After about 35 days of pregnancy, the mother's
caloric requirements will
begin to increase. In general, she should require about twice as much food as
usual, when she begins nursing, she will need about three times as much food.
Exercise of the pregnant female should be avoided after the first
4 weeks of pregnancy. Do not give extra calcium or excess vitamins as these may be harmful to the puppies.
Around the 45th day, your dog should be examined by a vet. At this
time, the skeletons of the unborn pups will have mineralized and are thus
visible on a radiograph scan. Picture shows "Ultrasound" of
unborn puppy.
Ultrasound may be used to confirm pregnancy much earlier, after 25 days,
the heart may be seen beating, but it is more difficult to count the
number of pups using this method. A general pregnancy blood test can be
performed around day 35 just to confirm whether or not she is pregnant but
neither this nor ultrasound will tell you how many puppies to expect, only
radiographs can do that.
Whelping Preparation
