A dog’s pregnancy lasts about 63 days, and the care you provide during that window directly affects the health of both the mother and her puppies. The basics come down to proper nutrition, appropriate exercise, parasite prevention, and knowing what’s normal versus what signals trouble. Here’s what to do from the time you suspect pregnancy through delivery.
Confirming the Pregnancy
If you think your dog is pregnant, an ultrasound performed between days 25 and 35 after breeding is the most reliable way to confirm it. Before day 21, ultrasounds can miss a pregnancy entirely. The ultrasound also lets your vet check whether the embryos have heartbeats and are developing normally.
Later in the pregnancy, after day 55, an X-ray is the best way to count how many puppies to expect. This matters more than people realize: knowing the litter size tells you whether all the puppies have been delivered during labor, which can prevent a life-threatening situation if one gets stuck.
Feeding During Pregnancy
For roughly the first 40 days, your dog’s calorie needs don’t change much. Feed her normal portions of a high-quality adult dog food. Overfeeding early on leads to excess weight gain, which can complicate delivery.
After day 40, her energy needs climb to 1.25 to 1.5 times her normal intake. The growing puppies are putting serious demands on her body at this point. Gradually increase her food over the last three weeks of pregnancy rather than making a sudden jump. Many breeders switch to a puppy food during this stage because it’s naturally higher in protein, fat, and calories. Look for food with at least 22% protein and 8% fat, along with adequate calcium (around 1%) and phosphorus (0.8%).
As her belly grows, she may not be able to eat large meals comfortably. Splitting her daily food into three or four smaller meals helps her get enough calories without the discomfort of a full stomach pressing against a uterus full of puppies.
What Not to Supplement
One of the most counterintuitive rules of canine pregnancy care: do not give calcium supplements before birth. It seems like a pregnant dog nursing a litter would need extra calcium, but supplementing during pregnancy actually shuts down the body’s own calcium-regulation system. When lactation hits and calcium demand spikes, her body can’t mobilize calcium fast enough, leading to a dangerous condition called eclampsia. A quality commercial diet provides all the calcium she needs during gestation. Calcium supplementation only becomes appropriate after the puppies are born and nursing, and your vet can guide you on when and how much.
Exercise and Activity Guidelines
Pregnant dogs don’t need bed rest. In fact, regular moderate exercise helps prevent excessive weight gain and keeps muscles toned for delivery. During the first half of pregnancy, most dogs can maintain their normal activity level, including walks, swimming, and light training.
Once pregnancy is confirmed around day 28, it’s time to dial things back. Cut out anything high-impact: jumping, rough play with other dogs, protection training, or agility work. Swimming stays safe. Daily walks remain beneficial through about day 59, with many breeders giving the mother the last few days off before her due date. Low-key activities like easy hikes, gentle obedience work, and casual fetch are fine through the second half of pregnancy as long as you eliminate jarring movements.
Parasite Prevention
Roundworms and hookworms can pass from a mother dog to her puppies before they’re even born, through the placenta or later through her milk. A deworming protocol starting on day 40 of pregnancy and continuing through 14 days after birth dramatically reduces this transmission. In one study, this regimen resulted in 89% fewer roundworms and 99% fewer hookworms in the puppies compared to untreated litters. Stopping treatment at birth rather than continuing for two weeks was noticeably less effective.
Talk to your vet about which deworming product is safe for pregnant dogs. Not all dewormers are appropriate during gestation, and dosing needs to be based on the mother’s body weight.
Vaccinations and Medications to Avoid
Vaccines should not be given during pregnancy. Live vaccines in particular carry risks of harming developing puppies. The best approach is making sure your dog is current on all core vaccines before she’s bred. Her regular vaccination schedule will provide enough immunity to pass protective antibodies to her puppies through her first milk. The only exception would be an unvaccinated dog facing an active disease outbreak, which is a situation your vet would need to manage directly.
Many common medications are also off-limits. Several classes of antibiotics cause birth defects or are toxic to embryos, including tetracyclines, certain sulfa drugs, and metronidazole. Some antibiotics used for urinary infections or given by injection can also harm developing puppies. Even a class of antibiotics commonly prescribed for bacterial infections in dogs (fluoroquinolones) can damage cartilage in developing puppies. Never give a pregnant dog any medication, including over-the-counter pain relievers, without checking with your vet first.
Preparing the Whelping Area
About two weeks before the due date, set up a whelping box in a quiet, low-traffic area of your home. The box should be large enough for the mother to stretch out fully, with sides low enough for her to step over but high enough to keep newborn puppies contained. Line it with clean towels or washable bedding that you can change out frequently.
Temperature matters more than most people expect. Newborn puppies can’t regulate their own body temperature, and the whelping box should be kept between 85 and 90°F during the first week. A heat lamp positioned safely above one end of the box (not directly over the puppies) or a heating pad under half the bedding gives the mother a cooler side to rest on while keeping the puppies warm. Introduce the mother to the whelping area early so she’s comfortable there before labor begins.
Predicting When Labor Starts
Starting around day 58, take your dog’s rectal temperature twice a day, roughly 12 hours apart. A dog’s normal temperature runs between 100 and 102.5°F. Within 24 hours of labor starting, her temperature will drop below 99°F. This dip is temporary, lasting about eight hours, so you can miss it if you’re only checking once a day.
Other early signs of approaching labor include restlessness, nesting behavior (scratching at bedding, seeking out enclosed spaces), loss of appetite, and panting. Some dogs become clingy while others want to be left alone. These behavioral changes typically start 12 to 24 hours before active contractions begin.
Warning Signs During Delivery
Most dogs deliver their puppies without help, but certain situations require immediate veterinary attention. Call your vet or an emergency clinic right away if you see any of the following:
- Green discharge with no puppy within 15 to 30 minutes. This signals that a placenta has separated and a puppy is in distress.
- Strong contractions for more than 20 to 30 minutes without producing a puppy.
- Weak, irregular contractions for more than 1 to 2 hours with no progress.
- A gap of more than 2 to 4 hours between puppies with no active contractions.
- Fetal membranes visible for more than 15 minutes without delivery.
- Active labor lasting longer than 12 to 24 hours total.
- Foul-smelling discharge, heavy bleeding, or a fever above 103°F.
This is where knowing your expected litter count from that late-pregnancy X-ray pays off. If you’re expecting six puppies and only four have arrived but contractions have stopped, that’s a clear signal something is wrong. Difficult births are more common in certain breeds, particularly flat-faced breeds and those with large heads relative to their body size, but they can happen in any dog.