6 Obvious Signs That Your Dog Is Pregnant

If your dog has been unusually inactive as of late, or if you notice a serious change in her eating habits, you may want to consider that she just might be pregnant!

Here are the 6 obvious signs that your dog is pregnant.

1.  Your Dog Has Been Inactive Lately

Generally speaking, a dog is a very active animal. Dogs love to run around and play in the yard all day long.

The only time a dog is lethargic and inactive is when she is either unwell or pregnant. If your dog has always been energetic and is suddenly displaying lethargic behavior such as napping all the time, it is possible that she may be pregnant.

In order to gauge whether there is actually any difference in your dog’s energy levels, it can be useful to monitor her behavior during walks. If she seems to tire out very quickly after not walking for too long, it’s possible that she might be pregnant!

2. Your Dog Is Eating Too Much or Not Enough

In human pregnancies, it is common for hormonal changes to influence a woman’s appetite, sometimes making her very hungry and sometimes making her not want to eat at all.

Similarly, when a dog is pregnant, it is common for her to experience huge appetite changes, depending on the pregnancy stage she is at.

For example, in the early stages of pregnancy, your dog will most likely experience morning sickness and vomit all the time. The vomiting will, of course, kill any appetite your dog may have had. As a result, it’s common that your dog eats very less in the first few stages of the pregnancy.

Your dog’s appetite may increase or decrease based on hormonal shifts.

Later on in the pregnancy, it is also possible that she may feel hungrier than usual, or may display dissatisfaction with the food that you offer her.

So if your dog has lately been rejecting the food that you serve, you may want to consider that she might just be pregnant.

3. Your Dog May Display Unpredictable Behavior

A pregnant dog may sometimes behave in a manner that is generally uncharacteristic of her. It’s possible, for example, that your pregnant dog will display certain attention-seeking behaviors, such as coming by your side, seeking comfort from you, etc.

The behavior of your pregnant dog isn’t set in any set pattern, however. For example, while sometimes your pregnant dog may require more love, other times, she may seem moody, irritable, and may tend to withdraw from you.

4. Your Dog Has Enlarged or Discolored Nipples

Female dogs generally have nipples that are pretty small. During pregnancy; however, these nipples tend to increase in size significantly.

They become rounder and larger and sometimes even appear to be discolored. Your dog’s nipples may turn redder than they usually are. This red color is indicative of more blood flow in the body.

At the later stages of the pregnancy, your dog’s nipples may even begin to leak milk.

So if you are in search of any obvious pregnancy symptoms in your dog, these are some of the ones you need to watch out for.

5. Your Dog Will Gain Weight

When a human is pregnant, the first thing that anyone notices is that she gains a considerable amount of weight.

Similarly, when a dog is pregnant, she gains weight all over her body as her abdomen begins to expand.

As the puppies begin to grow in your dog’s body, her abdomen will expand significantly.  If there is one clear indicator of pregnancy you can check for, it’s the gradual but noticeable weight gain in the dog.

However, your dog’s abdomen will most likely not respond until a much later stage of the pregnancy, so you may have to look out for other indicators that show up early on.

6. Your Dog Will Exhibit ‘Nesting Behaviors’

In the last weeks of your dog’s pregnancy, you might notice that she will shred certain bedding materials, etc. to make a nest for her soon-to-be-born babies.

A mother dog is probably going to get possessive during this phase, so it’s best to keep her away from any young children whom she may harm in her irritability.

While it takes a full nine months for a human being to form in the mother’s womb, the fetal development period of a dog lies only between 60-70 days on average.

So if you begin to notice any signs of pregnancy in your dog, you may want to take action as soon as you can so that your dog can give birth comfortably and safely without any risks to the babies.

Once you are able to identify that your dog is pregnant, you should take her to a vet, and a vet can guide you better on how to best take care of your dog and prepare your home so that she can give birth.

Remember that a dog can only comfortably give birth if she feels the environment is safe for her. As her dog-owner, it is your job to make sure the environment is as safe as you can make it. The sooner you detect the signs, the sooner you can go about making sure that your dog feels safe enough to give birth in your house.

This is why it is so important to watch out for these 6 obvious signs that your dog is pregnant.

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by Bobby J Davidson || You can’t buy love, but you can rescue it™ . 

Facts About Animal Homelessness:

1. Only 1 out of every 10 dogs born will find a permanent home.
2. The main reasons animals are in shelters: owners give them up, or animal control finds them on the street.
3. Each year, approximately 2.7 million dogs and cats are killed every year because shelters are too full and there aren’t enough adoptive homes. Act as a publicist for your local shelter so pets can find homes. Sign up for Shelter Pet PR.
4. Approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats.
5. According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (NCPPSP), less than 2% of cats and only 15 to 20% of dogs are returned to their owners.
6. 25% of dogs that enter local shelters are purebred.
7. About twice as many animals enter shelters as strays compared to the number that are relinquished by their owners.
8. It’s impossible to determine how many stray dogs and cats live in the United States. Estimates for cats alone range up to 70 million.
9. Only 10% of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered. Overpopulation, due to owners letting their pets accidentally or intentionally reproduce, sees millions of these “excess” animals killed annually.
10. Many strays are lost pets that were not kept properly indoors or provided with identification.
11. According to The Humane Society, there are about 3,500 brick-and-mortar animal shelters in the US and 10,000 rescue groups and animal sanctuaries in North America.

Here are a some adoptions for consideration:  puccicafe.com/adoptions