How do I know when my pregnant doggie is going to have pups?
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Best information and tips about help for pregnant women, help with pregnancy and pregnancy help
Is there any sign that is obvious? She was pregnant whenever she was given to me! I have no idea how far she is!
First the teets get swallon (not the whole breast yet though) just the nipple
Then the noticable weight gain
Then the shredding (put newspaper down so that she can shred it up and you will know when the puppies are coming
Make sure you walk her when the puppies come. There will be less chance of needing a c-section delivery. She will have a puppy, give her time to clean it and feed it about 15 min. then walk the dog again. Expect it can take around 7 hours from beginning to end.
Here is some tips
The expectant mother will gradually require increasing amounts of food to nourish her developing litter. A food approved for growth (i.e. a puppy food) will certainly be necessary during the nursing period and pregnancy may be a good time to transition into this new diet.
About three weeks into the pregnancy, she may experience a little nausea and appetite loss similar to morning sickness. This should resolve within a week, so if an upset stomach or loss of appetite lasts longer than that or is accompanied by listlessness, something more serious is going on and the vet should be notified.
Calcium supplementation may be tempting but is not a good idea. As long as the expectant mother is on a quality diet, supplementation is unnecessary. Further, supplementation can suppress her natural calcium releasing hormones so that when she really needs extra calcium during nursing, she will not have the proper hormone balance to get it. This can create a very dangerous situation which could easily be avoided by avoiding supplementation of calcium.
Regular walking helps the expectant mother keep up her strength but intensive training, showing, or even obedience school is probably too stressful. Obesity is a dangerous problem for pregnant dogs and serious blood sugar regulation problems can put the litter at risk. Still, pregnancy is not the time for a weight loss program. Your vet will help guide you regarding the optimal nutrition plan for your individual dog.
During the final 3 weeks of pregnancy, the mother dog should be completely isolated from other dogs at home (see below). This means no walks in public during this stage of pregnancy.
female dog should not be vaccinated during pregnancy; there are sera in the vaccine which could be harmful to the developing fetus. Ideally, the female should be vaccinated just prior to breeding. She will be passing on her immunity to her pups in the first milk she produces (special milk called “colostrum”) so we want her antibody levels to be at their peak yet we want to avoid vaccination during pregnancy.
PARASITE CONTROL
If the expectant mother uses a heartworm preventive product normally, she may continue to do so during pregnancy. All heartworm products available are approved for use in pregnancy and lactation.
Flea control is important during pregnancy though is more important after the puppies are born. It is important to use a safe product during pregnancy. There are two specifically approved products for this use:
Capstar
Revolution
Roundworms and Hookworms can both be transmitted from the pregnant mother dog to her unborn puppies. This is a nuisance as one usually ends up with both an infected mother and infected puppies but fortunately there is a deworming protocol to control this infection. If you have concerns about internal parasites for the puppies, speak to your vet about worm control. Daily medication will be needed but it is possible for worm-free puppies to be born.
ISOLATION OF THE MOTHER TO PREVENT HERPES INFECTION
Canine Herpesvirus infection causes a minor cold in adult dogs but can cause abortion in pregnancy as well as death in newborn puppies. The best way to prevent infection is to isolate the mother dog completely during the 3 weeks prior to delivery and the 3 weeks after delivery. This means absolutely no contact with other dogs.
For more details about Canine Herpes Infection, click here.
JUST PRIOR TO ISOLATION, IT IS A GOOD IDEA
FOR THE EXPECTANT MOTHER TO HAVE
A RADIOGRAPH OF HER BELLY TO COUNT PUPPIES.
KNOWING HOW MANY PUPPIES TO EXPECT
WILL TELL YOU WHEN SHE IS FINISHED DELIVERING.
LABOR AND COMPLICATIONS OF DELIVERY
There is always the possibility of a problem with delivery and you will need to be able to recognize labor when it is occurring, what is normal and what is a sign you need to see the vet for assistance. Please visit Giving Birth to Puppies for information on care during labor and nursing.
Pregnancy in a female dog – properly called a bitch, lasts nine weeks.
We determine the birthing date from the date of the first mating.
Some bitches will whelp (deliver their puppies) anywhere from day 59 to day 63.
As the owner, you will make no changes to her diet for the first 5 weeks.
Often, in the 3rd week after mating, she will go off her food for about 10 days.
I compare this to the human ‘morning sickness’ although a dog does not usually vomit.
You will notice that her vulva – the area around her vagina, did not return to the normal small size it was before mating, but looks rather enlarged.
There is normally no discharge during a pregnancy.
If you do see a discharge, then take her to the Veterinarian.
She may have an infection, or be losing the litter, or have developed a case of Pyometra, which, if left untreated, can kill her.
She needs a good exercise program, which involves a daily run to make sure all her muscles, including her uterine muscles, are in top condition.
She also needs a very high quality diet.
This is not the time to scrimp on her feeding formula.
Mother Nature tries to insure the survival of the species, so if the diet is lacking in any ingredient ,calcium or zinc for example, the developing puppies ( whelps) will take from the mother’s body what they need to grow healthy, and therefore her body will become depleted.
DO NOT ADD ANY VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS IN THE FIRST MONTH OF PREGNANCY.
BIRTH DEFECTS WILL DEVELOP FROM TOO MUCH VITAMINS A & D.
DO NOT GIVE ANY MEDICINE NOW EITHER WITHOUT THE EXPRESS ORDER OF THE VETERINARIAN.
At week 5, her nipples will become deep pink in colour, and you may notice that she is thicker around the waist and broader around the rib cage.
Now you should increase her feeding by 25%.
