Is my Miniature Poodle Pregnant?

Question
QUESTION: I would like to know if there is a way I can find out if my poodle is pregnant. Today is April 26th and we think the day she tied with the male for sure was March 23rd. I would love to know what I should be looking for as far as signs that she may or not be pregnant. can you Help me?

ANSWER: Hello Eyvonne,
The best way to find out if she is pregnant would be to take her to your Vet and have them do an ultrasound.  If this isn't feasible for you, then you will have to wait and watch her.  

Females are usually pregnant for 63 days from the first breeding.  If your female was successfully bred, then she will carry her babies for another month yet.  
You might notice her stomach getting bigger, and see it moving some as the babies move around.  She may start nesting, or making her a place to have the babies in.  Sometimes new mothers will even take stuffed animals and place them near them as if they were nursing and she will lick them like real babies.  

As she gets closer to her due date (around 5 days away), her nipples will get a waxy substance over them.  When she is around 24 hours from delivery, her temp will drop from 101.5 (which is normal for a dog) to 98.0-98.5.  Start to take her temp around day 60, and take it twice a day until she has the babies.

Some dogs go through a false-pregnancy and will mimic being pregnant for the whole duration of the pregnancy.  Some even go through the motions of labor and delivery just without the babies.  It is tough to know if a female is pregnant or not without doing an ultrasound.  

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The 28th will be 63 days her tummy does not look any bigger. but she is digging on the couch or on our bed before she lays down, she has been in the box we made for her a few times and she is cleaning her tummy an awful lot. she is also still swollen from her season. we are very puzzled. could she be getting ready to deliver or could this be a mock pregnancy?

Answer
Hello again,
This sounds like it could be a false pregnancy, but you can never tell with some dogs until they either deliver or go way past their due date.  
You might start taking her temp now to see if this will tell or not.  Start by getting a baseline temp (which is her normal temp) and then take it every morning and evening.  If it stays normal, then you are ok.  If it drops to 98.0-98.4or5 then she will have the puppies within 24 hours.  

If you want to be sure, you can take her to the Vet for them to do an ultrasound, but this can run into some $$ so if you don't' want to go that route, thats ok.  If she is pregnant, you will have puppies.  If she isn't, you won't.  

Best bet is to keep checking her and watching for signs of coming puppies.  
She could just have one or two and not show signs.  Like I said before, you never know until puppies show up.  

I know this doesn't offer a lot of reassurance, but its just one of those things thats hard to predict.  

Good Luck and if you have more questions, you know where to find me.

Kim