How Long Does a Dog's Pregnancy Last?

If your dog is pregnant, or you're thinking about letting her be bred to have a litter, it's normal to have questions about how many weeks a pregnancy lasts, since throughout the gestation period she'll need special care.

It's important to know how the pregnancy will unfold and what care our dog will need. Labor symptoms and many other important details will help everything go well. At Soyunperro we'll walk you through all the details of canine pregnancy.

Length in Days, Weeks, and Months of a Dog's Pregnancy

The gestation period for virtually all female dogs is 62-68 days (65 +/- 3 days), or in other words, roughly nine weeks. Generally, female dogs tend to give birth around day sixty-three of pregnancy.

• Pregnancy lasts between 62 and 68 days.
• In other words, two months and one week.
• Or, in weeks, pregnancy lasts nine weeks.

When Is the Best Time for a Female Dog to Get Pregnant?

The ideal pregnancy occurs from 18-24 months of age (2nd heat cycle, at 2 years old) in a healthy female (dewormed, vaccinated, and free of inheritable diseases).

How to Know If She's Pregnant?

Obviously, if we suspect it, we can confirm it with an ultrasound or bloodwork at a vet clinic, but if we're not sure, we can wait and see whether we notice any of these typical signs in pregnant female dogs.

1. Slight weight gain.
2. Seeking a secluded, safe spot — a nest.
3. Small behavioral changes, especially toward other dogs.
4. Swollen mammary glands.
5. Enlarged belly, even movement of the puppies if she's further along.

How to Know How Long She's Been Pregnant

To know how far along our dog's pregnancy is, we need to count the days since the last mating for breeding purposes.

If we don't know this, we'll need to get an ultrasound at a vet clinic. But keep in mind that this test is reliable from day 21 of pregnancy onward, since before that, the puppies' development won't be clearly visible.

Through ultrasound, we can see the size and development of the puppies inside the mother's abdomen, giving us a fairly accurate idea of how many weeks pregnant our dog is (from day 21 onward).

If we're going by the mating, we should count from the following day to know how many days pregnant our dog is. Keep in mind that not every mating results in pregnancy, though there's a good chance of it.

How to Know When a Pregnant Dog Is Going to Give Birth

From two months into pregnancy, our dog may show signs of labor — it's important to know them so we're prepared to properly welcome the new puppies.

A dog's pregnancy ends when she shows these signs:

• Our pregnant dog avoids other dogs or growls at them.
• Our dog looks for a quiet spot at home to give birth, possibly digging holes and isolating herself.
• The dog licks her genitals frequently and/or has discharge, sometimes greenish.
• Our dog insistently demands our attention.
• Our dog's temperature drops 1°C and she shows contractions.

If our dog shows these symptoms during her pregnancy, it means she'll give birth that same day or within the next few days. Although labor typically happens within a few hours (4-24h).

What Happens If My Dog Doesn't Give Birth After the Pregnancy Days Are Up?

If our dog has already reached sixty-five or sixty-six days of pregnancy and hasn't given birth, we'll need to call a vet to run tests confirming the puppies are okay. These tests can be done through:

• X-ray (shows the number and position of the fetuses).
• Abdominal ultrasound.
• Palpation of the belly by the vet.

Once the relevant tests are done and it's confirmed the puppies are fine, the vet will intentionally induce labor using specific medications such as oxytocin and/or calcium supplementation, which trigger contractions. Or they'll perform a C-section if they consider it appropriate, which is usually the method used if she's gone several days without giving birth.

Care Needed for a Dog During and After Pregnancy

If we know or suspect our dog may be pregnant, it's absolutely necessary to see the vet and start a schedule of regular check-ups to make sure the pregnancy is progressing normally.

During our dog's pregnancy, we should avoid forcing her to exercise excessively — long walks are enough, gradually shortening them as the pregnancy becomes more obvious. During the final days of pregnancy, it's recommended she lead a very calm life and not be bothered excessively.

Diet is essential during pregnancy and after giving birth — our vet will tell us what type of food to give her and in what amount, since pregnant dogs and those that have just given birth need to increase the amount and quality of their food, given their much higher needs, such as giving birth (a major effort) and nursing the puppies.

Set up a calm, comfortable space at home, so your dog knows she has a place to give birth when the time comes. Otherwise, enjoy your pregnant dog throughout the whole gestation period, since it's a unique experience, straight from nature.

In the video below, you can see what a dog's labor looks like, how long it takes for one puppy to be born after another, or how the mother nurses them.