How can you tell whether a dog is really pregnant?

The signs of pregnancy in a female dog appear about one week after mating. Specifically: the vulva of a pregnant female dog will contract rapidly; around the third to fourth week of pregnancy, symptoms such as vomiting and loss of appetite may appear; at 20 to 30 days of pregnancy, the mammary glands of the pregnant dog become prominent, the breasts swell, and the nipples turn peach-pink. In the fourth week after mating, by touching the area of the uterus in the female dog's abdomen with your hand, you can feel embryos about the size of an egg in a pregnant female dog.

In addition, at 20 to 30 days after mating, you can ask a veterinarian to take a blood sample for testing or use ultrasound diagnosis and other methods for early confirmation.

For a female dog confirmed to be pregnant, management mainly involves preventing her from contracting diseases and avoiding bites and fights with other dogs. Appropriate daily exercise is the best way to prevent dystocia, but do not engage in intense exercise. At around 30 days of pregnancy, deworming with medication against roundworms and tapeworms should be carried out to avoid infecting the fetuses and puppies.

Nutrition during a female dog's pregnancy is important; it plays a decisive role in the female dog's health, ensuring the normal development of the fetuses, preventing miscarriage, and the secretion of the female dog's milk. Pregnant female dogs should be fed food with higher nutritional value, increasing the content of protein, calories, and calcium and phosphorus in the daily diet. In the early stage of pregnancy (about within 35 days), a pregnant female dog can be fed according to the original feeding method; at 35 to 42 days, 42 to 49 days, and 49 to 60 days, the feed should be increased by 10%, 20%, and 30% respectively on the original basis. Especially in the later stage, attention should be paid to adding some feed that is easy to digest and rich in protein, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamins. At 35 to 45 days of pregnancy, feed 3 times per day; at 44 to 60 days, feed 4 times per day.

During pregnancy, a female dog often becomes slow and sluggish in movement. At this time, the dog owner must give the female dog appropriate outdoor activity and let her bask in the sun more. It is absolutely forbidden to let the female dog run fast, jump, go up and down stairs, or fight with other dogs, so as to avoid miscarriage.

In the early stage of pregnancy, deworming must be carried out for the pregnant female dog, but do not feed an excessive amount of deworming medicine, so as to avoid miscarriage.