After the mating, most of the owners want to know as soon as possible how successfully this procedure was. But to reveal the pregnancy of a dog in the early stages is not at all easy, since the signs begin to appear not immediately. Especially not only to reveal signs of fertilization in the case when the dog is pregnant for the first time.
How to determine if a dog is pregnant?
Puppy dogs are nurtured for two months. And only by the end of the first month you will be able to determine the pregnancy of your dog. Somewhere on the 25-30th day one of the first signs that the dog will have puppies - swelling of the mammary glands begins to appear. Even at the same time, you may notice an increase in the size of the abdomen.
In addition, the interesting position of the dog can be learned from indirect signs. So in the period of the second and third week after mating the female can become sluggish, drowsy and apathetic.
How to understand yourself, is the dog pregnant?
Visually determine the condition of the dog, especially the inexperienced person, is quite difficult. Only in the second half of the term she will have obvious signs of pregnancy. If the dog has been fertilized successfully, then somewhere from the 33rd day after that it will start gaining weight. And about one week before the birth, she may have milk. However, this does not apply to bitches fertilized for the first time. In this case, milk may not appear until the very birth .
How to check if the dog is pregnant in a vet clinic?
Due to the fact that an independent determination of the pregnancy of the dog in the early stages is quite problematic, many dog breeders prefer to address this issue to special institutions. In veterinary clinics to date, there are up-to-date techniques and equipment that allow for three to four weeks to obtain an accurate result.
Determination of pregnancy of the vet clinic is carried out by two methods:
- serum test;
- Ultrasound.
On the analysis of the blood, the result can be obtained already in 2-3 weeks of the proposed pregnancy. However, due to some peculiarities of the test, it may not be accurate. The blood test is carried out to maintain the hormone relaxin in it. Already on the eighth day after fertilization, it begins to be intensively developed in the dog's body, but it may not be enough to determine the exact pregnancy up to 3-4 weeks.
Around the same time, veterinarians recommend that dog hosts conduct ultrasound examinations. After the 24th day after mating, ultrasound can determine not only its success, but also the number and health of puppies. It is possible to accurately determine with the help of ultrasound after the 40th day after mating .