Give her a daily Vitamin supplement from your Veterinarian
At week 6, increase her feeding again by 25% and divide her feedings into 2 meals a day.
You will notice that she is sleeping a little more now.
At week 7, increase her meal amount again by 25%.
Begin making preparations for the arrival of the puppies.
Build a whelping box for her and put it in a quiet room where she will be undisturbed by other pets and people and in an area that is easy to keep warm.
If you are putting the whelping box in a basement, then buy heavy weight plastic drop cloths, to hang ‘walls’ from the ceiling or beams to keep the heat inside the whelping box area.
Decide how you will heat the area where the new puppies will be.
It needs to be about 85 degrees until they are 3 weeks old.
A baseboard heater will do the job, as long as the dog cannot get near the electical cord or get burned by the heater.
You’ll need to have it out of reach.
You will need reams of newspapers for the puppy box.
Get the needed Whelping supplies at my other site.
At week 8, increase the feed again by 25%. She is now eating double her normal amount.
Begin feeding her 3 times a day now and make the exercise time shorter, but more frequent.
Walking will be very tiring for her and she is very uncomfortable through the last week of the pregnancy.
Begin taking her temperature rectally twice a day.
The normal dog temperature is about 100.3F – 101.3F.
It will normally drop to about 98. degrees F 8 – 24 hours before the onset of labour and she will refuse to eat or drink anything.
There are books about dog deliveries you can read, and here is a very good video, that is very educational.
NEVER EXPECT YOUR DOG TO DELIVER A LITTER BY HERSELF.
Although animal whelping is a ‘natural event’ this does not mean that the animal does not get into serious trouble if left unattended.
Mother and puppies frequently die because the owner thoughtlessly left her alone during this crucial time
Pregnant and nursing dogs have very different nutritional needs than normal adult dogs. In fact, nursing is the most nutritionally challenging period a dog will ever encounter. There are special considerations for the feeding and care of these dogs.
In general, it is recommended that experienced, well-equipped professional breeders handle the breeding of puppies. Caring for the pregnant dog, birthing the puppies, and raising the puppies to a level at which they can be separated from their mother is a very involved, costly and time-intensive task for which most casual dog owners are ill prepared.
Someone knowledgeable in the subject should oversee the actual mating of the dogs. If you intend to breed your dog and have never done so before, we strongly urge you to consult a professional or a good book. However, there are some specific issues to watch out for.
Make sure the female is over a year in age
Make sure she is in at least her second heat period
Make sure the dogs are in good physical health – overweight females may have complications
Make sure the dogs are compatible. If you aren’t sure, consult a veterinarian
If you are not a professional breeder with established sales channels, make sure you have homes lined up for the litter
Once you have a pregnant dog, you will need to adjust her feeding and exercise accordingly. You will also have to make special preparations for the birth of the puppies.
For feeding, select a dog food formulated for all life stages, rather than that formulated simply for the maintenance of adult dogs. The food should have 1600 digestible calories per pound of food and at least 21 percent protein. Unless the dog has a tendency to put on too much weight, give her all the food she wants. If she seems to be losing weight, try moistening the food or switching to a more nutritionally dense food.
Canine pregnancies tend to last about nine weeks. For the first six or seven weeks, food intake shouldn’t be that much higher than normal. Between weeks six and seven, the female’s weight will increase. At this time, put out 25 percent more food. Always keep out plenty
She will start panting and stretching alot once she goes into labor.
when a head starts coming out of the mama dog
She will start like nesting. You know right away.
Have a whelping box ready. She will start scratching trying to make her a bed, panting, usually won’t eat, and her temperature will drop.
It all depends on the breed of dog.
You will know when little nasty puppies come popping out of her. My dog (golden retriever) became more docile…and just layed down lazily for quite some time. Soon after, she starting giving birth…to TWELVE puppies.
Good luck and don’t forget to consult with a vet to ensure your dog’s and your puppies health.
The best way to tell is to take her to a vet and have an ultra-sound done. They can tell how far along she is, and how many pups to expect.
There is a way that you can tell by monitoring their temperature rectally. I have forgotten exactly how much the temperature changes but it does and signals when labor is starting. I used it with one of my dog s years ago and it was right on.
If it is the first litter she could do just about anything. Some dogs get very restless because they do not know what is going on. Those, you have to watch carefully or they will drop their pups just about any place. Then you will have those that will have the nesting instinct. If yours is the nervous type try to keep her calm and comfortable. some dogs can handle everything themselves others may need help. I suggest you get a good book and read up on what to expect. It will help you and the dog be calmer.
Wouldn’t you have ASKED?
Dogs are pregnant for roughly 63 days. Go to the vet, he will have a good idea.
Shell be looking for a place to have them
and act really weird and protective of herself
She will give obviouse signs like breathing hard, pacing looking for a comfortable spot away from everyone but you, she may even dry heave wimper stuff like that, she will seem aggitated and restless, but be aware some dogs can take a day or two to deliver after this behavior starts…
just went through this last weekend. start taking her temp normal temp is somewhere over 100.0 ( at least for my dog) sat morning it dropped to 98.2 and 12 hrs later we were blessed with 4 babies. i was sceptical about the temp thing but it really did work. i took it every morning and kept track.
When one of my parents dogs had her pups this was about 9 yrs ago now. i remember my mum telling me that Kiah went and woke her up cos it was like 2am, to let my mum know she was ready. They usually start looking for a place to have them before hand. Make sure you have a area that is like a cave so she feels comfortable. hopefully she willl let you know when the time is right. AS you may have to give her a helping hand a we did. Kiah had 11 puppies she was a rotti they usually have 6, so she was very tired by the end. Just make sure not puppies are left in the sack for too long.