SolveYourProblem.com Article Series: Dog Care
Dog Care Tips
My
Dog Is Pregnant: What Should I Expect?
Are you getting ready for your dog to have
puppies? Having a litter of pups sounds like a lot of fun,
but there is much work involved. Here are some tips on how
to get your dog and you ready for birth.
The
first thing to know is that your dog will be pregnant on
average for 63 days. This is not very much time so make
sure you are ready.
You will want to make sure that you are feeding
your pregnant dog appropriately. Your dog will need to eat more than usual
and you may want to transition to a growth type food or puppy
food during the pregnancy. You should do this by decreasing
the amount of regular food you give your dog each day while
increasing the amount of new food. It’s best if you do this
over the course of about a week to help prevent loose stool.
Check with your veterinarian to see what is appropriate for
diet. Make sure to feed your dog a high quality diet. You do
not need to supplement the diet with vitamins unless it is
recommended by your veterinarian. Always follow their recommendations.
Your dog may experience symptoms similar to human morning sickness
around the third week of pregnancy. If this lasts longer than
one week, take your dog to the veterinarian to see if there
are any underlying problems.
You will want to continue regular
walks with your dog during
the pregnancy. It is important to get some exercise, but if
you have a working dog or do sports with your dog, you will
want to discontinue these until after the puppies are weaned.
However, three weeks prior to delivery, you will want to isolate
your pregnant dog from all other dogs. This must continue until
at the very least, three weeks after the puppies are born.
There are infectious diseases carried by unvaccinated dogs
that may not be very harmful to adult dogs but can be fatal
to puppies.
If your dog is due for vaccination during the pregnancy, hold
off on this until after the puppies are weaned. Vaccination
during pregnancy can be harmful to the fetuses. Ideally, you
will want to have your dog vaccinated just prior to breeding.
When
getting ready to deliver, make sure to provide a comfortable
place for whelping and raising the puppies. It should be somewhere
where your dog can come and go, but the puppies are confined
to.
When
it is time to deliver, your dog’s body temperature will
drop slightly. You can monitor this with a rectal thermometer.
Normal canine temperature is between 100-102 degrees. When
it drops below 100 degrees, you can usually expect labor in
24 hours. When your dog starts to go into labor, she will become
restless and may pant, shiver, or vomit. This is normal. Make
sure to provide fresh water to her at all times. This stage
of labor may last up to 12 hours. When she begins to deliver
the pups, they will be covered with a thin membrane which must
be cleared away. The mother should do this herself, but should
she neglect to do this, you will need to clear it away or the
pup will suffocate. You will need to tie the umbilical cords
in a knot and cut them above the knot. Pups will come about
one per hour with up to half an hour of straining in between
deliveries. It is not unusual for your dog to take a break
of a few hours during delivery.
You will need to call your veterinarian if your dog does not
deliver within one day of her temperature drop, she is straining
to deliver for more than an hour, takes more than a four hour
break between pups, seems to be in great pain, or has been
pregnant for more than 70 days. Some breeds require cesarean
sections so make sure to discuss this with your doctor prior
to delivery. If you feel that anything else unusual is occurring,
contact your veterinarian immediately.
It is always important to discuss all of your concerns and
what to expect with your veterinarian prior to delivery. #
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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