until signs of infection develop 24–72 hours post-whelping:

• Fever (rectal temperature above 39.5°C / 103°F)
• Foul-smelling discharge — normal lochia has a characteristic smell; infected discharge smells putrid
• Depression and lethargy beyond normal whelping tiredness
• Loss of interest in the puppies — a dam developing metritis will often become disengaged from the litter
• Reduced milk production
• Vomiting or not eating beyond the first 12 hours

Any of these signs require immediate veterinary attention.

Treatment

Do not attempt to remove a retained placenta yourself. Manual removal is dangerous and risks uterine rupture or haemorrhage.

Veterinary treatment depends on severity:

• Oxytocin injection: Given within the first few hours, oxytocin causes uterine contractions that may expel the retained placenta naturally. Most effective in the first 12–24 hours.
• Antibiotics: If infection has set in, broad-spectrum antibiotics are required.
• Surgical uterine lavage or spay: In severe metritis (uterine infection), a pyometra-like condition can develop requiring surgical intervention.

Prevention

• Count placentas systematically during every whelping
• Keep the whelping environment calm to allow the dam to complete contractions and expel placentas normally
• Do not rush the dam during whelping — stress can disrupt normal uterine contractions
• Have your vet's emergency number available during every whelping

Summary

Count every placenta during whelping — one per puppy, no exceptions. A retained placenta may not cause immediate signs but leads to serious uterine infection within 24–72 hours. Signs of metritis (fever, foul discharge, lethargy) require immediate veterinary care. Early treatment with oxytocin is straightforward; delayed treatment may require antibiotics or surgery.