Why is my pregnant dog sleeping all day near her due date?

Normally, the "due date" for a pregnant dog is anywhere from 57-63 days after mating. If your girl is 59 days pregnant, she is within this range so she may be getting ready to go into labor - pregnant females will often refuse food for the last day or so before having their puppies, and may also act restless or clingy. You can take her temperature with a rectal thermometer if you are comfortable doing this - if it's lower than 99 degrees, chances are good that she will be going into labor within the next 24 hours.

It is quite common for dogs to become anorexic in the 24 hours prior to whelping. Be sure that Sweetie has a whelping box ready, or a quiet area in your home with plenty of soft towels and blankets, but keep in mind that these blankets may get ruined during delivery! In the 24 hours prior to whelping, some dogs may also become more restless and may hide or try to be alone. I hope that all goes well!

Poor girl! I would offer her a home cooked meal of plain boiled chicken and rice to see if this helps to entice her to eat. If she after a few days of being on vitamins and she still isn't acting right then I would contact your ve to do additional diagnostics. If your vet hasn't already I would ask them to do a fecal to check for intestinal parasites and blood work to make sure everything else looks ok. If she is close to the end of her pregnancy this could all be normal in preparation for labor. A lot of dogs will have a decrease in activity and appetite in the last 3-5 days of pregnancy. The normal gestation period is 62-63 days. I hope this helps!

Just keep an eye on MJ tonight. A dog's pregnancy can last up to 68 days, so there is still a little of time for her to go into labor. If she hasn't gone into labor by tomorrow, then take her into the vet right away. Best of luck.

If she is 66 days I would definitely recommend seeing a vet as soon as you can. It’s possible that she is in stage one of labor, but at 66 days she is past the average gestation length and it’s possible that she is having difficulty with labor or that there are problems with the puppies. A vet can check to see if she is in labor and can also determine whether or not the puppies might be in distress. If you start to see active contractions your should see a puppy within 30-69 minutes and she should not go more than 4 hours between puppies.

She needs to be eating something, or she will have very little energy for the whelping. Take her to the vet for xrays, then you'll know the size of the litter and will know if she's having trouble or needs a c section. While there, ask for cerenia injections for the next few days, as this is a fantastic anti-nausea drug that has all kinds of benefits. In this case, I'm hoping it will get her eating for you. If she had a dead pup last litter, that tells me she may be dealing with some uterine inertia during labor, and could benefit from calcium or oxytocin injections, but this requires your working with a reproduction veterinarian through this process. Hope that helps, and best of luck!

Hello. Dogs are pregnant an average of 63 days, so your girl is probably due any time now. If she is acting relatively normal, just give her a little more time. Keep a mental note on how much movement you are feeling in her abdomen & if it begins to diminish, or she acts lethargic, ill, vomits or develops a dark discharge from her vulva without going into labor, see your vet immediately. She may need a C-section. Otherwise, your dates may be off a bit & labor will proceed when her time is due. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.