Apr 15 2009
Pregnancy in Dogs
Dogs of any breed are pregnant for approximately 63 days.
Signs that your dog is pregnant: Her mammary glands get bigger, her abdomen gradually starts getting bigger, and she may act hungrier by about day 30 post-conception.
At that point, you could always find out for sure by having an ultrasound done to see the puppy heartbeats. Or at about 40-45 days post-conception sometimes sooner), you should be able to define how many pups there on by seeing their skeletons on x-ray.
If your dog is pregnant, you want to get her on a high quality puppy food (higher protein)and increase the amount she eats, as this higher protein will help nourish the pups as well. Continue this even while she’s nursing.
Invest in a rectal thermometer (usually only about $5) and start taking her temperature every day starting at about 56/57 days post-conception. You’ll get an idea of what her normal temp is, the range of normal for a dog being 100F to 102.5F.
Once the temperature drops about 2 degrees F and stays there (usually to under 98), your dog is ready to give birth within 24 hours. Birth happens normally around day 63, but a dog can give birth anywhere from day 59-69.
Depending on how many pups are coming determines how long the birthing process takes place, but generally, once contractions start, the first pup should be born within a half hour, and no more than 4 hours between each pup.
Christine, LVT
