How Do I Know If My Dog Is Pregnant

Ultrasound is safe during pregnancy.

How do i know if my dog is pregnant. Pay attention to your dog s habits and physical characteristics so you can recognize. It can be difficult to tell whether your dog is pregnant until the last few weeks of her nine week gestation when some signs are clearer. The vet may give your dog a blood test to check. Later into the pregnancy her nipples may occasionally leak milk as well.

The following signs and symptoms will show you how to tell if your dog is pregnant. Weight gain and enlarged abdomen. This can be one of the clearest indicators of a dog s pregnancy especially if your dog has no other reason for sudden weight gain. During your visit your vet can use ultrasound to see the growing puppies as early as 3 weeks in.

It uses sound waves to create an image of your dog s womb. Make sure you have a whelping kit and a whelping box ready. If you find her engaged in activities like shredding the fabric or trying to prepare beddings for the future puppies you have reasons to tell that your dog is pregnant. If she has parasites your vet will treat them.

This relatively short gestation period can make it easy to miss some of the early signs of pregnancy. As the puppies grow your dog s abdomen will expand in size. A female dog s pregnancy term is only around two months with most dogs remaining pregnant for between 58 and 66 days. The best way to prepare for your puppies birth is to know when the mother dog is pregnant.

The dog s belly won t show that she s pregnant until the final weeks at which time it will become rounded and the mammary glands will begin to develop so if you need to know sooner take the dog to the vet for a blood test or ultrasound. Much like humans dogs prepare themselves psychologically once they are pregnant.