I am sure you did not mean 3 inches as that's one hell of a long cord
No of course I didn't!!!
- centimeteres - sorry, you and i should read our posts before submitting shouldn't we
the equivalent of your one inch! The cords and the pups are so slippery even with squares of toweling, that I prefer the clips - quick and easy.
I have calcichew D tablets for myself and I used to give Belle one of these a day a few days before and a week or so after whelping. Lack of calcium can cause eclampsia. (milk fever) but pregnant bitches fed correctly may not need calcium supplementation. The symptoms of eclampsia come on suddenly and progress quickly and need vet intervention if it happens. The symptoms to watch for are restlessness and anxiety; a little disoriented, sometiems panting and drooling. But this is a worst case scenario, so just make sure she has good quality food throughout and she'll be fine.