Answer

Hello,

 

Dogs of any breed are pregnant for approximately 63 days, so you can start counting approximately from the time she was in heat (towards end of heat is most likely time to get pregnant).

 

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. You rarely see these signs much sooner than day 25 to 30, so again, use that as indicators.

 

At this 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 she's pregnant, you want to get her on a puppy food 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, 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.

 

Hope this helps. Please reply if I can help you further. And best of luck to you, the mother, and the soon to be additions to the family!

 

Christine