Enter the mating date to work out when your bitch is due. Dogs are pregnant for about 63 days.
Dogs are pregnant for about 63 days, and most give birth between day 56 and day 69 after mating. Enter the mating date for a due date and a timeline.
If she was mated more than once, use the date of the first mating.
| Typical length | 63 days from mating |
|---|---|
| Usual range | Day 56 to day 69 |
| Day 25 | Your vet can usually confirm pregnancy by ultrasound from around now. |
| Day 42 | Ask your vet about feeding: most bitches need more food over the last three weeks, often a puppy or growth diet. |
| Day 45 | An X-ray from around now can count the puppies, so you know when whelping is over. |
| Day 50 | Have a whelping box ready in a warm, quiet place. A drop in her temperature often means whelping within a day. |
How to use it
Choose the animal and enter the date she was mated. The calculator adds the typical length of pregnancy for that species to give a due date, and shows the window in which most births happen. It also lists the checks and preparations worth planning, with their dates.
Pregnancy length varies between individuals, breeds and litter sizes, and counting from mating rather than ovulation adds a few days either way. Treat the due date as a guide and keep watching her closely as the window approaches.
Call your vet if she goes past the end of the normal window, strains for a long time without producing young, seems weak or distressed, has a green or bloody discharge before any young arrive, or if a long gap passes between births.
About 63 days, around 9 weeks, from mating. Most dogs give birth between day 56 and day 69.
From about day 25 after mating. Your vet can usually confirm pregnancy by ultrasound from around now.
If she goes past day 69 without giving birth, or shows signs of distress, straining without result or an unusual discharge at any point, contact your vet.
Use the first mating for dogs and cats, as eggs can be fertilised over several days. Use the last covering for mares. For livestock, use the service date, or the raddle mark for sheep.
It is a guide. Most births fall within the window shown, and ultrasound scans can narrow it down. Large litters often arrive a little early and single young a little late.
These tools are planning aids, not a diagnosis or a replacement for veterinary advice. If a pet is unwell, has eaten something risky, or you are unsure what to do next, contact a vet.