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When will your dog give birth?

Work out the likely whelping date for your dog from the mating date. Estimated range based on species averages, with the signs that labour is close.

If there were several matings, use the first: the range shown already allows for fertilisation happening days later.

Preguntas frecuentes

How long is a dog's pregnancy?
Around 63 days from ovulation. Counting from the mating the margin is wider — between 58 and 68 days — because sperm survives for several days in the female's tract and fertilisation can happen well after the mating.
Why a range and not an exact date?
Because an exact date would be false. Gestation is counted from ovulation, and almost nobody knows when their dog ovulated without a progesterone test. Showing a single day leads people to prepare for the birth on that day and to panic on the next.
How is the due date confirmed?
With an ultrasound from day 25-30 of gestation, which also gives an estimate of the number of puppies. The progesterone test during the heat cycle is what pinpoints ovulation.
What signs mean labour is imminent?
A drop in rectal temperature of about a degree in the 24 hours beforehand, restlessness, looking for a place to nest and loss of appetite. If in any doubt, or if more than two hours of contractions pass without a puppy being born, call your vet.