When Caramel's Puppies Decided It Was Time

As I write this, we’re in that strange, suspended moment where nothing is happening — and everything is about to. Our Cockapoo, Caramel, is heavily pregnant, mildly unimpressed with us, and clearly running on her own internal timetable. She’s due to whelp any day now, which raises the obvious question people keep asking:

How does she know when it’s time?

The answer turns out to be surprisingly simple, and surprisingly elegant. But there’s also another feeling sitting quietly underneath the watching and waiting — excitement. The kind that’s hard to explain unless you’ve been here before. We know what’s coming: warm bodies, impossibly small paws, the first squeaks, and the way the room changes the moment puppies arrive. The science is fascinating, but the promise of new life is what makes the waiting electric.

Caramel Wednesday morning 29 January 2026.

Labour - the puppies start it

In dogs, labour doesn’t begin because the mother decides she’s had enough. It begins because the puppies are ready.

A dog’s pregnancy is held in place by a single hormone: progesterone. As long as progesterone stays high, labour quite literally cannot start. When it falls, labour is inevitable.

When a dog comes into season, progesterone starts off low and almost irrelevant. Early heat is driven by oestrogen, while progesterone quietly begins to rise in the background — unusually, before ovulation rather than after. This rise matters because progesterone’s job is to relax the uterus and suppress contractions, creating a stable, quiet environment where embryos can implant and puppies can safely gestate.

The key moment breeders look for is the LH (luteinising hormone) surge, which acts as the trigger for ovulation. By this point, progesterone has already climbed to a measurable level and continues to rise as ovulation follows about two days later. From then on, progesterone stays high — whether or not pregnancy occurs — holding the uterus in a relaxed state for weeks, and eventually becoming the very hormone whose sudden collapse signals that labour is about to begin.

Late in pregnancy, when the puppies are fully developed, their tiny adrenal glands start producing cortisol. This all too familiar fight-or-flight hormone sends a clear message through the placenta and ovaries: we’re done here. The ovaries shut down progesterone production, and once that happens, there’s no going back.

From that moment on, Caramel’s body is no longer in “maintenance mode.” It’s in “delivery mode.”

The cascade that follows

With progesterone out of the way, everything else falls into line:

• Prostaglandins rise, softening the cervix (ripening) and preparing it to open

• Oxytocin increases, triggering uterine contractions

• Each contraction reinforces the next, especially as puppies press against the cervix

• The uterine contractions stress the puppies so they release more cortisol to the placenta

This creates a self-reinforcing loop — once it starts, it carries on until the job is done.

This is why canine labour is so much more predictable than human labour. Dogs don’t hedge. Their puppies flip a switch that can't be turned off. We are waiting anxiously for Caramel's puppies to flip the switch!

The temperature clue

One of the clearest signs that the switch has flipped is body temperature. Progesterone keeps a dog’s temperature slightly elevated. When progesterone collapses, her temperature drops with it — often from around 38.5–39 °C to below about 37.2 °C. Labour usually follows within 6 to 24 hours. Caramel's temperatures this week Sat 24/01/26 - 37.9 C

Sun 25/01/26 - 37.9 C

Mon 26/01/26 - 37.6 C

Tues 27/01/26 - 37.9

Wed 28/01/26 - 38.0 C

What we noticed in Caramel with her first litter in 2023

As labour approaches, dogs often start behaving a little differently — not distressed, just focused.

As labour approaches, dogs often behave differently — not distressed, just focused. Caramel started:

• Panting

• Rearranging bedding with purpose

• Restless but not anxious

• Less interested in food

• Alternating between wanting company and wanting solitude

• 
  

None of this was confusion — it was simply her body preparing her, whether we were ready or not.

Watching instinct at work

The accompanying Apple iMovie, filmed in October 2023, captures Caramel’s labour onset and the delivery of her first litter. There’s something quietly extraordinary about watching it unfold — no instructions, no hesitation, just a process that knows exactly what it’s doing.

There is joy in that competence. Seeing life arrive without drama or fanfare, one puppy at a time, each greeted with calm focus and immediate care — it’s joyful not because it’s perfect, but because it’s purposeful, ancient, and surreal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ9Q0taLNwk

Caramel went into labour on 29th January and puppies began arriving at 4:00AM. She had been sleeping in our bed, between Susan and I, but then she jumped down and went into her crate. Susan woke me to go check and there he was, Pup 1, a gorgeous apricot boy.

By the time the first puppy arrived, the waiting had transformed into something else entirely. Relief, yes — but also delight. The kind that sneaks up as you realise you’re witnessing a beginning, not just a biological event.

It’s easy to forget how competent animals are at this. Caramel doesn’t need reassurance or encouragement. She just needs space, calm, and trust in a biological system that’s been doing this for generations.

In the end

Caramel didn’t need a due date circled on a calendar. Her puppies told her when they were ready, her hormones listened, and her body followed through. We were simply there to witness the magic — in awe, in wonder, and with a deep, unmistakable sense of joy — and then to get out of the way.

And of course, knowing all of this doesn’t magically switch off the anxiety. It’s entirely natural — and this time we carry a little extra memory. This will be Caramel’s second litter, and after her first she passed a retained placenta 36 hours after the final puppy was born at 20:04 on Thursday evening, 12 October 2023. We were fortunate our vet was open the following Saturday morning, and everything was resolved quickly.

So yes, we quietly hope she goes into labour tomorrow — a Thursday again — when the vet is open not just that day, but Friday and Saturday too. Biology may be elegant and instinctive, but when it’s your dog, you still catch yourself negotiating with the calendar and hoping nature lines up neatly with office hours.

This time, we’ll be more vigilant and count every placenta. Just as pilots want an equal number of takeoffs and landings, we want an equal number of puppies and placentas — a simple, concrete way to keep an eye on everything while still letting Caramel do her thing.

And despite the nerves, the calendar-watching, and the quiet bargaining with biology, joy is still the loudest thing in the room. Joy that she knows what to do. Joy that new lives are so close we can almost hear them. Joy that, very soon, Caramel won’t just be pregnant — she’ll be a mother again, and our house will be full in the best possible way. Thinking About a Cockapoo?

If you’re considering welcoming a Cockapoo into your family and would like to learn more about our upcoming Spring 2026 litter, the best place to start is by requesting our Puppy Questionnaire.

This helps us understand whether our puppies — and our placement approach — are likely to be a good fit for you. You can use our contact form to reach out and we’ll be happy to guide you from there.