7 Ways To Tell If Your Dog Is Pregnant

How to tell if your Dog is Pregnant

Having a dog can be a most rewarding experience. These canines are perhaps the best pets that you can keep and they are an absolute treat to be around. Most of the time, your dog will be a ball of energy, hopping here and there, having a blast of a time, and being an overall boisterous creature. However, at times your dog may appear a bit lazier and down than its normal self. It might even start eating less during different meals. Now, in male dogs, this might be cause for concern but for female dogs, these might be signs of a different condition altogether. That is because if your female dog is showing these signs then it is highly probable that it might be pregnant.

Doesn’t that make you happy? Having a little version of your pet to play with and frolic around. This trip to the veterinarian will certainly be different from when you had to bring your dog in for an illness. That is because this will be a joyous occasion indeed. You can opt to take care of the puppies yourself or better yet, you can put them up for adoption by family and friends. Either way, this is a momentous occasion, one that you end up enjoying tremendously.

There are certain signs that you need to look out for if you want to know whether if your dog is pregnant. It is important to notice and be aware of these signs as they allow you to take better care of your dog and ensure a safe and comfortable pregnancy. Failure to do so can result in harm and we don’t want that now do we? That is why we are here to help you and these signs are listed as follows for your convenience and information.

1. Decrease in Activity

If you notice your dog getting exhausted more readily and spending more time napping then this might point to it being pregnant. You should especially be concerned about this change in energy and activity if your dog is an energetic one normally. That is because such a decrease isn’t easily noticeable in dogs that are prone to snoozing all day long. For such owners, we recommend that you pay more attention to how soon it tires during your daily walks.

2. Appetite Changes

When a dog gets pregnant, its appetite tends to change in different ways. It depends upon the stage of the pregnancy and the dog itself. The dog might eat less and vomit on occasion in the earlier or middle stages of pregnancy. This is akin to morning sickness for dogs and your dog might also eat larger portions and be dissatisfied with its food in these stages as well. As we said before, it depends upon the dog and the stage of the pregnancy it is in. also, its behavior will change per the changes that it experiences in its hormonal levels during the later stages of the pregnancy.

3. Changes in Behavior

You will begin to notice subtle changes in your dog’s behavior if it is pregnant. For example, you might notice that it begins to pursue your comfort on a more frequent level. Your dog will also start spending more time by your side and crave additional attention as well. It is also possible in some cases that your dog might become reluctant to spending time with you. TYour pet might go into isolation and not want to be bothered at all. It may even get irritable and depressed at times as well.

4. Discolored or Distended Nipples

You might have noticed that the nipples of a female dog aren’t that large and are pretty small actually. However, when a dog gets pregnant, its nipples experience an increase in size, especially during the earlier stages of the pregnancy. The areolas are no longer flat and instead become rounder in shape. They also take on a darker shade of red as well as the blood flow to this area increases. It is also possible that milk might begin to leak from your dog’s nipples in the later stages of pregnancy as well.

5. Increase in Weight and Abdomen Size

Your dog’s abdomen will begin to enlarge as the puppies start to grow inside it. This is one of the most prominent indicators of a dog’s pregnancy. That is because it will certainly account for the unexplained weight gain that your dog puts on suddenly. It is important to note however that the enlargement of the abdominal area occurs in the advanced stages of the dog’s pregnancy. So, if you notice this condition in correlation with the others then you should waste no time in taking your dog to the veterinarian.

6. Nest Making

You will notice that your dog will be to shred bedding and other such materials to make a nest in the last several weeks of its pregnancy. It will also become more irritable and will go into isolation as well. That is why we recommend that you keep your children away from it during these trying last weeks.

7. Puppies Begin to Move

Ok, this is a pretty late stage for detection but it must be mentioned nonetheless. In the last stages of your dog’s pregnancy, you will begin to feel or see the puppies moving inside its belly. It might seem strange upon reading but that is the truth. We recommend that you immediately take your dog to the veterinarian the minute you experience this symptom.

Conclusion

You need to give attention to your dog during its pregnancy days. That is because the average gestation period for dogs ranges from 56 to 70 days. This is pretty short in contrast to humans and that is why you need to be more careful during your dog’s pregnancy. You will ensure a comfortable and safe birth of puppies if you take preemptive and proper action in time. You can consult your veterinarian to get all the pertinent information that you might need in this regard.