How can you tell if your dog is pregnant?

Why does the owner need to know the symptoms of pregnancy?

Every owner needs to understand the signs of a dog's pregnancy. The fact is that mating can happen by accident. Often the female is able to break loose and run away during the period of estrus. In this case, one can only guess whether she met a male along the way and whether she was able to get pregnant.

Symptoms of pregnancy in dogs do not appear immediately

Planned mating also sometimes does not result in pregnancy, so it is important to identify some symptoms that will confirm a positive or negative result.

First symptoms

The average length of pregnancy in dogs is about two months. However, the first signs begin to appear no earlier than the twenty-fifth day. As a rule, the animal experiences swelling of the mammary glands, and in some cases an enlarged abdomen is observed.

And if you are thinking about how to find out whether a dog is pregnant after mating or not, then remember that there are also indirect signs indicating the imminent appearance of offspring. Starting from the second or third week, the animal becomes lethargic. It can sleep for a long time and not respond to external stimuli.

When exactly can pregnancy be detected?

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Gestation of puppies in dogs lasts approximately 63-65 days, the maximum permissible period is 73 days, if more, then this is already a pathology.

In small dogs - Yorkies, Spitz, Chihuahuas, dachshunds - the duration of pregnancy is approximately 60 days. In animals of large breeds - Labradors, German shepherds, huskies - the gestation period can last up to 70 days. Moreover, large dogs have fewer puppies than small ones.

Pregnancy in large breed bitches in most cases proceeds without problems; the female independently limits her own movements and behaves carefully. Small dogs, such as Yorkshire terriers, are quite active and need to be closely monitored. In the fourth week, in such individuals you can notice swelling of the mammary glands and pinkening of the skin.

Pregnancy lasts longer in larger dogs

The first day is often considered the day of mating. However, within a couple of weeks after this, it is quite difficult to determine whether fertilization has actually occurred. As a rule, there are no significant symptoms. After this time, the first signs begin to appear that are worth paying attention to.

Signs and diagnosis in early pregnancy

To find out that a dog is pregnant, you need to pay attention to how the signs appear in the initial stages of gestation:

The nipples acquire a pinkish tint and slightly increase in size (swell). These signs appear 1-2 weeks after conception.
At 4-5 weeks, the dog’s waist thickens and the belly begins to grow.

Pregnancy
For reference: You should not increase your pet’s feeding in advance. It is recommended to increase the diet in the last trimester and not earlier. In the early stages, excess calories can lead to fat storage. An enlarged abdomen due to overfeeding is sometimes perceived by inexperienced owners as a symptom of pregnancy.

During the 6-9th week, the abdomen stretches greatly and becomes rounded. The mammary glands enlarge significantly.

Next you should pay attention to changes in the dog’s behavior:

The pet begins to behave calmer, plays less, gets tired faster, and sleeps more.
Some pets become more affectionate, others, on the contrary, strive for privacy.

For reference: It is worth taking a closer look at your pet to make sure that she has no signs of illness (and not pregnancy at all). The dog's behavior may have changed due to the dog's deteriorating health. In this case, symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, cough, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and vaginal discharge may appear. In such a situation, you should immediately seek help from a veterinarian.

As for professional diagnostics, it is as follows:

Ultrasound

If there is reason to suspect a dog is pregnant, it should be taken to the vet.
The doctor will conduct an examination and feel your stomach. The palpation method is most effective on days 28-35 of gestation. It is quite difficult to feel the offspring before this period. By the way, in later stages, an inexperienced dog owner may confuse this symptom with the presence of food or feces in the intestines.
At the sixth week, a specialist can place a stethoscope on the bitch's belly and hear the fetal heartbeat.
To more accurately diagnose pregnancy, the veterinarian performs a blood test for the presence of the hormone relaxin. It is usually detected after the 28th day of gestation. A negative result of an analysis carried out before the specified period may be incorrect, but a positive result, on the contrary, one hundred percent confirms the state of pregnancy.
Ultrasound examination will help establish the diagnosis at the earliest stages. The doctor is able to detect embryos only 16 days after fertilization. Before the procedure, the hair on the dog's belly must be trimmed to maximize contact between the probe and its skin.

