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.
