poodle pregnancy

Question
how many puppies can a minature poodle have in her first litter?
How long will she be pregnant?

Answer
Hello Norma,
On avarage a Miniature Poodle will have around 3-6 puppies.  Sometimes its less for her first litter, but sometimes it can be large.  It just depends on how many eggs were released and fertilized.  You can have an ultrasound done at 45 days to help tell, but sometimes even that isn't accurate.  

A female will typically be pregnant for around 63 days give or take.  About 2-3 days before she is to whelp, you will begin to see a waxy substance on her nipples.  You can also start to take her temp twice a day about a week before her 63rd day.  A dogs normal temp is around 101.5.  When it reaches 100.0-99.0 you should start taking it about 3-4 times a day.  When it hits 98.0, you should have puppies within 24 hours, possibly sooner.

If you would like further assistance with this, suggestions or tips, please feel free to ask or you can check out my other answers, just type in Pregnancy.

I hope this helps some.  Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim