Great Dane Pregnant

Question
We have a purpose for breeding our pure breed Great Dane, but a dog that looked like a golden retriever mix got in our back yard without our knowing. We don't know the exact date when she got pregnant but we do know that she started to develope milk about two weeks ago. So my question is, how close is our Great Dane to labor?

Answer
Some signs of impending labor: she'll start to pant a lot, she won't be able to get comfortable at all, she may start to dig like crazy. She may even try to hide, so watch her closely when she goes out to potty. She may go off of her feed. It's very important to have something that will entice her to eat a little, such as broth or vanilla ice cream that you can melt for her to drink. These things will get her the needed energy during whelping, and afterwards. About 24-48 hours before labor starts, she should loose her mucus plug. It's this clear, gunky, glob that will come from her vulva. She shouldn't have a colored discharge before whelping. If she does, call your vet immediately.

After the pups are born, she may have a greenish discharge that will turn bloody. Make sure you count each placenta, there should be one for each puppy. If one's missing, call your vet. You may want to take her in to the vet about 24 hours after she whelps. The vet will give a clean out shot to make sure there's nothing still left inside of her. Keep an eye out on her milk. Make sure she doesn't have any hard, warm spots on any of her breaths, and try to get the puppies to nurse from each breast. Check the pups' toenails, and don't let them get too long. If they do, just snip the tips so they won't hurt mom. Make sure she has access to food and water at all times. This will keep her milk production going well.

Some dogs get diarrhea right before labor starts, some my get it after whelping. It's nature's way of cleaning things out. If it gets worse, or she starts to vomit, or stop eating, take her to the vet for a check up.

This information was taken from another experts answer to a question regarding dogs and labor.

The best way to know how close you are is to get x-rays taken. Puppies bones don't calcify until after day 50, so if you see puppies on the x-ray, then you are about 7-10 days out.