Physiology or symptoms “on the face”

How to find out if a dog is pregnant is of interest to many pet owners. The first symptoms are some physiological changes in the animal. An attentive owner in most cases monitors the appearance of any non-standard sign of behavior.

Morning sickness

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After about 20 days, females often experience nausea and vomiting, especially in the morning. This is a sign of toxicosis resulting from changes in the endocrine system. During such a period, the main thing that is required is to provide the pet with constant access to clean water. By the end of the first month, signs of toxicosis disappear.

Attention! If symptoms of toxicosis do not go away and intensify, it is recommended to consult a veterinarian.

Change in Behavior

An attentive owner will immediately notice that the animal’s behavior has changed. Some dogs become more affectionate and strive to spend more time with their owner. Other individuals show more apathy, they constantly sleep and retire. Still others, on the contrary, suffer from increased sensitivity and display discontent and aggression.

The female's appetite often changes. Often the animal eats less or almost completely refuses food. This phenomenon is caused by hormonal changes; after some time, appetite will be restored.

A pregnant female sleeps and rests more

Symptoms, depending on timing

Externally, pregnancy in the short term can manifest itself as swelling of the nipples, but this phenomenon is typical for those females who are not whelping for the first time.

After 21 days, viscous, colorless discharge from the genital tract appears. It is required to monitor their purity and transparency.

Attention! If they contain blood impurities, you need to consult a specialist to exclude the possibility of miscarriage.

By the fifth week, the bitch begins to develop symptoms that increasingly confirm pregnancy:

The nipples become more pronounced and the hair around them falls out.
The lower ribs become more pronounced, and the belly appears (in females with long hair this is less visible).
From this moment you can notice an increase in weight.
Appetite is restored and increased.

During this period, the tone of the abdomen increases; the female may not allow her to touch it.

By 60 days, signs of pregnancy in dogs become more pronounced. The belly is already quite noticeable, and the female is constantly licking herself and begins to prepare the area for birth. If desired, it is possible to easily determine the movement of the fetuses in the uterus. Colostrum often appears from the nipples.

A few hours before labor, the animal experiences a rapid drop in rectal temperature.

Other methods for determining pregnancy

Pregnancy in a dog can also be determined by other methods. The veterinarian will recommend the one that is most effective for a particular animal.

Relaxin test

There is a laboratory test of animal blood serum called the relaxin test. This is an almost 100% reliable method, which is recommended to be carried out at 2-3 weeks of pregnancy, although a more accurate result is guaranteed when testing is carried out at 3-4 weeks.

Relaxin is a specific hormone produced in the dog’s body only during pregnancy. It is produced by the placentas of developing puppy embryos.

The test is carried out in laboratory conditions, since the study requires venous blood from the animal. The hormone is determined in the blood serum.

R-research

How can you tell if your dog is pregnant later? This can be done using radiography, starting from day 42, when the fetuses undergo the process of skeletal calcification. X-ray determines the exact number of developing fetuses in the uterus, their position, the ratio of the size of the pregnant dog’s pelvis and the size of the fetus. Such information is of great importance in case of existing pathologies in the animal in order to promptly choose a strategy for childbirth.

How to take a pregnancy test

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Unfortunately, tests similar to human ones have not yet been invented for dogs. You should not even try to determine if your dog is pregnant using test strips purchased at the pharmacy. They respond only to a specific hormone produced by the human body.

Appetite returns over time, the dog begins to eat more

Relaxin test

Relaxin is a hormone that is produced in the dog’s body by the placenta of fetuses. It is a bit similar to human hCG and allows you to determine if an animal is pregnant.

The study should be carried out only at least three weeks after mating. Tests taken earlier will not give an accurate result. The ideal period is 24-26 days. In order to take a relaxin test, no special preparatory steps are required. The doctor will take blood for testing and then announce the results in detail.

Important! The test must be taken in the morning; the animal must not be fed beforehand.

Unfortunately, even such a test has some drawbacks. With its help it is impossible to determine the number of fruits. In addition, in case of spontaneous resorption or miscarriage, the results of such an analysis may remain positive for approximately 21 days, which provides unreliable information.

