How to tell if a dog is pregnant?

Whether it is an unplanned pregnancy or a planned pregnancy, pregnancy is a very important event for a dog because the owner needs to prepare a lot of things. So how do you tell if your dog is actually pregnant?

How does a pregnant dog behave?

1. Changes in appetite

Pregnancy directly affects the endocrine system in your dog's body. Because of the influence of hormones, your dog may have a loss of appetite in the first two weeks of pregnancy, but later in pregnancy, it will increase because of the need to provide nutrients to the puppies.

2. Your dog's nipples change

In general, a young adult female dog, the nipple is not obvious. After pregnancy, the estrogen in your dog's body can cause your dog's nipples to grow larger because of the need to feed your baby. Such changes usually start to appear after two weeks of pregnancy.

3. Swollen abdomen

Belly enlargement is one of the most obvious signs of pregnancy in a dog. However, since abdominal swelling can also be the result of other diseases, it is best to take the dog to the pet hospital for examination after the dog's abdominal swelling has reached a certain level.

4. Nesting behavior

Because the mother is able to sense when she is going to give birth, she may try to tear up something to build the nest and give the baby a comfortable environment to grow in.

5. Being less active

Once a dog is pregnant, they become much less active. And it's easy to get tired. Because everything in a dog's body is adjusting for the new pup, it can cause a mother's dog to appear less active.

6. Behavior becomes unpredictable

Just like humans, dogs experience mood swings during pregnancy. If a dog has recently experienced a sudden change in personality, such a change is actually the dog has been affected by the body, and eventually has a change in personality.

7. Discharge mucus

When a dog is pregnant, it will unconsciously excrete some mucus, so the dog is likely to have a puppy. Unfortunately, this obvious change does not appear until four weeks after the dog is pregnant. Generally speaking, the best way to deal with such a situation is to contact a veterinarian.

How to determine if a dog is really pregnant?

After taking the dog to the pet hospital, how should the doctor use to confirm whether the dog is pregnant? In general, three methods are most commonly used:

1. Ultrasound examination; 2. Relaxin test; 3. Abdominal compressions.

Ultrasound is the most common and accurate method, followed by relaxin, a substance produced by the body when a dog is pregnant. Through a blood test, you can tell if your dog is pregnant.

The last method, relying solely on the pet doctor's experience, is to check if the dog is pregnant by abdominal compression.

Pregnancy in dogs is very short, usually only about 63 days. Whether or not you want your dog to give birth to puppies, it's best to be prepared and find out as soon as possible.

References:Smith M S, Mc Donald L E. Serum levels of luteinizing hormone and progesterone during the estrous cycle, pseudopregnancy and pregnancy in the dog[J]. Endocrinology, 1974, 94(2): 404-412.