How can I tell if my dog is pregnant?

by Shaunda
(Hillsboro,OR USA)

Hi,
I have 11 month old female, and how can I tell if she become pregnant? Some how my male dog got into her. We were planning to breed them in summer time when she gets older, but we couldn't get him away from her when she's on heat.

Yes, I did put diapers on my female and my husband thinks that my male somehow got her when she was in heat and spotting too. So we are afraid she may already be pregnant, but I couldn't tell if she's pregnant now.

And how long before she may already be pregnant with puppies??? Which I hope she's not, she's too young to have puppies...




Hi Shaundra
If your male dog 'tied' with your female, it's certainly possible that she got pregnant. There are only a few days when she's fertile, but a male seems to know exactly when those are without any difficulty.

Diapers wouldn't stop him, some dogs have been known to mate through fencing!

Canine pregnancy lasts for 63 days, give or take a couple of days either side. You probably won't notice any signs of pregnancy for several weeks. In fact in a first time mom she may not 'show' until 7 weeks have passed. Her nipples will look fuller too.

At this point there's not much you can do about it, unless you want to take her to your veterinarian and ask him to check for preganancy. He could remove the puppies from her womb and spay her if you wanted.

If she is pregnant and has a litter, I would strongly suggest that you have her spayed as soon as your vet says it's okay to do so after the pups are weaned.

Best of luck.