2 Video Views·Apr 14, 2026
Hi Everyone!
My name is Dan, and I am a veterinarian. Today I am going to share some thoughts about the pregnant dog and what you should expect and may need to do.
If your dog is pregnant or you suspect she might be, it’s important to understand what to expect and how to properly care for her during this critical time. A dog’s pregnancy typically lasts about 64 days, and each stage brings important changes for both the mother and her developing puppies.
In the early weeks, you may notice subtle signs like decreased appetite, mild lethargy, or slight behavioral changes. As the pregnancy progresses, your dog’s abdomen will enlarge, and her nutritional needs will increase. Feeding a high-quality, veterinarian-recommended diet—often one formulated for growth or puppies—helps support both mom and her litter.
Regular veterinary check-ups are essential during pregnancy. Your veterinarian may use ultrasound or X-rays to confirm pregnancy and estimate the number of puppies. They can also guide you on proper weight management, parasite control, and overall health monitoring.
As your dog approaches her due date, preparing a quiet, comfortable whelping area is key. This space should be clean, warm, and away from household noise to help her feel safe during labor and delivery. Knowing the signs of labor—such as nesting behavior, restlessness, panting, and a drop in body temperature—can help you recognize when puppies are on the way.
While many dogs deliver their puppies without complications, it’s important to know when to seek veterinary help. Prolonged labor, strong contractions without a puppy being delivered, or signs of distress are all reasons to contact your veterinarian immediately.
Caring for a pregnant dog requires preparation, patience, and close observation. With the right knowledge and veterinary support, you can help ensure a safe pregnancy and a healthy start for both mom and her puppies.
Hey guys, my name is Dana McVeterinarian and your dog is pregnant and you don't know what to do next.
The dog's gestational cycle is about 64 to 65 days depending on when they actually got pregnant.
That day can vary by a little bit but the way I tell people is expect for the dog to be pregnant
for just over two months. Now I want you to remember something. False pregnancies happen in
dogs. It's because the corpus luteum can stick around the ovary and that can lead to hormones
that cause developmental changes in the dog that look like a pregnancy. You will see weight gain,
memory development, and it looks like the dog's pregnant. I have seen this multiple times and
each time the owners are shocked that the dog's not actually pregnant. In most cases the false
pregnancy resolves on its own but if you need any veterinary help in that area talk to your
local veterinarian. If your dog's pregnant what should you do? You should definitely get some
imaging done. You need to know how many puppies are in there and what to expect when they actually
have puppies. I tend to keep things pretty darn simple and say you can ultrasound for puppies at
about 35 days. 35 days should be more than enough time to be able to see the puppies in there.
Ultrasounding is really fun. You can see all those cute little paws and skulls and they're moving
around a little bit. It's really rewarding and it's really fun to do in the exam room. I do recommend
that you do an x-ray at about 45 days out and the x-ray as long as the doggy is cooperative and not
too anxious. An x-ray is a great way to see how many puppies are in there. When you x-ray you will count
the skulls and the spines and you will match them up and that will give you the actual head count
of how many puppies are in there. Of course guys it's not perfect. Like you can be off by a puppy
but what usually happens in our hospital is I'll take some pictures. I'll do a head count. I'll have
Dr. Mike do a head count. Dr. Anton doing head count. Dr. Johnson do a head count and then I'll say
how many do you guys get and we'll see if we all match up. A lot of times we do but it's not perfect.
Now unless you have a dog like a bulldog or a french bulldog or a small dog tied with a really
big dog. As long as the x-ray shows the dog the puppies aren't too big in most cases a vaginal
delivery is pretty uneventful. However if you get a dog like a french bulldog or a bulldog that has
a really big head those heads may be too big for the pelvic canal and require a c-section. Always
talk to your veterinarian about c-sections because the tough thing is when the dog is trying to have
puppies and they're going through delivery. If they get to the point of fatigue and
dystocia and they can't pass the puppy that would lead you to a c-section like that and that would
basically you go to an emergency room for that. But very rarely can you walk into a general
practitioner office and say I need a c-section right now because most of them are booked for
the day with other things they have to do. So in those situations a lot of times you're going to
the emergency room. Very rarely do we schedule a c-section. Now we do that at the Pelican Animal
Hospital off and on but you really need to know exactly when they tied and know the exact timetable
for those puppies. If you pull the puppies out too early the c-section they will not make it.
The lungs and the surfactant in the lungs are one of the last things to really develop
and if you pull puppies out too early the surfactant won't be adequate and that will
lead to the lungs collapsing and airways not being adequate and most of them will probably die from
suffocation. So knowing that you are as close as possible to 64-65 days and that will give you the
if the puppy is able to survive in the world outside of their mommy. If you're having a hard
time getting puppies out if the dog is not having like a pelvic issue where the puppies are too big
but the the mommy dog is just fatigued and the uterus the muscles are just all fatigued too
sometimes we'll give some oxytocin to help move things along. I had a dog come in recently she
had four puppies and those three more in there she couldn't get them out. We took an x-ray we saw
them in there we popped an IV and gave her some fluids some IV oxytocin and literally those things
came shooting out about 10 minutes later. I called the owner I said hey man good news puppies are out
he came right back picked his doggie up all the puppies and they went home. Of course once they
get home you need to do a handful of things with your whelping crate regarding like keeping them
warm and nursing and deworming. I made some other videos on that if you do decide to have puppies
my goodness it is a lot of work. Remember keep those puppies warm keep them clean and in a lot
of cases they will do quite well. As always guys my name is Dan I'm a veterinarian thanks so much
for watching I really appreciate it. You guys take care, bye.
