pregnant chihuahua

Question
hi lynn,
i have a 2 yr old chihuahua female, she mated with my male on oct.31st, nov.1st, and nov.3rd...i used the online calculator to determine her due date using the first time they mated, but i read some where that you are supposed to use the last time they mated to determine the due date, so i did so, and according to her due date , going by the last time they mated, her due date should be 1/5/2016...her temp has been 99.9 consistantly for the last 3 days, is this a reason to be concerned??? i live in a very small town that has my vets office, we are far out from everything else, his office is not open fridays, saturdays, or sundays...any advice would be appreciated. she does not look in distress , she is eating little at a time, she is drinkin more water than usual though, and the puppys are moving around fine...she seems to be just fine...ive never had a dof to go over due date, they have all been on time or before due date, but of course ive been determining the dates by the first mating also...so anyway, thanks for any info you may be able to give me..

Answer

Hi Brenda,

I was under the impression you start counting the days for the due date from the date of the first mating. If that holds true, your dog would have been due two days ago, Jan. 2nd. If the last breeding is the one that got her pregnant, she wouldn't be due until Wed. Jan. 6th.
Keep in mind, puppies can be born anywhere from 5 days before their due date, to 5 days after the date.  

As long as you know the puppies are moving around and your dog is acting normally and doesn't have any vaginal discharge that appears bloody or smelly you're in good shape! Continue taking your dog's temperature both in the morning and at night. Most of the time (not a rule cast in stone) 12-24 hours before it drops it will rise higher then its been in weeks.

Since we're over the "hump" of the weekend, your vet should be available if he's needed, and hopefully by next weekend you'll have a new litter of puppies!  Just to be on the safe side, if your dog hasn't given birth by this coming Thursday, contact your vet to let him know what's going on.

Best of luck to you, and the future mother!
Patti