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Before Raven had her first litter of golden Retriever puppies we weren’t totally sure if the breeding had taken. For almost the entire 9 week gestation period we were wondering: “How can you tell if your dog is pregnant without going to the vet?”
Not that we didn’t want to go to the vet, but a month after Raven was bred, to our casual eye we did not notice any changes in her physical appearance.
At the time my wife was pregnant with our first child and there were noticeable signs that she was pregnant. then again she could also vocalize any changes she was noticing in her body while Raven could not (well I guess she could have barked at us).
So, what are some signs of dog pregnancy? Is there a way to figure out if a dog is pregnant before taking her to the vet?
Fast forward to today.
Raven has had three litters and now that we have some experience under our belt we have a better idea (or maybe just more observant) of knowing when our dog is pregnant.
Here are some of the dog pregnancy signs we noticed during Raven’s three pregnancies.
How Can You tell If Your dog Is pregnant Without going to The Vet?
First, let’s start off by asking how long are golden Retrievers pregnant? In case you didn’t know Raven is a Golden.
We’ve been working very closely with the breeding manager at our guide dog school who has 20+ years experience breeding dogs and by my guestimation has whelped and raised hundreds if not thousands of litters.
We asked her what is the gestation period in golden Retrievers? In other words how long will my golden Retriever be pregnant?
Her answer: golden Retrievers are pregnant for approximately 63 days/9 weeks from conception and that number can vary by a few days.
That’s a short period of time compared to people which on average is 40 weeks or around 280 days.
Of course puppies can and do come early. always be prepared and have all your whelping supplies ready well in advance.
Here’s how long Raven was pregnant for her three litters:
Litter# of Days# of Puppies
Litter #160 Days6 Puppies
Litter #262 Days8 Puppies
Litter #361 Days10 Puppies
Litter #4??????
That’s petty darn close to the 63 day gestation period mentioned above.
So, lets get back to our question.
I’m sure you’re still wondering how to tell if your dog is pregnant at home? how did we know Raven was pregnant and what dog pregnancy signs did we see leading up to Raven’s delivery?
Here’s a list of dog pregnancy signs from our experiences and the experiences of our friends and family.
A culmination of knowledge from the whelping of hundreds of litters.
11 dog pregnancy Signs
Strange Behavior
Lower activity Level
Nipples Change
Changes In Appetite
Bigger belly & gaining Weight
Puppy Movement
Fur Flaring At Sides
Nesting Behaviors
Temperature Drop
Pacing & Panting
Puppies
The dog pregnancy signs can also be a sign that your dog is sick. If you are noticing any of these changes you should have your dog checked out by your vet.
Here’s a more detailed account of the different dog pregnancy signs we noticed when Raven was pregnant:
1. strange BehaviorSome dog’s become clingy. Some dogs become depressed. Some want to be left alone. unusual behavior runs the spectrum and could mean anything, but if it’s different from your dog’s norm then she could be displaying some early signs that she’s pregnant.
Is your dog doing something different from her norm is she exhibiting unusual behavior? This could be a sign your dog is pregnant
If being clingy was a definite dog pregnancy sign then I believe all golden Retrievers would be showing signs of pregnancy.
Yep, Raven is a clingy golden and loves to be around her owner. When she has been pregnant we haven’t noticed any weird behavior outside her norm.
2. lower activity LevelIn the early stages many of our “breeding experts” have mentioned that pregnant dogs can show a decrease in activity and lower energy level.
Does your dog get exhausted more easily? Does it seem like she spending more time napping then usual? This could be a sign your dog is pregnant
With Raven’s pregnancies we never really noticed a decrease in activity level early in her pregnancy. She continued to enjoy her romps in the backyard.
However, we did notice her energy level got sapped in the third trimester presumably because of the increase in weight and from what I could tell she wasn’t as comfortable moving around.
3. Nipples ChangeOur breeding manager told us to keep an eye out for an increase in the size of Raven’s nipples as well as color change. We were also told we might see a milky discharge as we got closer to the due date.
Are you noticing some changes in your dog’s nipples including increase in size and a darker color? This could be a sign your dog is pregnant.
We didn’t notice any changes in Raven’s nipples dunullnull