When are the puppies coming?
Enter her breeding or progesterone dates. You’ll get her due date window, a week-by-week plan with real dates, and the signs that mean call us now.
Find her due date
Start with what you know. Progesterone timing gives the tightest window.
Use the days she was bred or inseminated. Bred more than twice? Enter the first and the last.
Call us right away if
During labor
- She strains hard for 30 minutes and no puppy comes.
- More than 2 hours pass between puppies and you think more are coming.
- Green or black discharge shows up before the first puppy. Some green right after a puppy is normal.
- A puppy or sac is stuck at the opening for 15 minutes.
- Her temperature dropped below 99°F (37.2°C) and labor hasn’t started within 24 hours.
- No labor by her due date if she was progesterone-timed, or by the end of her window if you went by breeding dates.
After the puppies arrive
- She’s restless and panting, then trembling, stiff or having a seizure while nursing. This can be eclampsia (dangerously low calcium), most often 2 to 3 weeks after whelping. It’s life-threatening.
- Fever over 103°F, foul-smelling discharge, or heavy bleeding.
- She seems depressed or keeps straining after the last puppy.
- A puppy won’t nurse or loses weight after the first day.
If we’re closed, go to the nearest 24/7 emergency vet. We’re open Mon–Thu 9–6, Fri 9–5 and Sat 10–2.
How we figure the date
Ovulation starts the clock
Dogs whelp about 63 days after ovulation, or 65 days after the LH surge that triggers it, give or take a day. That’s remarkably consistent from dog to dog.
Breeding dates are fuzzy
Sperm can survive inside her for a week or more, and her eggs need 2 to 3 days to ripen after ovulation. So a breeding can come days before conception, and puppies arrive anywhere from about 58 to 68 days after a single breeding (up to 70 from the first of several).
Progesterone pins it down
Blood tests every day or two during heat find the LH surge (progesterone first rising, usually around 2 ng/mL) and ovulation about 2 days later. That shrinks the window to about 3 days and times the breeding, too.
Sources: Merck Veterinary Manual (whelping, pregnancy diagnosis, dystocia, eclampsia, breeding management and breeding soundness exams); P.W. Concannon, Canine Pregnancy: Predicting Parturition and Timing Events of Gestation (IVIS, 2000); Cornell Riney Canine Health Center (normal whelping, dystocia); Purdue University Extension, What to Expect When Your Dog Is Expecting (2021); UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (feeding the pregnant dog); Evans and Adams, J Small Anim Pract 2010 (C-section rates by breed); USDA APHIS Brucella canis best practices (2015).
What labor looks like
- Stage 1: getting ready (usually 6 to 12 hours, sometimes up to a day or more). She’s restless, nests, pants, and may vomit. Contractions are happening inside, but you won’t see pushing yet.
- Stage 2: puppies. You’ll see real pushing. A puppy usually arrives within 30 minutes of strong straining. Rest breaks of up to 2 hours between puppies can be normal if she’s comfortable. A whole litter can take a few hours or most of a day.
- Stage 3: afterbirth. Each placenta usually comes out with its puppy or shortly after. Stages 2 and 3 take turns until the last puppy. Count the placentas, and tell us if the count comes up short.
Taking her temperature
- Start about a week before her window (your key dates show the day) and check twice a day, morning and evening, at the same times.
- Use a digital thermometer with a little lubricant, in the rectum. Write each reading down.
- Normal is about 100 to 102.5°F (37.8 to 39.2°C).
- A drop below 99°F (37.2°C) usually means labor within 24 hours. The dip can last only about 8 hours, so a third check midday helps you catch it.
- Temperature dropped and still no labor after 24 hours? Call us.
Plan ahead for a safe delivery
Some breeds usually need a C-section
Flat-faced and big-headed breeds often can’t deliver on their own. In one large UK study, more than 8 in 10 litters of Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Boston Terriers were born by C-section. Mastiffs, Scottish Terriers, Pugs, Chihuahuas, and any dog who’s had trouble whelping before are higher risk too.
If that’s your dog, talk to us early in the pregnancy. A planned C-section is safer for mom and puppies than an emergency one, and we time it from her LH surge or ovulation date (often with a progesterone check) so the puppies are mature.
Before her next breeding
- Pre-breeding exam. A full checkup, her vaccines current before breeding, a healthy body condition, and the health or DNA screening her breed calls for.
- Brucella canis testing for both dogs. This bacterium causes infertility and late miscarriages, can’t be cured in dogs, and can infect people. Test before each breeding.
- Progesterone timing. Testing during her heat shows the best days to breed and gives you a due date you can plan around, including a C-section date if she needs one.
Common questions
How long are dogs pregnant?
About 63 days from ovulation, or 65 days from the LH surge, give or take a day. Counted from breeding dates, puppies can come anywhere from about 58 to 68 days after a single breeding, and up to about 70 days after the first of several.
Why is the window so wide when I use breeding dates?
Because breeding and conception aren’t the same day. Sperm can survive inside her for a week or more, and her eggs need 2 to 3 days to ripen after ovulation, so a breeding can happen days before the puppies are conceived. Progesterone testing during heat finds the LH surge and ovulation and narrows the window to about 3 days.
When can I confirm my dog is pregnant?
An ultrasound can see the pregnancy from about day 25, and around days 28 to 35 we can usually see heartbeats too. Ultrasound can’t count puppies reliably. For that, an x-ray after about day 55 is best, when the puppies’ skeletons show clearly.
How do I know labor is starting?
Her rectal temperature usually drops below 99°F (37.2°C) within 24 hours of labor, so check it twice a day starting about a week before her window. Then come restlessness, nesting and panting, sometimes vomiting. If her temperature has dropped and there’s no labor within 24 hours, call us at (310) 776-5544.
Will my dog need a C-section?
Most dogs whelp on their own, but some breeds usually can’t. In a large UK study, more than 8 in 10 litters of Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Boston Terriers were born by C-section. If your dog is one of these breeds or had trouble before, talk to us early so we can plan a safe, well-timed surgery.