Question

I got my dog Bella about 37 days ago. (April 10,2011) and come to find out, she was pregnant when I adopted her. Anyways, I was going to try and give her back but I decided not to feeling that if I did I would be abandoning her. Anyways, I am trying to estimate how far along she is so I can have an idea of when these pups will be born. Her teats are pretty large and pink and her vagina is swollen. She looks somewhat pregnant when she is standing but I think I can still kinda see her ribs. She was very skinny when I first got her and I have been feeding her good since she came to me. Dry dog food as well as the canned, and treats here and there. My ava pic is a picture of her. Can anyone just maybe give me an estimate? I am somewhat ready for the pups to be born. I have her nest area all ready and I have extra blankets and towels as well as the vets number, heating pad, puppy milk and bottle, and about 100 pages worth of information printed out and just waiting.

Well an average pregnancy is 63 days so she will only have a maximun of another 3 weeks to go but from your description of her I would say she is more likely to have them sooner. Her vagina being swollen does not mean much as a lot of bitches stay large after they are mated. You really need to keep an eye on her for her starting to nest build & then take her temperature as a drop in temperature is often a sign that the birth is imminent.

Well done in deciding to keep her.

I would start taking her temperature twice a day and make yourself a little chart. I start this about a week before puppies are due. About 48 hours before whelping, her temperature should drop significantly by several degrees.

Give her some newpapers and she will scrabble them up as if she has itchy feet - dont let her off the lead and dont wander too far from home as she is wanting to dig a 'scrape' in the ground to have the puppies in - newspaper is best !

She is likely to stop eating about 48 hours before they are due and also feel the urge to toilet to empty her bowels completely.

Make sure you account for each afterbirth - there is one for each puppy - she will probably want to eat it - this is good because it it nourishing and it will promote her milk.

If you've got it - 'The Book of the Bitch' is my whelping bible.

Good luck - I hope all goes well.

THalice's Mum

What Thalice's mum advises you is really helpful but not all bitches conform to the rules. Had one bitch whose temperature didn't drop till about 4 hours before the first puppy was born. I have never had a bitch stop eating(perhaps GSDs are greedy) indeed one of ny bitches started whelping less than half an hour after a meal.
Hope your bitch is kind & gives you lots of warning.