First of all the formula: Take the pup’s weight in pounds (at a certain age) and divide it by his age in weeks, then multiply that number by 52 (the number of weeks in a year). This should predict your pup’s ideal adult weight. OK, so let’s say a medium-sized dog weighs 8 lbs.
How to Tell If Mother Dog Still Has Puppies Inside
In most cases dogs give birth to more than pup. As a matter of fact, dogs can easily give birth to 10 or even 12 puppies.
Therefore, determining whether the birth giving process is finished can be quite tricky especially if you are a first time dog parent.
Generally speaking, you can observe your dog and look for signs that signalize the whelping process is over and all of the pups are successfully delivered.
To recognize the end of the whelping pay attention to the following steps:
Check if the contractions have stopped – it is useful to know how many puppies to expect. In general, each set of contractions is followed by delivering a puppy and each puppy is followed by pushing its placenta. After delivering the last puppy, the bitch will experience several more contractions whose purpose is to expel the last placenta.
Look for signs that the mother is calming down – the birth giving process is usually accompanied by moaning, whimpering and panting. If these signs are present chances are the mother still has puppies inside her. On the other hand, if these signs are absent, the birth giving process is likely finished.
Carefully monitor your dog for at least 2 hours – if you are not sure whether your dog is simply taking a break or finished whelping, you need to be extra patient and supervise your dog. If the dog calms down within those 2 hours, usually the birth giving process is finished. However, if the dog starts contracting or shows sign of restlessness, chances are it was just taking a break and it still has puppies inside.
A few hours after the dog’s labour
Your bitch has not passed all the placentas you would expect (there should be as many as there are puppies).
Your bitch shows signs of twitching, nervousness, restlessness and a stiff, painful gait, or seizures, which may be a sign of a calcium deficiency called hypocalcaemia.
She has a fever, is unwell with a loss of appetite, is listless or lacks interest in the puppies. Any of these could indicate an infection within her uterus.
Your bitch continues to strain after producing all the puppies you were expecting.
How do I know when my dog is done whelping, How do I know if there are any puppies left to be born.