Veterinarians recommend conducting such a study at least a couple of times at intervals of a week. It is also worth undergoing other examinations to establish a more accurate diagnosis.

R-research

The study using an X-ray machine is carried out for a period of 56-58 days. This action is necessary to accurately determine the number of puppies and their location in the female’s uterus. Many owners believe that the examination is dangerous for the expectant mother and babies. However, doctors do not carry it out constantly; once is enough to find out the necessary information.

It is important to know the position of the puppies in order to eliminate the risk of various problems during birth.

Towards the end of pregnancy the belly is very noticeable

Why do an ultrasound?

Some dog owners are of the opinion that performing ultrasound on pregnant animals is harmful. This opinion is completely unfounded, since ultrasound examination is completely harmless for the expectant mother and puppies.

What does ultrasound give?

This study is multi-purpose:

Confirms or excludes signs of pregnancy in dogs.
Determines the number of developing embryos.
Allows you to assess the viability, size and location of the fruit.
Determines existing pregnancy pathologies.

It is recommended to conduct an ultrasound examination of your dog at least once during pregnancy. The optimal time is 24-28 days. At 28 days, pregnancy in dogs is almost 100% diagnosed using ultrasound.

If the ultrasound shows any deviations in the animal’s condition from the norm, then repeated studies are necessary to make adjustments and prepare for childbirth.

Carrying out an ultrasound examination

3-4 weeks after mating, veterinarians recommend an ultrasound examination. Using this diagnostic, it is possible to accurately detect the presence of pregnancy, as well as determine the number of fetuses. An ultrasound examination will help clarify the position of the embryos, listen to their heartbeat, and also identify developmental pathologies.

The procedure itself is painless, lasts approximately 20 minutes and will not cause the dog much discomfort. If the dog has a thick coat, then the tummy should be shaved to improve contact with the sensor.

Important! To obtain a more accurate ultrasound result, it is recommended to ensure that the dog has a full bladder in the early stages before the examination. This will make diagnosis easier.

It is recommended to conduct such a study within 35 days. After this period, the fruits become larger in size, their images are difficult to see, they begin to overlap each other, which leads to some distorted results.

Another method to check for pregnancy is palpation. In this case, the doctor or owner carefully palpates the female’s abdomen. After 4 weeks it is already possible to feel the presence of embryos (fetal sacs become denser) and even count their number. Over time, future babies grow up and stretch out, so this diagnostic method becomes more difficult and inaccurate.

At some stages it is important to consult a doctor and undergo some examinations

False pregnancy in dogs

False pregnancy in dogs often occurs due to natural features. Under natural conditions, dogs live in packs. Because of this, heat often occurred in several individuals at once. As a result, hormonal changes coincided, and all females in the flock became capable of feeding offspring, even if they did not give birth to them.

A similar phenomenon cannot be ruled out in domestic animals. As a result, the pet's behavior becomes very similar to what it would be if she were pregnant. She strives to create her own nest, colostrum is released from the nipples. Often females begin to show increased love for soft toys - they take care of them and lick them. It is possible that physical signs may appear - nausea, apathy, increased drowsiness, swelling of the mammary glands, discharge from the nipples.

However, to determine the exact condition of the animal, it is recommended to contact a veterinary clinic and conduct the necessary examinations.

If the results reveal a false pregnancy in a female, measures must be taken to help the animal return to a normal lifestyle:

Reducing the amount of dairy products in your diet and drinking less will help reduce milk production.
Reduce the serving size, but not much.
Try to distract the animal from creating a nest and increase physical activity.
Remove from the female all objects that may remind her of motherhood.
Under no circumstances should you express milk, so as not to provoke an increase in its production. If necessary, the nipples are tightly bandaged with an elastic bandage, this will help prevent the development of mastitis.

X-ray allows you to find out the exact number of puppies and their location

If the dog’s condition does not change, you need to contact a specialist so that he can select the appropriate medications. It is important to understand that false pregnancy is dangerous for a dog. The consequences of such a condition can be mental disorders, cancer formations in the uterus, mammary glands, appendages, and diseases of the genitourinary system.