Calculate due date & week-by-week pregnancy milestones
Dog pregnancy lasts approximately 63 days from conception (or 58–68 days from mating). Here's what happens each week:
Week 1–2: Fertilisation and implantation. No visible signs. Normal care continues.
Week 3: Embryos develop rapidly. Some dogs show mild "morning sickness." A vet can confirm pregnancy by progesterone testing.
Week 4: Ultrasound can confirm pregnancy and detect heartbeats (28–30 days). Foetuses are about 1.5 cm. Dog may seem tired.
Week 5–6: Abdomen visibly enlarges. Nipples enlarge and pink. Appetite increases. Clear vaginal discharge is normal.
Week 7: Puppies' skeletons calcify — visible on X-ray. Accurate puppy count possible at 45+ days. Prepare whelping area.
Week 8–9: Puppies fully developed. Mother begins nesting behaviour. Temperature drops below 37.2°C (99°F) signals labour within 24 hours.
Canine gestation averages 63 days from conception, or 58–68 days from the date of mating. The range is wide because sperm can survive in the reproductive tract for up to 7 days, meaning conception may occur several days after mating. Progesterone testing or ultrasound dating gives a more precise due date. Giant breeds tend to give birth at the shorter end of the range; toy breeds sometimes carry slightly longer.
Week 1–2: No external signs. Week 3–4: possible appetite decrease, slight nipple enlargement, mild lethargy. Week 4–5: confirmation possible by ultrasound, abdomen begins to round, nipples become more prominent and pink ("pinking up"). Week 6–7: obvious abdominal enlargement, increased appetite (feed smaller, more frequent meals), possible weight gain of 25–50% of pre-pregnancy weight for large litters. Week 8–9: nesting behaviour, mammary glands enlarged and may leak colostrum, restlessness.
Weeks 1–5: Continue normal maintenance diet and portions. From week 5–6 onwards: gradually transition to puppy food (higher calorie density, more protein and calcium) or a pregnancy/lactation formula. By the final week, feed up to 1.5× normal intake. Avoid calcium supplements — excess calcium during pregnancy can trigger eclampsia (low blood calcium crisis) after whelping. Fresh water must always be available. Consult your vet for breed-specific advice.
Recommended schedule: Day 28 (4 weeks) — ultrasound to confirm pregnancy and check foetal heartbeats. Day 45 (6–7 weeks) — X-ray to count puppies accurately (essential for knowing when all pups have been delivered). Day 55–58 — pre-whelping check and discuss your whelping plan. During labour: call immediately if your dog strains hard for more than 30–60 minutes without producing a puppy, if more than 4 hours pass between puppies when more are expected, or if any puppy appears distressed or green/black discharge appears before the first puppy.
Start preparing 2 weeks before the due date. Set up a whelping box — large enough for the mother to stretch fully but with sides high enough to keep puppies in. Line with newspapers (easy to remove when soiled) and a clean layer on top. You'll need: old clean towels, disposable gloves, dental floss (to tie umbilical cords if needed), iodine solution (to dip cords), digital thermometer, heat pad or heat lamp set to ~32°C for puppies, baby scales to weigh puppies, and your vet's emergency/out-of-hours number written down. Begin taking your dog's temperature twice daily from day 58.