Hi Jutta,

It was NOT oxytocin that was given to her. I am well aware of the effects and use for oxytocin. I agree that it should not be used for inducing labor and hope that no one would use it for such. Not too sure where that asumption came from.

The steriod that was givin is called Dexamethasone. The major reasoning behind giving any drug to induce labor was due to the fact that this female does not have large litters (last litter was only 4 and prior to that one - only 3) and has always had very large pups, she was 4 days past her due date, she had not even entered 2 stage labor yet (which could have taken another 2 - 4 days) and it was strongly felt that if she was allowed to carry them any longer they would get too large and we would have to go in and do a C section and/or some or all of the pups would be born dead. As it was, the pups were between 100 - 200 grams larger then the average gsd pup; so.....

I did some research on the drug and it seems as though it is mainly given to dogs with allergies. I did notice that one of the warnings was not to give a bitch this shot if in early pregnancy as it could cause an abortion of the pups. Guess this is were the idea came from to induce labor in "late" bitches. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

A $18.00 shot sure beats the heck out of C Section any day.

Cathi
http://www.vonderwueste.com