Pregnancy symptoms in dogs.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi Amy and thanks for a great question. I don't usually advise strict rest during a dog's pregnancy. I wouldn't recommend doing regular super strenuous activity like long agility trials or marathon running, but jumping on or off of the furniture is not going to cause any harm to developing babies.

When a dog is pregnant, at first there really aren't a lot of external signs. If you are having an ultrasound done, usually any time after 28 days of pregnancy will be sufficient in order for the vet to be able to see puppies. After about 35 days, you may notice that mom is a little more hungry. I usually recommend feeding puppy food from about 30 days of pregnancy on.

Some dogs will go through a short period of morning sickness during their pregnancy at about the 3 week mark. She may be off of her food for a few days.

Around day 45 (or sometimes a little later) you will be noticing her mammary glands getting a little larger and filling up with milk.

However, some dogs can go through a false pregnancy where they get all of the above symptoms and are not pregnant. The ultrasound should be an accurate tool to determine if she's pregnant.

Hope all goes well!

Dr. Marie


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